Thursday, December 31, 2009

New Years Eve in Khajuraho

From Stacey In India
The ladies and I started the day off today in Orchha and took an early morning train to Khajuraho.  They say it was a 4 hour train, but it was about 5 1/2.  Eh, Indian Stretchy Time, they call it!  We got into town quite late in the afternoon and have spent most of the day trying to arrange travel to get us to the South (Trivandrum and the beaches) so haven't taken many pictures as of yet.  Will go around tomorrow from 9am-2pm seeing the temples and then we are off on a 2 day travel adventure (and by adventure I mean HELL!!).  8 hour car ride from Khajuraho to Bhopal, then a 29 hour train ride from Bhopal to Goa, then a 3-4 hour bus ride into Hampi.  FUN STUFF!!  So apologies in advance because I will not have access to update the blog or email anyone for a few days, but when I finally do I will actually be able to be in one town for more than one day, so I will really be able to update and email everyone.

Had a very mellow New Years Eve - it's 9:30pm and we are about to go to bed!!  Thought we might be able to stay up, but what's the point??!!  Had a wonderful dinner and Randi was thoughtful enough to buy a bottle of duty-free vodka at the airport so we had a couple mellow cocktails of sprite and vodka with dinner.  Will post pictures of the day and night today, along with more pictures of what we see tomorrow in Khajuraho in a few days.  Until then, Namaste!

Beautiful palaces in Orchha


From Stacey In India

From Stacey In India

From Stacey In India

From Stacey In India
So now we are in the beautiful small town of Orchha. It's incredibly nice to get away from the madness of Delhi and be in a small town where the locals look you in the eye and smile. We took an overnight train from Delhi to the town of Jhansi, outside of Orchha and it was quite the experience. It's high travel season now so the trains are really heavily booked so we are getting 3rd class - fine for a 4 hour trip, but not so great for an overnight. Poor Mel had the bottom bunk and everytime she opened her eyes there was a new Indian man staring her in the face or using her bunk to sit down. Asses and eyeballs in her face all night long!


In Orchha, we arrived at 5:30 am and just in time to hear the Muslim call to prayer over the massive speakers that go throughout the small village. Went back to bed for a bit and woke up to some sightseeing. The temples and palaces here are absolutely stunning, and we had a great time running around them and finding all the hiding places and secret stairwells. Mel and I climbed to the top of a mountain and found a small temple where a sadhu was waiting inside and he blessed us. Very cool!
Randi met a great local family who invited her into their home and she drank chai and had great conversation. I will say that of all the places I've traveled, the locals here in Orchha are some of the most warm and friendly. They all want to practice their English and the local children do not hesitate to talk to you and ask you questions. I have now told probably 87 children my birthdate, where I'm from, and if I'm married. People here are incredibly concerned with marital status. They appear quite relieved when I say I'm married, but then when I say no children (yet) they immediately want know why, what's happened, and how I've gone wrong. They are so genuine about it!
Off on an early morning train tomorrow to Khajuraho (the birthplace of the Kama Sutra).

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Delhi!!




So I finally made it across the world and am in Delhi. Holy cow!! There is really no amount of preparation that will prepare any traveler for what it is like in Delhi. You can prepare yourself that it will be dirty, busy, colorful, hectic, poor, wonderful - and yet none of those acknowledgments will prepare you for the sensory overload that is India. All of these things hit you at once and it's unlike anything I have ever experienced, and I imagine ever will.
You will be walking along the street and smell the most wonderful incense, and then almost immediately after, urine. It's amazing how it is at once the most incredible and most awful place.
I met up with Randi and we spent a good 3-4 hours walking around all of Delhi. I really got a good look at the city and it was nice to walk around after so much sitting. We decided it would be nice to take an auto-rickshaw to pick up Mel at the airport and she was very surprised, so that was nice! We went back to the section of Delhi called Pahar Ganj, which is where we had a hotel room to stash the bags. Went to the train station and got our tickets all sorted out for the next few days and leave tonight on an overnight train to Orchha. I am glad to leave the hustle and bustle of Delhi for a smaller town. Although, the next few days will be hectic in terms of traveling as we have a lot of trains and buses to get us to our next destinations of Orchha, Khajurajo, and Hampi.
Right before we headed out on the train, Mel, Randi, and I all got traditional Henna on our hands! It looks sooo cool and it was a fun thing to do all together. Mel got Henna on her palms, which looks amazing - however, it didn't exactly give her the mobility of being able to, say, pick up her backpack, hold a bottle of water, or close her palm. So we called her fudgy fists until it dried up. It was hilarious.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Not that anyone cares

But I'm waiting to board my flight to Munich now. More than anything I'm just looking to test my ability to write blogs straight from my iPhone!! My genius husband figured this out and I'm so excited to be so mobile while blogging.
Anyway, more exciting posts to come, so thanks for enduring my banal airport post.



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