India

Yes we did get to Agra and the Taj Mahal. It is beautiful and this is only one picture.
















April 16, 2007
Pushkar, Rajisthan, India

Arieh here. I am sitting on our hotel's roof-top restaurant here in Pushkar, a small village of about 14,000 people in te state of Rajisthan. You've heard of Rajisthan--state of Maharajas, the blue city of Jodphur, and the Great Thar Desert where India's "atomic device" was tested in 1974. Pushkar, we are told by a very nice young store owner who speaks some Hebrew, has 40% Israeli tourists, 30% French and the rest from elsewhere. It also swells to about 200,000 people in November fro the annual Camel fair.

The view here is fantastic. The restaurant (and our room) overlook a beautiful large commercial rose garden backing on to more cultivated fields and then a range of low mountains in the not-too-distant background.

In the late afternoon we sit on the veranda watching two women pick the rose petals that are then sold outside the temples to be used in offerings to the one-of-more-than 300 million dieties here in India. The two women (picture?) talk non-stop to each other and we can hear every word--it is that quiet.





This peacefulness is in STARK contrast to New Delhi (an any other Indian city). And it is only now (10 days after arriving) that I am capable of writing. India is very chaotic and, to quote Val, "an assualt on one's senses at all times". We were both here 24 years ago--mostly in the south and in the month of March. Different locations, smaller population centres, a little cooler, less people in the whole country, we had not spent 4 months travelling in Asia then, and we were much younger. That trip did not help me (or us) in dealing with New Delhi.

The stuggle is constant here for a visitor (and non-residents). Heat and dust; cows wandering along the streets, pooping anywhere and everywhere; croweded streets; no sidewalks; untold numbers of vehicles; half-limbed beggars (some on purpose); mothers with babes-in-arms begging; hawkers selling everything and anything; heat and dust; crowds of people; "spiritual" people trying to make a buck; no regard for anyone else; heat and dust; and loud noises everywhere. Did I mention "heat and dust"? In short, both of us were asking each other why we came to India at all.



Not to fear. We have found what we need. We are moving around Rajisthan with a car and driver at our beck and call for 2 weeks. This may sound decadent, but it is also somewhat of a struggle--more than one would expect or want. The roads are pretty bad and we need to deal with the driver who is trying to make a living. We were planning to travel to the west part of Rajisthan (near the Great Thar Desert) but have canned that idea as temperatures are in the mid-40s (C.) and the town of Jessalmeer is about 6 hours drive from our western-most point of Jodphur. We have also eliminated anymore large cities in order to focus on nature reserves and small towns until our return to New Delhi on April 23rd.

Val can tell you about the National Parks, the birds and the tigers. I will tell you about PPP and camel riding. Some of you may think that PPP stands for "Post-Pesach Party" in reference to our "Placenta Planting Party" of 1989 (Friends of Eitan and Avidan--ask them). Wrong. PPP stand for "piles of Poop Patties". I am not referring to the piles of poop on all streets here everywhere in India nor to the piles of poop that one hears from someone trying to sell us something. No, I am referring to actual "PPP" that are dried, stored and used as fuel. The pictures here show piles of PP that are quite common throughout India and are a major source of cooking fuel. They are created by hand. Need I say more?







CAMEL RIDING

Instead of going at 5 PM yesterday, I did somthing smarter. I went at 6 AM this morning and avoided the heat. Two hours and that should do me for a long time. It was nice and cool, quiet in the village and very quiet outside in the adjoining countryside (other than one instrument player who ruined the tranquility for 5 minutes). The light was good for photos. The ride was not uncomfortable and it was a pleasant change to be riding 3 metres above ground. Not quite a "bird's-eye view", but definitely different than my usually 168 cm. However, I cannot quite see why some people want to do this sort of thing for 4 days and nights out near Jasselmer in the desert in the scorching heat. This shadow picture here is actually me on the top of my camel. If you really want to see what it is like from a camel, watch the movie that I have not YET put on the site!