Well, I’ve been in the western region of Rajasthan for over a week now, but haven’t been able to get reliable internet access to post photos until now. I’m in Udaipur and will be for a few days until I fly south to Bombay to meet up with John and Liza once again. I’ve had an incredible time visiting the desert cities, they retain an Indian character while providing a very different atmosphere. Quite a few of the men here still wear the colorful turbins, and the women dress quite conservatively in colorful saris that cover the entire body, including the face. The Rajasthanis have a very distinct culture all their own, and coming here has impressed upon me yet again the diversity of India I’ve seen over the last 5 weeks.
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I just wanted to post a few last pictures I took after John and I returned from the tea estate a few weeks ago. I went for a nice long day hike around 4km from town and took some pictures as the sun set. I wanted to capture the way the buildings sort of cascade down the mountain sides. The last photo is of a Buddhist monastary just outside town.
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Sunrise on Kanchengjunga, third highest mountain in the world (from the roof of our hotel).

After our relaxed time in Varanasi, John and I continued east to Calcutta briefly, and then north to the Himalayas where we are now. Calcutta is a bustling city filled with crumbling victorian architecture. It was an atmospheric place that deserved more time than we were willing to commit. John is working on a freelance article about the tea industry so we were in a hurry to make our way north to Darjeeling and the tea estates.

I did spend an afternoon wandering around the city though, and found an old colonial cemetary where I took a few pictures which are included here.
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Some more shots from our week in Varanasi. We got up early one morning and took a boat ride up the Ganges, taking advantage of the morning sunlight to get some good photos.
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We’re in the ancient hindu city of Varansi now, aka Banares, Kashi, The City of Light. It’s by far the most atmospheric and alien cities I’ve visited in my lifetime, with Fez in Morocco and Gureme in Turkey close contenders. I’ve had a great time exploring the labyrinth of alleys in the old city, so narrow that the occasional cow causes a major traffic jam.
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We made our obligatory visit to the Taj Mahal and made a quick exit. Agra is a dump. Mix in some of the most persistent and annoying touts we’ve seen in India so far and you have a destination worth passing through quickly.

The Taj itself was amazing. We stayed a nice hotel in Taj Ganj, the tourist ghetto just south of the monument. There was a fabulous view from the rooftop restaurant.
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John and I arrived in Delhi yesterday by overnight train. We spent the day wandering through the old city towards the Jama Masjid mosque in the center. The old city is predominantly muslim and we arrived right at the end of Eid, the muslim holy day that corresponds to the stoning of the devil in Mecca for the hadj pilgrimage. According to the rules, everyone who can afford to do so must sacrifice a goat to Allah. The result of this was very visible in the maze of streets and alleys of the old city, with goat pelts, meat, and random goat parts visible pretty much everywhere. Most people were butchering the animals in preparation for the feast. A few merchants were selling the pelts, although i’m not sure what people use them for.
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I wanted to post a couple of pictures I took thursday before John and I left Bombay.
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I wandered off by myself after John and I visited the train station this morning. We had quite an experience trying to get reserved tourist tickets for the train to Delhi but that story will have to wait. Let’s just say I’ve had my first experience with Indian bureaucracy and it ain’t pretty.
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I’ve arrived in Bombay. It’s an overwhelming place and it should take me quite a while to come to terms with it. I’ll make my first unaided venture out into the unknown tomorrow. Up to this point I’ve been able to tag along with John and Liza without doing too much navigating myself. It’s pretty imposible to actually learn the layout of the city, the streets are a maze and everything is written in sanscript. I’ve been told to learn some basic landmarks and to wander around until I see them. I’ll have to see how that works.

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