There were times it seemed like we were on a driving vacation and most of what we saw was from the back of the car. But that was actually the most interesting part of the trip. It was fun to watch India life unfold in front of us.
And there was a lot of life. […]
Generally at the end of a tour the guide would lead us into a shop and we would get an explanation of how the goods at that store were made and then an opportunity to buy. (And by “opportunity”, I mean heavy sales pitch.) So we now know about: hand tying carpets; doing marble inlay […]
We passed a fair amount of road construction. But it was rare to see any road construction equipment. Instead much it gets done by hand. Heavy hauling is often done by camels, even in downtown Jaipur.
My favorite construction sight occurred along a stretch of highway where pipes were being installed under the road. Instead […]
[Scott] We felt remarkably unhassled through almost the entire trip. A growing economy and high employment probably make that so. All but one of our tips was gratefully received without the look of “why aren’t you giving me more”, which we have see elsewhere.
On the edges of the tourist places the vendors were aggressive, but […]
[Scott] I greatly admire the safaris in Africa that John and Meg and the Maddrys have gone on, but between the cost and the distance, I don’t think that I will make it. So our Safari in Ranthambore was a nice approximation. As Annie mentioned, we are not sure it is not all […]
I wish that when I started looking into travel in India there had been a big sign that said, “Hire a car and driver,” because that is really the way to go. I spent a lot of time looking at other options before I figured this out. Travel costs are pretty low here so you […]
At each major tour stop we’ve had a guide. I wanted to have guides because of what a difference they made on my visit to Luxor. They’ve all been local to their area and have stuffed us with information and showed us details that we never would have noticed or understood.
Plus we’ve enjoyed talking […]
As with the other places we toured, this was full of jaw dropping beauty. With both excellent artisans and cheap labor you can produce some amazing buildings.
At first I thought if I had to live in one of the palaces here it would be in the Red Fort of Agra with the view of […]
In Jaipur the Amber Fort is a must place to visit and the touristy elephant ride to the top is the must way to get there. We got there early to be sure of getting a ride. Both the tourists and the elephants were already lined up.
There is a whole flock of sellers […]
[Scott] There is one movie channel on cable that shows American movies in English, with English subtitles. I guess maybe that helps to understand what the actors are saying when you don’t speak English as much. I would have thought that Hindi sub-titles would have been more helpful.
While the movie was playing, obscenities […]