I flew in on China Southern Airlines, and I was pretty impressed. It's been a long time since I was on an airline that not only provided free food, but also free pillows, blankets, earphones, hot towels and wine or beer....all for no charge. Remember those days Air Canada? The food was decent too.
Some type of beef in gravy, but more importantly was the really good cheesecake for desert.
I watched 5 movies since I couldn't sleep, but I did have an aisle seat so I was able to wander a lot.
We landed in China at 2 AM to change planes, and we had to walk across the tarmac to get to the terminal, there were little patches of grass so I put a few tiny grains of my Miss Gypsy there. She is also in Machu Piccu and in the lovely grounds of the Taj Mahal.
The second flight wasn't as good, but still better than Air Canada, plus at this point I was just ready to be off of a plane.
I got my henna on the second day, and I had forgotten what a mess fresh henna makes. I left a mess behind me in Mexico and I left a bigger mess here. Damn Canadians.
This was when it was fresh, so you can see it's almost 3D-ish. I had it done in the evening so that I could sleep and have it dry by morning. Well, of course it "sheds" as it dried and I was like a lizard leaving its skin behind....little bits were all over the bed in the morning. Looked like someone had tossed a bag of dirt in bed with me. And it was all over the bathroom floor as well, I was glad we left that hotel that morning. The cost of this was a whole 200 rupees, which is just less than $4. And it lasted almost two weeks, it actually got darker for a few days before it started to fade.
School is not compulsory here. The government is trying to make people realize the importance of education and they provide a free uniform for kids and free meals in order to encourage poor families to send their children, but many (too many) parents prefer their kids to "work" by selling trinkets and flowers on the streets. Some kids I spoke to had no desire to go to school at all, one little boy hopped on the bus as it was stopped, did a few magic tricks (he was really very good, had a great spiel and involved the passengers) and probably got 1000 or more rupees in tips, probably $25 or so. He said he would never go to school, he didn't want to, because he could never make this much money anywhere else. He'd then hop off the bus, take a tuk-tuk back to where he hopped on, and wait for the next bus. They don't understand that what is cute at 10 yrs old, isn't cute at 30 or 40. You look at these kids, especially little girls, and wonder what their future is.
Some kids though, are desperate for an education, and many of them desire to travel. They're all interested in Canada and the snow, I had a bunch of photos of our recent snowmaggeden, and they were astounded and amazed.
Love this picture! This little guy was in trouble for not doing his homework, so he was sitting on the temple steps copying his friend's workbook. Kids are kids, no matter where!
We had two sisters on our bus who both spoke punjabi, as well as our guide, and another couple too, so we were able to ask lots of questions and get lots of answers. Plus, I learned how much work it is to unwrap, wash, and rewrap a turban!
This is Joe, and he was awesome! He and his wife are from Surrey, and were revisiting India. He spent a lot of time talking to young kids, they were fascinated by him because they could actually see how a person from India could succeed with an education, move to a new country and yet still retain their identity. Every time the bus stopped and kids were there, he'd be down on his knees, talking to them. When the trip first started, he and his wife were very quiet, but it didn't take long before he was dancing the aisles.
Literally. Dancing in the aisles. This man has all sorts of good karma around him.
You see the swastika symbol all over the place here and as I'm sure you all know, the swastika was a symbol of good luck, prosperity, long life and many other postive meanings for thousands and thousands of years before one of the most dispised men in the world turned it into a symbol of hatred. (I did mention to some people that I met that they should google the artist Manwoman, so this is just a reminder to them)
One of my favorite souvenirs is this tile that I bought in an incredibley smelly, dirty street. One of those streets that was so full of winding, narrow alleys that branched off into a warren, a literal maze. Honestly, if one lost sight of your companions for a moment, you could be gone forever. The crowds and noise and cows and dogs and children were totally overwhelming. I mean, those of you who know me, know how I get lost and turned around even in a hotel, never mind the slum streets of India. You're lucky I'm even here today.
The little elephant has a wee baby elephant inside of her, all carved from a solid piece of stone.
My roommate and I got along really well. We had never met prior to this trip, which is odd because she lived in Fernie for years, and knows a lot of Stevens family very well, she's lived here in Cranbrook for years too, and we have a lot of friends in common, Steven actually knows her husband quite well through hunting, yet her and I had never met. I think we got along so well because we are both prone to foolish adventures.
We were in one hotel room where the taps turned the opposite (to us) way for off and on. We arrived at the hotel, quickly washed our hands and ran out to check out the land. When we returned, we stood at the door and could hear a trickling, watery noise....we looked at each other in horror and struggled with the lock (oh my god, some of the hotel rooms had locks that were positively medieval) only to open the door and find water pouring all over the floor. Of course you just have to laugh and be thankful that the the floors were marble and not carpeted, and also that the room was on a bit of a slant so that the water didnt flow into the rest of the room.
The key for this monstrosity was as large as the padlock and we were only allowed one, which made for thoughtful decisions when we decided to do separate things. Do you lock and hope that the key-holder is back first? Or leave unlocked and hope no one burgles you? Or, odder yet, if one decides to go to bed while the other goes out, do you lock the door so that no one sneeks in and robs the sleeper? Well, that makes sense, but then the sleeper is locked in and will perish in a fire should the place burn down. We just decided to hope for the best and leave it unlocked. There were three places like this. I became the key-holder since my roomie was an early-to-bed girl, and I was not. Too many stars to sit under, and warm breezes to enjoy.
Another night went to have dinner, I had ordered a noodle-type dish and as we waited the waiter brought bread and two dishes; one with oil and one with balsamic. We were dipping our bread and we both thought the balsamic had an unusual taste, and the oil was thin. The waiter came over frequently to ask if everything was ok. We were almost annoyed at him as he hovered nervously. When they brought my noodles, he sadly asked me if I would like more soya sauce and vinegar for my dinner as he gestured at the now empty "balsamic" and "olive oil" dishes! Bahahahahahaha, we laughed so hard that my stomach hurt. Rednecks. Can't take us anywhere.
So by about now we have arrived in Udaipur and check in to yet another fabulous hotel. I think I'll talk about hotels next.
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