India tour beginsJan 13, 2010
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Fantastic temple...but no photos allowed
Lydia's pant covered legs still were too sexy, so cloths were provided.
The bulls pulling carts are everywhere, this cart was more decorated than...
| GETTING TO NASIK Yes, there was less traffic as we drove farther away from Mumbai, but the road also got narrower, and curvier, and more full of holes the further we drove. So there ended up being just as much swerving, braking and accelerating as in the city. The skill of the drivers is a marvel. By the end of three days I find myself starting to think "of course this is a good time to pass" when there is a bus coming head on. Still not used to the horns. It takes us five hours to drive out of Mumbai and about 200 km. The ride is almost continually up and involves switchbacking. The countryside is very dry, with clumps of small trees. We are surprised by the lack of agriculture. The people in the country live in shacks even more shacky than in the city. We see groups of women by every river we pass who are doing wash. We also see them carrying water and firewood on their heads. NASIK This is our first stop because the tour agent knew how slow it would be leaving the city. It is "one of India's most holy sites" due to a section of holy river called "Ramkund" (exile home of Rama, where he bathed with Sita). There are several pictures above. They don't really due justice as to how many people were around. The section of river is developed with cement sides and steps and many temples. We only walked about half the section. Most people were done their bathing for the day and were just sitting around. The water was thick and green like pea soup. There was also trash everywhere. Now, trash is everywhere in India, but this being a holy site, we thought they might try to clean it up. This is based on the immaculate state they keep their temples, both outside and in. However, THIS IS INDIA!!!, India in all its wonder. Bob said that he could leave India and feel that he saw the India of his imagination after seeing this site. SIMON'S BIRTHDAY Due to the uncertainty of our daily lives, we spread the celebrations out. One day he got his main gift (mainly because he saw us trying to sneak it home). Another day we bought a cake when we happened upon an European bakery. A third day we went to the movie Avatar. Finally, on his birthday he did get a few gifts that we had managed to sneak without him seeing. Unfortunately, his birthday was the driving day to Nasik, to be followed by another driving day to Aurangabad. So we splurged on a very nice hotel with extra's such as a swimming pool, badminton court, tennis court and ping-pong table. |
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