Posted 8:28 PM by MelanieandSteve
An Aussie "G'day" and and Indian "Namaste": having "Heaps" of good times back in Australia.

Last post was 22 April. It seems that too much has happened since then to blog in one sitting. Since then, we have spent some relaxing time in Nepal, some less relaxing time in India, a day back in each of Nepal and Thailand, and then returned to our home on Wheels in Australia. This posting only covers 23 April until 5 May.

KATHMANDU R & R (Rest and Relaxation): A mixture of 200 kms of high altitude trekking, 30 days of developing nation diet, and several days of the choking polution of Kathmandu can wear on a person. Steve found himself feeling under the weather and he wasn't up for a long bus ride to India just yet. So we spent some time relaxing in our comfortable hotel in Kathmandu. - - In the evenings we ate out with our friend Darryn and had fun movie nights thanks to Steve's portable DVD player (appropos movies included "Everest" and "Himalaya".) While there, we observed some civil unrest between Maoists, the King, the Government, and five neglected political parties of Nepal. Students, teachers, women's groups, professionals, and all types joined in political rallies across the nation. Therefore, traffic was sometimes stopped, platoons of police were often seen in riot geer, and sometimes city curfews were put in place.

FEELING BETTER, R & R (READY TO RIDE) : After a few days, we headed to Delhi. Our 32 hour bus ride stretched to 39 hours due to rediculous delays - one of which included a stop in the middle of the highway from 11pm to 4 am due to a curfew in the area to prevent rebel movement. Steve slept on the bus. Mel found the bus too stuffy and caught some Z's outside on the pavement, no blanket needed. We were the only westerners or English Speaking passengers on the crowded bus. In Nepal, the road was tightly curved and flanked by steep cliffs. In both countries, the road was wriddled with huge bumps. The trip was uncomfortable...

"THE PEOPLE ON THE BUS GO UP AND DOWN"...: Not sure how that song ends, but after this ride, we're pretty sure it's must have something to do with the people getting bumps and bruises. To call our bus ride bumby is an understatement. Our bags fell over, snacks fell out, we hit funny bones, and couldn't read a page. Steve called this one of the most uncomfortable experiences of his entire life. We decided we'd be FLYING back to Nepal.

WE EXPLORED NORTHERN INDIA (DELHI, AGRA, JAIPUR): A tourist-hungry land full of "touts" (scam artists), money-hungry travel agents, and commission-hungry taxi drivers. Despite this, it's an historically rich land with breathtakingly beautiful women in flowing brightly colored gowns and a land dotted with palacial landmarks sites. We both had a more enjoyable time in Nepal than India but would not have missed our special experiences in India.

SETTLING DOWN IN DELHI: Since 1638, the capitol of India. After fighting off the taxi drivers who ascended on us like vultures, we found our way to an English bookstore, bought a guide book, Found a hotel, and made ourselves comfortable despite the cold drizzly showers, the lack of bed sheets, and the absence of windows. We promptly fell asleep to make up for the long hours of road discomfort. Then, refreshed, we planned the rest of our stay. We hired a driver named Umesh. He really helped make our India adventure successful. Umesh drove us 4 hours to Agra, 5 hours to Jaipur, and 6 hours back to Delhi and showed us the important landmarks. By the end, he was a friend as well as a driver. He was a great source of information, protection, and efficiency.

AGRO ON THE WAY TO AGRA: the Roads in India are crazy. It feels like you're always heading for a head-on. The horns are always honking, the bikes, animals, trucks, and cars all hoard the road at different speeds. Thank goodness we didn't try to drive ourselves. But Umesh kept us feeling pretty safe. He picked us up at 5am and before noon, we were in Agra. There, a local guide showed us 1) THE TAJ MAJAL, 2)the SIKANDRA, a Mausoleum for Great King Akbar, the 3rd King of the Mughal Dynasty, 3) THE MATHURA, the mosque where the bones of the Lord Krishna are said to lie. Yes, a muslim mosque. There has been some dispute between the Hindu's and Muslims over this historic site where the founder of Hinduism was born, and 4) AGRA FORT, the military establishment turned prison for Shah Jahan, an emperor and the builder of the Taj Mahal who was imprisoned by his power hungry son Auranzeb. Shah Jahan only had a prison-window view of his creation, the Taj Mahal, until his death. Then he was burried beside his wife there.

SEEING THE TAJ MAHAL was our main goal. It lived up to all expectations. Like a ghost spirit, it stood against the blue sky in all white marble. The marble walls were intricately decorated with floral and vine patterns made entirely of inlayed semi-precious stones. Cornelian, Onyx, Lapiz, Jasper, Jade etc... throughout. It's incredible. And it's no wonder the Taj is considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world.

JAIPUR, "THE PINK CITY": While Agra had the Taj, Jaipur had the style. Person for person, street for street, Jaipur was the more attractive town. It's old town was painted pink, the color of hospitality, by a former Emperor to welcome the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII). The old town center is still a warm earthy pink, including it's landmark WIND PALACE, or HAWA MAHAL, the post card icon of the city. Our favorite landmark was the JANTAR MANTAR observatory built by the same "Warrior Astronomer" who built the city of Jaipur. Jantar Mantar looked like a scientific miniature golf coarse - the tools for star measuring were so big that we could climb on them. They included a huge sun dial and a massive measurer of stellar altitude. The emporor believed that larger tools were more precise. We also saw the NAHARGARH, AKA TIGER FORT, and the JAIPUR FORT both standing side by side atop the nearby walled mountain. While we were there, Jaipur was hit with a massive hail storm. The streets were fully flooded, and trees everywhere were downed. After the storm, we saw an elephant pulling trees out of the street.

BACK IN DELHI: We saw several museums, palaces, and tombs of historical interest including THE RED PALACE, HUMAYUN'S TOMB, the assasinated INDIRA GANDHI'S museum and place of martyrdom (her daughter in law, Sonia Gandhi, is running for Prime Minister this year). Our favorite place visited in Delhi was the Museum and place of Martyrdom for Mohatma Gandhi, the GANDHI SMRITO. We spent hours in this landmark museum reading Gandhi's words, learning his history, looking at pictures, and walking along the path to the garden where he was assasinated.

EXTRAS:

-LOCAL FAIRE: Roadside meals with Umesh: At first, Umesh would drop us off for meals at tourist oriented (both in style and cost) restaurants, and he would leave to find local faire elsewhere for himself. Melanie said she wanted to eat where he ate, but Umesh said tourists can't handle the spices that locals like. Melanie begged to differ since she has learned to love spicey food (many never thought they'd live to see that day). So when Umesh did take us out, Melanie ordered extra hot. When Umesh sampled from Melanie's plate, his eyes watered since it was too spicy for him. That was the end of his "too spicy for you" excuse, and we all ate together for the rest of the journey. Umesh said he'd NEVER seen a westerner who eats spicy food like us. He talked about it with EVERY restauranteur we met, and they would gather around just to watch us eat. Then they'd laugh in amazement. One chef was so impressed that when we were about to leave, he ran up to us with a helping of fried green chillies he thought we'd like as a gift - just because. Other restauranteurs offered us local samplings free of charge just because we got along so well. Mango curry was an interesting one.
-Umesh took pride in showing us some of his favorite local specialties and spots. We enjoyed the casual and friendly, though not always clean, atmospheres. Many local restaurants do not have tables. We ate sitting Indian style on bed frames without mattresses, or on plastic chairs without tables, or in little hidden alley ways.

-HOLY COW: Yes Batman, or Robin, there is a MEANING to that word. In India, "Holy Cows" hang out in the streets. In Hinduism, the cow is a sacred creature. So in India, there are lots of cows who do not have owners, who aren't bred for meat or milk, but who are just holy. They can often be seen picking through the urban trash for food, or just lazing around.

-GOOD HAIR DAYS ABROAD: Melanie found that many men and women, mostly women, were very interested in her. At museums in India as well as Indochina, people many times approached Melanie asking her to be in a photo with them. One family approached without cameras and the husband/father introduced her to the entire family(forgetting to introduce HIMSELF). Mostly he wanted Melanie to meet his wife. Most of these curious, shining, joyful people did not speak English. We could only surmise that they haven't had exposure to the Western world, and maybe they've never seen a blond. In any event, Melanie was touched by their warmth and beauty and enjoyed making their acquaintance.

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS TO:

Sage P,
Dan C
Nick P,
Billie Bee
Dave W
Laura T