everything-nothing-something like that

EVERYTHING:

I am slowly realising why everyone who comes here has an intense experience- be it positive or negative....India is full of many things on many levels, and there is a constant process of filling up and letting go. A careful balance of opposites is always in play- there is beauty in the palaces, the plentiful fields of mustard and canola, the spashes of colours in the clothes and houses and then there is the rubbish piled high and wide and cow shit and spit and green slimy algae floating on stagnant ponds. There is the sweet smell of cardomen and cinnamon floating through the air one minute followed by the pungent smell of urine or something rotten or burning plastic.

The sight you see above is Shimla at night. A glorious little town nestled at the feet of the Himalayas...where global warming has made it's mark, as the snow line is far into the distance.

Another highlight was viewing the Taj Mahal at 6:30 AM as the morning sun slowly came alive, lighting this magnificent building, all pink and rosy in the early dawn. Like Machu Pichu, not photo does it justice- but here is the money shot on the Princess Diana Bench - for which there is a queque at all times [even 7AM]. - you will have to wait for it, as I have only managed to upload a couple of images here- even tho they say the internet connections are high speed here, they are not, so you will have to wait for the whole slide show when i get home. I have so far about 500 snaps of my trip and I am not even 1/3 of the way into it.

Agra was a trip- it is approaching the New Year, and so the population has swelled to thousands and the traffic is snarly and noisy [Indian drivers spend a lot of time beeping their horns no matter what the occasion- passing, not passing, moving around pedestrians, turning in front of oncoming traffic- the backs of the trucks ask drivers to beep the horn, with signs saying HORN PLEASE- usually under an amazing fresco of dancing girls, or Krishna or Shiva]. When we first came to Agra, we were taken with a guide to the Taj and waited in a queque for 45 minutes to get into the front gate...then waited 20 minutes to sit on the Diana bench, then another 45 minutes to get into the mausoleum, where Shah Jahan and Mumtaz's empty crypts rest [the bodies are down stairs in the basement]. By the time we got into the mausoleum, it was pitch black and our guide led me stumbling around in the dark...it was much better in the morning, where we saw the magnificence of the room.

Agra was followed by Jaipur, which is just across the Rajasthani border. It is a BIG bustling city, with lots of hotels, textile factories- they make clothes for you in 2 hours- carpet shops [always] and other merchandise. We saw the Amber Fort, which is amazing and beautiful...and the pink city another delight. But the best thing was spending New Years Eve at the hotel in their dining room, replete with gypsy musicians and young dancing girls in the most splendid costumes and make up who kept calling us up to dance with them. It was delightful and lots of fun. This was followed by a trip up to the roof of the hotel where we watched fireworks. Below is part of the Amber Fort in Jaipur.....there are so many amazing shots to choose from- as everything you look at is pretty amazing. Glad I brought the 1 Gig card with me....[I had to buy another one as well].

Now I am in Bundi- an absolutely delightful sleepy town in So Rajasthan-with blue houses and extremely friendly people. It is wonderful to have the children sing out Hello from the roof tops, along with everyone else in the village saying Namaste or Good Morning, and NO ONE wants to sell me anything! None is begging, none of the Indian men are flirting with the not very secret agenda of selling me something. Today I learned that Krishna had 168 wives/girlfriends, so I reckon the flirting techniques are not only ingrained, they are part of the spiritual training.

The weather is divine and the feeling here is lovely. On my morning walk, everyone came out to say hello, nodded Nameste at me, and even the monkeys clattered their way back and forth across the tin roofs of the shops-drumming me down the street.

NOTHING:
Typical Indian experience: One person stops, looks skyward. Within minutes lots of other people are also looking skyward. They remain this way for quite a while, until someone says: "What are we looking at?" and the first person says: "Nothing". The crowd disperses, quite content with the experience.

SOMETHING like that......:

If you ask someone: "What is this?" You know when they do not know what it is- but will give a valient try to give you an answer- followed by "....something like that"- which means that the answer they gave you, may or may not be true/real/factual. And in the end, what does it matter?

Tomorrow, we are onward to Udaipur-city of lakes and -you guessed it- palaces- with perhaps a fort or two thrown in for good measure it's been at least 6 hours since I have seen one.

Nameste

Our driver Rakesh and me..........resting.