Sore muscles, happy girls and a happy halloween!!!

As we boarded our 8 hour bus ride yesterday Ang and I wished each other Happy Halloween! Ang quickly asked what I was dressed as and I answered "a dirty hippy, and what are you?" she said she was dressed like a "trekker".....both were true. Being that we had only minimal clothes for our hike we had both recycled a lot of clothes and were not looking our best ever.

Our hike in the Anapurna mountain range in Nepal was amazing! Lets first start with our guide, Hari, who made the whole thing wonderful! I can't say enough good things about him.  He was constantly asking us if we wanted tea or water along with carrying our bag. Most people that hike have a porter/guide or both- and we were both shocked at how much they carry up the mountain! Some porters are carrying boxes of beer, soda, shelves, housewares, you-name-it up the mountain with only a small strap on their head balancing it all! We were glad that we limited ourselves to one backpack- although we still felt bad every morning when Hari had to pick it up and start carrying it! We had rented sleeping bags and down jackets, which we blamed for most of the weight in the pack.

We started out with a rafting trip which was really fun- we had a good group of people and the weather was nice! Different then when we were in Colombia, the rafting instructions (ie: which side should paddle when) were in English....which led to less confusion for us! Since Ang and I are both still a bit gun-shy about food and getting sick- we were both a bit nervous about eating tuna salad or canned ham on the beach of some random river in Nepal- but managed to find some peanut butter and bread to hold us over through the day. I know I have said it before- but Nepal is SO much more clean than India....we probably don't need to be worried, but we are still being careful after being sick in India. I'm assuming a major reason for the increased cleanliness in Nepal is due to the amount/access to water they have- but that is just a guess.

After a great day of rafting we headed to Pokhara- where we were closer to the start of our hiking. We left the next morning around 7 a.m., drove for an hour...and then we were off! Although the first day was 6 hours- it wasn't straight up like some of the other days. The weather was beautiful the entire time- we have truly lucked out the entire time we've been gone. We hiked through numerous villages and the Himalayas are breath-taking. Someone said that they would make the Rockies look like little babies...and they were right! Every time we would come around the corner and see them- I was shocked!

We stayed in really basic 'teahouses' in villages along the way. I think we were both surprised at how nice the 'teahouses' really were- the sheets were clean, we had hot showers and the food decent. We had our first experience with yak cheese and yak milk...the cheese is decent and the milk is not my favorite. All of the porters/guides ate dahl baht every meal (a lentil soup with rice and curry potatoes)....and Ang followed suit. I couldn't take it after one meal, but ended up with some very interesting combinations- and should have probably stuck to dahl baht.

The second day of hiking was the worst. Most of you probably know this about me, but I don't really enjoy hiking. Of course, I love being at the top of beautiful places...and that is why I continually get roped into hiking.....but I don't really enjoy the actual act of hiking up a hill. Regardless, the second day was straight up the ENTIRE day, starting with 3,000 steps. It was like being on a stair-stepper the entire day! Of course this is when I crack and start complaining to Ang about 'why' we ever chose to hike in the first place. Although this is not one of my prouder moments...at one point (of course to be funny)....I waited until Ang had turned around to see me and then flipped off the mountain- as if to say "screw you- you just keep going straight up!" Of course this is  also at the point that our poor little guide turns around to see me! I wanted to melt into the mountain! I tried to explain that I wasn't "flipping him off- just the mountain"- and of course this was lost in translations with our few English words. I'm not sure if he saw or not- but believe me- I was embarrassed....who is immature enough to flip off the mountain?! We slowly made it through the day- and the views were worth it!

The next morning we had to get up at 4:45 a.m. to hike another hour for a 360 degree look at the mountains. I was internally (some verbal) complaining most of the way- but it was also worth every step. Seeing the sunrise over the Himalayas is a once in a lifetime experience. We then hiked another 6 hours on the 3rd day and were both very sore at the end. Most nights we found ourselves in bed around 8 p.m.!

The walls of the tea houses were very thin and on one particular night we were lucky enough to be rooming next to a loud snoring German woman. We both kept waking up and hitting the wall- she would stop for a second and then start right back up again. It sounded like a motor was being started up on a motorcycle. I have a personal vendetta against public snoring (ie buses, trains, thin-walled rooms) and at some point I unzipped my sleeping bag, jumped out of bed, beat on the wall and yelled "You are snoring! Turn over!" Again, not one of my proudest moments- but come on. In my opinion, if you know you have a snoring problem, you must do something about it if you are going to sleep in public places. Ang asked me if this included sitting up all night to avoid snoring...and I said 'yes.'

The Nepalese people are beautiful....the entire hike you are greeted by people saying "namaste"- and even little kids try to put their hands together in prayer-like fashion to offer the same greeting. If it wasn't rude to steal babies...I would like to take a Nepalese baby home. Everyone just goes about their life in the village, or working in the rice fields...as you hike through their life. It was a very peaceful experience.

After 5 days of hiking we were shuttled back to Pokhara by our wonderful guide Hari. He is 23 years old and wants to come to the US after he learns English better....believe me, both Ang and I talked about whose family he should live with if he ever got to the states! He is genuine, kind and loved telling us about his family and customs. We both wanted to put him in our backpacks and bring him home.

After making it to Kathmandu yesterday we met back up with some friends we met originally in Varnasi, India. They have similar, hilarious stories about India and have both been sick about as much as we have. It was nice to connect with them and we are spending the day together today. Tomorrow afternoon we fly to Bhutan!!

Nepal...you make me sane again....

AHHHHHH! We arrived in Nepal yesterday afternoon....what a wonderful breath of fresh air! Well, still polluted- but fresher air.
After a 12 hour over-night bus ride through India to Delhi...(Ang swears her butt is bruised from the bumps)....killing time for about 6 hours at the Delhi airport...and a quick flight to Kathmandu...we are here! We both have said 10 times today "I love it here!"
I think we were both worried that maybe we had lost some of the passion for travelling....but now I realize that India was the all time hardest travelling I've ever done and I was so tired! We roamed around Kathmandu today and leave for a 6 day hike tomorrow...starting with a raft trip. We will have a guide/porter with us and be staying in very rustic "teahouses" on the way up! We've seen a few pictures and can't wait to get on the trail.

Last photos before Nepal!



                                                      Just being zen....like Buddha....

 

 Ang's seat on a bus...take note of the driver. Thankfully it was a short 20- minute bus ride!

Lindsay turning the prayer wheels in a temple- hoping for good karma.

A picture of the crowds at the India- Pakistan Border.....bleachers- no joke!

The poor policeman who nobody listened to- he completely lost control of the situation...and we kept laughing every time he would yell- I'm sure that was helpful.

A snapshot of the ridiculous marching.....

At the golden temple- your head had to be covered the entire time.

A morning on the Ganges River- this is in Varanasi- people bathing, performing religious rituals etc.

Life on the Ganges....

Sunrise over polluted Varanasi- which always makes the sunrise orange. Ew.

Why I may be pure vegetarian when I'm home. We have eaten meat twice....and this picture is a portion of the reason why. Stacks of chickens outside- chopping block and bloody heads. Do you need more convincing? Also...Ew.

One more picture of life on the Ganges....

A night time boat ride in Varanasi- I'm lighting a candle to float down the river.

Clearly not the two doing any work in the picture....

The closest I will ever be to Pakistan....

At the very beginning of our trip, one of the other travellers mentioned that while in Northern India they had gone to the Pakistan/Indian border and it had been quite an experience. What went through my mind at that time was 'NO WAY am I going near the border of Pakistan.' Not only because it just sounded like a bad idea- but also because my older brother's only request about my three month trip to India was "Please don't go to Pakistan." It seemed fair. Not surprisingly, right after the conversation with the other traveller Ang said "I would really like to figure out how to get to the border." Of course she would.

Without much discussion, probably after being worn down by India- I found myself on a flight to Amritsar- which not only hosts the Golden Temple- but is also the closest point to get to the border of Pakistan. By then we had talked to several people that said the border between Pakistan and India closes each night with a dramatic ceremony and bleachers for people who wanted to watch. Similar to a football game- they even sell popcorn!

We took a taxi about 1 hours out of Amritsar and when we got close to the border there was definite India pride. I wish I knew the number of people that came to watch- but I would guess about 5-8,000 people were there and there was in fact, bleachers and popcorn. We walked up and were not even sure we would find a place to stand or sit- but eventually were ushered through the "VIP" entrance (not sure why)- and found standing room. People were going crazy! Flags waiving, shouting...it was very patriotic. There were policemen trying to control the people standing up vs. sitting, but it soon was very comical because nobody was listening to them. The guards of both countries march up and down doing these RIDICULOUS kicks- which will definitely become part of my next dance routine- as well as marching/running at a really fast pace with puffed chests towards the gate. The Pakistan guards are doing similar acrobatics and their stands are cheering also. Ang leans to me at one point and says "Should we start the cheer 'We've got Spirit'?"  Eventually they close the border for the evening with the slamming of the gates on the India and Pakistan side and everyone cheers. I've heard you can YouTube a decent video of the entire ceremony. It was a great experience and technically I didn't "go to" Pakistan.

We also saw the Golden Temple while in Amritsar- it is a famous pilgrimage for Sikh's in India. It was a huge white temple, packed with people and my favorite part was the kitchen. This temple hosts a community kitchen where 35,000 people are fed everyday! It was a really cool organized chaos to watch. People streaming into the kitchen to get plates/silverware and eventually into a wide open room where they sat in rows while people scooped food onto their plates. They then filed to empty their plates which are eventually washed by hundreds of volunteers at washing stations. There are people cutting garlic on the floor- preparing food-it was quite the process! For many reason, the first being  hygiene, we did not partake in the food- but it is an extremely charitable act to feed that many people for free everyday!

We left Amritsar yesterday and took a long train and bus journey- complete with a flat tire on the bus- to Dharamsala. Dharamsala is tucked away in the Himalayas and is where the Dalai Lama lives! It is a quiet mountain town and we are finally cold for the FIRST time in India. There are also many Tibetans that live here and they have the most amazing dispositions. So many smiles! It is a bit calmer than other parts of India and a good place to be our last stop in the country. On Friday, we fly to Nepal! Ang will be able to spend 1/2 her birthday in India and half in Nepal....that is a once in a lifetime experience!

Today we had a very late start to our day and roamed around the town. We even stopped at a coffee shop that felt a bit like home! I still can not get over my stomach bug- which is driving me crazy! I finished my antibiotics yesterday and continue to eat bland foods. Maybe Nepalese food will fix it.

One long week in India....

Last Monday when I last blogged we were just leaving to take the overnight train to Varanasi. I had just finished up my blog when I looked down at my watch. The computer time said 9:45...but my watch (the real time) said 10:37!! We had a train to catch at 11:30 and we were NO WHERE near our hotel which is where our bags were. We both jumpped up from the Internet cafe...sprinted outside, only to find that rickshaws could only drive in certain areas at certain times (of course!!)- and towards our hotel was not one of those areas. So, we did the only logical thing and started running. First off, not many people jog in India. Second, not many people jog with day packs on. Third, if they do jog- it is not at 10:30 at night. But we had no choice. The BEST part about it is while jogging people still tried to sell us items...my personal favorite being a snow globe with the Taj Mahal floating in it! Now....does anyone who is running need a Taj Mahal snow globe? Better question....does ANYONE need a Taj Mahal snow globe?!!

We did the unthinkable and at the first opportunity flagged down a motorcycle and asked for a ride. He was a very nice guy and let us both jump on the back to drive us to our hotel. Believe me....I was shouting in Ang's ear that our parents would be VERY unimpressed with this move- but we had no other option. We got our backpacks and headed out to find a rickshaw to the train station. When is the only time that you can't find a rickshaw in India? Just when you actually need one at 10: 50 p.m. Finally, someone called their cousin and we were off. We made it to the train on time- negotiated for seats/beds that were together in the same berth and even met a wonderful couple on the train! We commiserated  about how terrible the train was - while giggling at the people snoring like bears.

We arrived in Varanasi around noon the next day. Varanasi is the strangest place I've ever been. It is absolutely the most 'hard core" place in India we have visited- the dirtiest, the most crowded, requires the most negotiation....the list goes on. It was India times 20!
There were lots of strange parts about it- however, the strangest part for me was that everything I had read about it actually happened.  Our guide book describes perfectly what you should experience- and we did. Varanasi is a very spiritual place for many and as I mentioned earlier it is where many people make their last pilgrimage to die. It is very auspicious place to be creamated. But for me, the spirituality was lost amongst all of the other Indian chaos and I couldn't quite get the spiritual feel. Surreal- yes. Spiritual- no.

We walked down onto one of the ghats (waterfront) in the evening. It happened to be a burning ghat where people were cremated. Within minutes, a man was trying to scam us into buying wood to help poor families who couldn't afford enough wood to cover their family members while they were cremated. We had read about this scam and didn't participate. He also said that his family sifted through the ashes and found rings/gold/jewlery from the cremated remains to donate to the poor. He is saying all of this, waiving around a hand with rings on every finger! Also within moments of being on the ghat- an actual body was being carried down the steps to the water to be cremated on the side. I was shocked and didn't even know how to respond. Here we were experiencing something that is so sacred and personal- it felt like we shouldn't be watching. Although the entire Indian life went on around it. Kids jumped into the water- doing cannonballs and other tricks. People sold water and other goods. People chatted with their friends. All at the same time that a family carried the body of their loved one down to the water to be cremated. It was a very surreal experience.

I'm sure having my dad's funeral so fresh in my mind also effected me significantly. Losing a parent is such a personal experience that I felt really strange being "in" their experience. I've missed my dad throughout the entire trip- but this really brought it home and my heart ached. The next morning we took a boat ride to see the morning life on various ghats- people were bathing or doing various spiritual rituals. The boat also stopped at another burning ghat and I thought I may have a panic attack as the wind blew and ashes were flying everywhere. It just seemed impersonal and surreal- but I had to keep reminding myself that this was considered very lucky and holy to be burned in Varanasi. Again, there was time for me to be thankful for all of the blessings in my life.

On a lighter note...I also had my worst fear in all of India come true in Varanasi. Since being in Varanasi, neither Ang or I were feeling the best. But as we were leaving breakfast one morning and winding through the dark alleys of Varanasi---I started to feel really sick. I KNEW that I had to find a bathroom quick- and panic set in. My worst fear in India is needing to use the restroom and not being able to find one! We were winding through the alley's and eventually found a restaurant- I sprinted up the stairs and Ang followed. I'm sure everyone was wondering why the urgency...but believe me- it was urgent! I went into the restroom only to realize that I had double knotted the draw string of my pants and could not get them untied. After some struggle,  I threw open the bathroom door and asked Ang to help. We soon realized there was NO way we were going to get them untied. So, I requested the only logical tool. "Ang- get a knife" And within seconds, my best friend in the world...(because you only do this stuff for best friends)- sprinted into the kitchen of a back alley restaurant, returned with a serrated butchers knife and promptly cut the draw string of my pants. That's how you do it in India.

We took a plane yesterday from Varanasi to Armistar. More on Armistar later!

A few more pics....and a few good stories...

The Taj probably can't totally be captured in this photo......but the number of people at the Taj sure can....this is right when you walk in.

This is this morning at sunrise...and no, I didn't take a picture of a postcard....this is for real!!

The poor people that we ask to take the "jumping" photo is always a bit of a zoo- after we jumped three times- we realized that she cut off the top of the Taj....we couldn't bear to ask this poor woman to retake it

Streets of India- view from our bus.

A dust storm- also view from the bus window (thank the Lord!)

We hiked up to the Amber Fort in Jaipur....and although the Fort was great views- we spent some time trying to figure out if Ang really should climb in this huge pot- or if we would get yelled at by the security guards. At the end- we decided the photo was worth it. Who has a pot this big in the first place, if they aren't begging for people to get in it?

At the top of the Amber Fort.

"Oh my! A REAL COBRA?".......we FINALLY saw snake charmers! We had heard we would see them and finally did in Jaipur. I LOVE Ang's expression (and hat)!

Ang giving the snake some "namaste"- hoping it doesn't get out of its basket too fast.

We went to a pretty cool observatory while in Jaipur...here Ang and I are checking to make sure the sun is correct about the time.

We went to our first (and only) McDonald's in Jaipur. There is not beef served- but there is chicken. We settled for a McAloo (McPotato) sandwich and some fries- just your general carb-loading-meal. We also purchased some food for some kids that were begging out in front. We purchased a few extra sandwiches and started to hand them out when we went outside. Much to our surprise- one of the boys grabbed the entire bag while we were handing them out. Although I was annoyed at first (I mean...how rude?)....we soon realized it was just another lesson in 'resources'- if you have no resources you will try to get as much as you can when it is available- and we have never been that desperate for food. In the end, it just made our hearts hurt.

Take a close look at that MOUSE amongst the fabric.....if this one is brave enough to be on the outside....imagine how many there are IN the store. FYI- we didn't purchase anything!

OH MY TAJ.....

We just saw the Taj Mahal for the first time! OH MY!!! It is spectacular! You walk out of typical "India"- people asking a million questions- through the gate....and honestly, it took my breath away! It is beautiful! There are still a million people around....but it is an amazing site! We just watched the sun set and will get up in the morning to watch the sunrise there also.

Health Report: We are both feeling better- head colds are gone....my stomach has "healed" for the most part. Two days ago, we actually were trying to figure out which of our next cities had the best hospital/doctor- and I think that was the majority of the healing process for me....the serious consideration of visiting a hospital in India.

We just spent the last two night in Jaipur. To be honest, it was a dirty, busy city- but does play host to a few good temples/palaces. We hired a rickshaw driver for the day and had him tour us around. This included the typical shops where he gets a commission....but sometimes you just have to surrender to India and see what happens.

After we were finished for the day, I asked our driver if we happened to pass a mailbox if we could drop my postcards off. That translated into taking us directly to the post office, which is fine. I entered the post office, where about 18 people were working and/or standing in line. I'm sure you can see where this is going. I stood in line, only to be told they were closed and I should put my post outside. So...I walked outside only to be told by the armed guard (what?!) that I needed to go to counter 7 inside. Back inside I went to counter 7. I stood there for a few moments until a gentleman from behind the desk took my postcards. For some reason- probably because I'm paranoid- I decided to watch what he did with them. He immediately handed them to two other guys sitting at another random desk. They looked at the pictures- flipped them back and forth and even appeared to read them. The first guy who originally took my postcards- eventually sees that I'm standing there staring and takes them from the two other guys...he flashes them to me and then shows me (from behind the plexiglass) that he is stamping them. At this point...I'm assuming he is stamping them "air" or something of the sort. He then waves them at me and gives me a prayer-motion to his forehead. I then stand there and wait, assuming he will put them in some "organized" type box....."assuming" being the operative word. Without hesitation he tosses them onto a random file cabinet- with a ton of other non-postcard items. After seeing me still staring...now in disbelief....he gives me another prayer-motion to the forehead and walks them into the backroom. I think the translation is...that to those of you waiting to recieve postcards....you should pray that they ever leave that backroom.

I also forgot to mention in my blog from Udaipur that Ang had a terrible run in with cow poop. She was filming a video of me trying to cross a busy bridge dodging cows, rickshaws, cars, people and carts- and all of a sudden I heard a scream that nearly stopped the entire bridge. The minute I heard it...I knew what had happened! She stepped directly into a warm, fresh cow pie. Getting a new pair of flip flops was the next stop on our list!

I've had a few minor meltdowns in the last few days. I almost hate to admit it- but I'm ready to see the rest of India and move on. I'm not done traveling....but India is getting the best of me. Unfortunately, we are heading into one of the most mentally challenging cities- Varanasi. Varanasi is a place in Eastern India where people pilgrimage to die- and although very spiritual- we have heard it is very challenging. We will take an overnight train to Varanasi tommorrow evening and be there for 3 nights.

So much for knocking on wood....

After nearly 7 weeks of answering 'no' and knocking on wood each time somebody asked "have you been sick in India yet?!"....India finally got us.

Fortunately, we are (mostly) dealing with a head cold/cough- but it has officially knocked both of us out for almost two days. I am also dealing with this very strange stomach thing- but I started Cipro yesterday and hopefully it can clear it up. If not, I may have to go to the doctor- as it has been surprisingly painful. Of course I have a lot of anxiety about going to a hospital here- and realize that is partially because I have NEVER even been to a hospital in the states! Fingers crossed that the antibiotics help.

We just convinced ourselves that we should leave our room- after too many reruns of 'The Simpsons' and 'How I met your Mother' (clearly a sitcom that bombed in the US)- and check e-mail.

We spent two days in Udaipur- which is one of our favorite places so far in India! It was beautiful, clean-ish and the sunsets were amazing! The city is almost completely painted white and sits on a lake which dries up at certain parts of the year. We then travelled by train to Pushkar yesterday. It was a very early morning train ride and THANKFULLY the man at the hotel came and tapped on our door- because we slept through our alarm. We made it in time and the train was A/C chair and decently comfortable.

We haven't really seem much in Pushkar. We did walk around for 30 minutes today- and it seems like a really interesting city. There are over 100 temples here and many pilgrims come here to bathe in the holy lake- which we did see in our 30 minute adventure. Hopefully we can venture out in the morning and explore a bit more.

Mumbai!

Mumbai....home of the infamous filming of many Bollywood Films including....Slum dog Millionaire was heartbreaking and amazing all at the same time.

The poverty was shocking. People said that you would see people sleeping/living everywhere and that kids would beg at your car window. Both are true. Driving home at night it was almost guaranteed that most sidewalks had people sleeping on them- many families haul their beds outside of their homes to sleep at night to allow for a cooler sleep or because the entire family does not fit in the house. Kids do come to your car window and beg- it is the terrible side of extreme poverty. The hard part for me is the realization that most of these people will never get out of the cycle. The child begging on the street- will most likely beg his/her entire life....and that was the hardest part for me to deal with.

On the flip side of the poverty- Mumbai is a large city and has great parts to it. We had the amazing experience of staying with Kalpana's family while we visited Mumbai....and experience that has completely added to our overall experience in India. It was awesome!

First and foremost....Indian families are amazing hosts! From the moment we arrived- we never went more than 2 hours without delicious food/snacks/drinks. We arrived on Thursday evening- on very short notice- and were promptly fed some of the most amazing Indian food yet!

The Bhandarkar family lives in a family home- which is the traditional way that Indian families have lived. There were about 8 bedrooms in a 2 story house. Two brothers- their wives- some of the kids and a cook/maid live in the house. One of the most interesting things for Ang and me was getting used to the cook/maid/driver aspect of the culture. Obviously not all families have a cook/maid/driver- but it is normal for some Indian families. We were VERY lucky to utilize their driver for some of the time we were in Mumbai- and it made seeing Mumbai a much easier experience. The family owns a pharmacy just out in front of their house- which is convenient for the brothers/nephews to head to work. We were lucky to be shuffled around to different site seeing areas and then to come home to amazing food and hospitality.

Communication did cause some hilarious moments- mostly due to what Ang and I call "LIT"- lost in translation. At one point, Ang was asking about a dish we had for breakfast....specifically asking how it was made....and within moments the makings/ingredients of the dish were pulled out and they thought she was asking for it to be made again. After insisting we were not hungry, nor should anyone start cooking right then.....we stopped the madness. We also had a lot of good laughs at the direction we got from everyone in the house. One of the uncles would tell us we could take the train somewhere- and we would get it all set up....only moments later to be told by a nephew that we would be taking the driver somewhere. We just had to surrender to the action behind the scenes and do whatever we were being told by the last person.

Similar to our experience of being in Goa with Kalpana's family....second helpings of food are a must. Unfortunately, I haven't been feeling very well (after eating some raw cabbage- imagine that?!).....and in order to keep up, Ang must have had 4th and 5th's of specific entrees. This morning we woke up- and even though I was trying to be really gracious....I couldn't stomach much of breakfast. Ang honestly ate an entire plate of an Indian dish to make up for me not eating...most likely enough for a family of four. God Bless her.....

My favorite moment in Mumbai was being recruited to be in an Bollywood Film!! Yep....you read it right! After all of my joking....we were walking down the street and a guy came up to us and said they needed extras for the next day of filming. Basically....they needed some white peeps for the background. I was ecstatic...and didn't even negotiate our pay. Kidding- there was no negotiating to be had. We would be provided transportation- meals- costumes- makeup and $500 Rupees ($10 USD)....for 8 hours of work! I was SO excited! Needless to say....the filming got canceled the next day- so we will not be famous. He called us in the morning to say that they had not gotten "permission" to film.....I'm not even sure what that translates into. I'm still hoping that we get recruited somewhere else.

While in Mumbai we visited most of the famous places....Gateway to India, the Taj Hotel and Leopold's restaurant- which is famous from the book we just finished reading. We also visited the VT Station- where Slum dog Millionaire was filmed.

We also had the experience of visiting a temple with Kalpana's uncle. It was a really great experience at the temple--with singing and dancing. We arrived prior to the uncle since we were already in the city and as always, there were some items that were "LIT". At one point were handed a coconut in a bag and at another point we were handed 3 bananas and 1 apple on a tray. By using lots of peripheral vision and copying people....we were able to figure out that the bananas and apple should be offered to the God of the temple....and the coconut donated to the homeless children waiting outside the temple. Thank goodness I learned the skills of good-people-watching from my mom!

Last night Kalpana's aunt dressed us up in traditional saris complete with jewelry! SUCH a great experience and just another thing that staying with Kalp's family added to our trip. There is a lot of fabric in a sari....6 yards to be exact....but Ang and I managed to keep the cloth wrapped around us in the entire photo shoot. The family had us posing all over the house. We could make an entire photo book of us in sari's. We were sitting on the couch when their driver came in....and imagine the double- take that he did to see the two of us. 

Today we flew from Mumbai to Udaipur. We will be in Rajasthan (a state) for 10 days before heading to see the Taj Mahal...and eventually to Nepal. India is growing on me a bit....I still have moments of manic....but more moments of enjoyment.

Pictures of Mumbai......

This is one of those moments that will forever be captured in my heart. This child....with nothing...was pouring water from one bottle to the next- just to entertain herself. I fell in love with her and my heart broke all at the same time.

The poverty in Mumbai is the worst I've ever seen. It is unexplainable. This is an example of the edge of all of the freeways- where there are makeshift houses. It is honestly hard to capture the actual level of poverty that is being experienced.

On a happy note...this is Ang standing in the Mumbai train station....where Slumdog Millionaire was filmed!

The start of our sari-dress up. Most sari's are 6 yards of fabric wrapped every-which-way to cover most of your body. The part that is exposed is your belly.....now who really wants their belly exposed?!

Everyone was constantly adjusting us.....it took two women to get my necklace 'just right.' Meanwhile...Ang is snapping photos and I"m trying not to giggle.

We posed EVERY which way possible. A very highly suggested and popular pose was this one where the mirror also shows your hair. Like prom....only different.

All of the ladies and their sari's. Ang and I are the only ones who are minutes away from having our sari's fall off.

                                                                  The final product.....

Ang and I sitting at sunset tonight. We are currently in Udaipur....which is a very beautiful city!

A few pics.....

Jumping on the beach in Goa with our Dutch friends.....these are the same girls that were in our "book club". 

Streets of India...they were very excited to see this pic after I took it!

Ang being blessed by an elephant.....

Sunset in Hampi.....

Linds trying to be 'zen' amongst the cows on the beach.....

                                           Peace and harmony on the streets of India....