Tuesday, April 05, 2016

Udaipur










A pleasant surprise....

Ashish turned around in his front car seat to face us. "Although it's Shunday, everythingsh shtill open. We Indiansh are workaholicsh ash you probably know." Each word was spoken with measured deliberation and at first he seemed tedious and pedantic, despite the funny accent. After a few minutes we began to appreciate him, for we could understand his every word and the slower stream of information was just right for our over-stuffed, over-stimulated brains. He gave us a splendid tour of Jodhpur including the large monuments, but he also took us  down the small winding back alleys and into interesting little shops. 

Here I am hanging on "hish" every word.
Jodhpur is the blue city.
In the lovely mausoleum, where the sun shines through marble almost a foot thick.




Women shopping in the bazaar. Ashish tells they go shopping together in a bunch like this one and visit the textile shops. The sellers unroll bolt after bolt of fabric, but the women are "just looking."


I swear all the older Indian men are good looking. On every corner, there's an Omar Sharif.

We hated to shay farewell to Ashish (sounds like, well...you know, without the first H), the besht guide we've had sho far.

Monday, April 04, 2016

En route to Udaipur


Jain temple ...fabulous. More than 1000 pillars all uniquely carved.


The "Great Wall" equivalent in India. Kumbhalgarh, Maharana's fort. Quite a hike up. On the top, people wanted to take pictures with us...and so, we're in a lot of kids' selfies. 


Water festival girls along the road. Hours in the car yesterday.....


We dodge and weave through and between cattle, children, goats, other cars, buses and tractors. 
Our driver goes at fairly high speed through pedestrian clusters...I guess, having tended to his Hindi duties each morning, he feels that he and others around him are safe. Before he begins driving there's a ritual of touching the icons in his car and his own hands, eyes, ears and head. Yesterday, we were in a hilly area with sharp, blind curves. I'm completely surprised at the low number of accidents, given that nobody jumps out of the way...the drivers do the dodging. Keeps you awake!!

Saturday, April 02, 2016

People along the way







Photo edits

During our long drive through the desert I did some photo editing in the car. We're in Jodphur in a rather disappointing hotel. It's another Maharajah's property, but falls short of the others we've been in. 







Driving with Daya.

On the road with Daya, our driver. While getting gas, he rocks the car to "get the air out."
Driving in India takes three things, so they say: Good brakes, Good driver, Good luck!
A modestly decorated truck. They come roaring, shaking, blasting down the road, horns honking, flags fluttering, fringes flapping. Some of them resemble the vehicles in Mad Max. 
Didn't have sufficient good luck. 
A vehicle from the Maharajah's collection, on the grounds of the hotel we're in tonight.
More of the Maharaja's vehicle collection.....