International Highway to Nepal

Saturday, July 27

We boarded the bus in Varanasi at 5:00 in the morning to get out of town before the traffic got insane.

It was 200 miles of the most horrible highway--a rough road full of giant potholes,
huge trucks (here they say "lorries") going in both directions. Many lorries were parked on the side of the highway. they may not drive in cities in the daytime.
Motorcycles were weaving in and out of the narrow traffic lanes.
There were people on bicycles and  pilgrims walking along the side of the road.
Many children were walking to school.


It was too stressful to watch so we entertained ourselves by reading, braiding hair and playing charades.

Marissa and Chris French braiding Audra's hair.
'

A truck playing music for the Pilgrims who were
walking home after collecting water in the Ganges.

Pilgrims with decorated float carrying 

Statues of Lord Shiva.

Notice the bare feet. 

They have been walking for days without shoes.

Cows in India and Nepal Are the Best

In India and Nepal,
COWS ARE SACRED
They received this special status because they gave milk which was necessary for life

After leaving Delhi, where the cows are not allowed on the streets, we have seen many, many great cows.

Stopping in to see what's to eat.

Dinner in India

Cow with pig companion enjoying some green leaves.

Walking down an alley in the Silk Area of Varanasi.

Sarnath, Site of Buddha's First Sermon

Afternoon of July 25
Traveled by auto about 20 minutes out of Varanasi to Sarnath.
In the 6th century B.C. Buddha preached his first sermon here after receiving Enlightenment.

Sapling of the Bodi Tree where Buddha
received Enlightenment.
The original Bodacious tree was located in 

A "stupa" built by the ruler Asoka in the 2nd Century
to mark the place where Buddha preached his first sermon.

A statue of Buddha in the Tibet Temple located in the same area as the stupa.

Ganges in the Evening and the Early Morning

Evening July 24 and early morning Friday, July 25
Our train arrived in Varanasi about noon and we walked a block to our hotel.
Porters in rickshaw so carried our bags. (Thank goodness)
We all checked in for a much needed bath and rest time

In the early evening we went on the wildest auto ride ever
To the Ganges River.
The Ganges is the most holy river in India.

Ganges River at Sunrise

Picture for Audra's Mother. Audra ( far left) looks like a model.

According to the Hndu, it is the mother goddess and was created by Lord Shiva himself.
Gants (stairs) go down to the edge of the river for people to bath or dip in the water

Residence going down to the Ganges

Leaning temple on the edge of the Ganges

Offering flower petals to the Ganges. A little votive light was in the middle .
These tiny lights flickered all over the rive.

Over Night Train to Varanasi

After a long day of visiting temples and a school, cooking class and paper making, we took an hour ride to the train station.
On the way we stopped at a market to buy snacks for the 11 hour train ride.
They had kinder Eggs in the tiny market.

Train station in the early evening.
It was super busy.

After getting settled In our assigned births, the train pulled out of the station around 10:00.
Each passenger gets one pillow, a blanket and two sheets.

In our compartment, the bunks were stacked three beds high.
I was lucky to get the bottom bunk.
A very large Indian man had the top bunk.

Each of the compartments were painted
Different  colors.

View outside.my window when we pulled into Varanasi.

Making Paper from Rags

Yes, I am still on the same day.
After a very delicious lunch of freshly made Indian food,
We traveled by auto to the Paper Making Factory.

Rags waiting to be sorted and hand shredded.

Finished sheets are stacked between sheets of muslin.
Next the water will be compressed out.

Hanging up to dry, large black and white sheets of paper.

Cooking Class

After our wonderful school visit, we walked a short distance to the home of our Orchha guide.
Inca's wife, Rajni's had a cooking school in her home.
We started off the class making Dosa.

The dosa are being fried in soy oil.

Cooking puri on the electic cook top.

Private School in Orchha

After visiting the Palaces in Orchha, we had the opportunity to visit a private school.
The school is for first through eighth grade.
All students buy their uniforms and workbooks.
Twenty-five percent of the students get to go free because of their parents' income.

This class is learning to write in Hindi.

The older students classes were located upstairs.
Four classes in one large area separated by the yellow curtains.

Beautiful Hindi teacher

 School ended about 1:00 and everyone headed home. Most walked or got a ride home
In a jeep. Many of the older students had bicycles.
Notice there are no carpool lines..

Six Palaces and Twenty-Two Temples

July 23
Orchha - Six Palaces and twenty-two temples in one location.
In the morning we we're joined by Inca, tour guide for the palaces and temples.

View of more palaces from palace window.

First palace was a baja mahal or king's palace.
Built by

It was built by the king of the region in 1531.

View from king's apartment.

The paintings on the walls of the queens and kings rooms are still intact after almost 500 years.

Palace number two was built as a gift for Jeringer, the fourth Mughal ruler.

It took 20 years to build the palace.

He came to Orchha for only one night.

Carved elephants greeted the king when he arrived at the entrance.

Palace number three was built for prince. It is now the site of a luxury hotel.

Train to Orchha

Early morning, July 24
Took a train to Orchha

We sat in the first class train.
This meant we had air conditioning and comfortable seats.
Economy car has only wooden planks for seats
and is very, very crowded.

Orchha is located in the district of Madhya Pradesh and has a population of only 10,000 people.

I think there was a cow in Orchha for every person.

Cow greeted me as I walked through around the cenotaphs
In the early morning.

Our hotel was right on the river and across the road from Cenotaphs.

View of river from hotel garden.

In the background is one of 14 cenotaphs
Each one dedicated to a ruler of Orchha.

Baby Taj early in the morning

July 22
At 6:30 in the early morning Susan and I took an auto to see the Tomb of l'Timed-Ud Dailah.
Called by many the "Baby Taj."

Mr. Prim, experienced auto driver in Agra

The tomb was built by the wife of Mughul ruler Jeranger to honor her father.

White marble on the outside, the inside was frescos of vases, trees, flowers, tea cups, and saucers.

We were the only people there at this early hours.
The ticket man and a few pigeons.

Frescoes of blue flower vases were in  little  notch all over the inside.

At the Taj

Monday, July 21

What more can I say.
This is a picture that I took at the Taj Mahal in the early evening.

We took turns taking pictures in front of the Taj Mahal.
Not a bad place to take a picture.

COLOR IN INDIA

Sunday, July 20
Today was the day for color in India
We started the day in the old part of Jaipur where every building is painted this beautiful "pink" color
And outlined with white.

Facade of the Palace of the Winds.
Royal ladies watched happenings in the city from behind screens.

We next went to the Amber Fort

Where we were greeted in the parking area by a snake charmer.

The cobra is following the motions of the musician.
Mrs. Herrick you would have loved being here.

The amber colored fort was built over Man Singh I in the late 16th Century.

Love the 20th century wires on the 16th century
Fort.

Bus trip to Jaipoor

Saturday, July 19
We boarded a wonderfully comfortable bus for the eight hour trip to Jaipoor.

Walking along the highway were streams of men carrying triangular water carriers.
It is the month Kawaaar when Shiva is honored.
The men were walking barfoot, going to Yamura River to collect water.
Retuning from the river, they will carry the water to Varanasi and pour over a statue of shiva.

After an hour on the road we pulled into McDonalds.
Yes, I did say McDonalds and they do have Happy Meals.
And the toy was a Ninja Turtle skate board.

Ron Sharma it was too early
 in the morning for a spicy 

After 7 hours on the bus we pulled into the beautiful city of Jaipur.
We took a rickshaw ride to the movie theater to eat popcorn, drink coke and see a Bollywood Film.