Hello, or Namaste as they say in Hindi!
Joni, Michelle, and I are nearing our forth and final month here in India, and I am embarrassed to say that this is only my SECOND group e-mail. How did this happen? I’m not sure exactly, except that this traveling lark is a bit time consuming, so much to do and see, and the whole of India to discover in only a few short months. Still, it’s no excuse. A few weeks ago, as we were trekking through the hot Rajasthani sand on our way to the Jaisalmer desert festival, I remarked to Michelle that this trip is like one big, long day. There’s so much to tell, and yet how did it get to be three months from the time I last wrote?
Monday, February 9, 2004 Travelogue: Excerpts from past impressions and experiences in India (see the first travelogue segment we posted)
Rajasthan, Northern India
“The desolate country – this state is almost entirely a sandy waste…” This is how Jaisalmer’s Palace Museum describes the northern desert-smeared state of Rajasthan. The temperature has dropped remarkably and I, like every other tourist, have succumbed to wearing shawls (i.e. blankets) around town to keep warm at night. Our noses are sun burnt red and our lips chapped by the blazing hot daylight sun and contact lenses are an impossibility here in the land of ‘fine desert dust floating through the air.’ Spring is on its way but as we’re traveling north, so the cold gathers.
Hello everyone!
Joni, Michelle, and I have finally reached the peace and solitude of the Cardamon Hills in the state of Kerala. We have settled for two days in the town of Munnar, with rows and rows of tea plantations nestled on huge mountains. Munnar is a hot spot for honeymooners from Bombay and a welcome respite because it is about 30 degrees cooler than our last several destinations. Even in the center of the town, horn blowing is kept to bearable minimum and auto exhaust only sometimes gets in your line of smell. It is relaxing, and I am enjoying it.
