I had a great trip to Khajuraho the other weekend. I saw many hindu temples known for their erotic images carved on the outside. It was incredible to see these things in shuch good shape after 1000 years.  Since many of the temples were dedicated to Hindu Gods, I had my friends explain some of the basics of the Hindu Religion and about the gods.

 We also saw some water falls on the Ken River. Because it is rainy season the river was so high and the falls were huge. We also made it to Panna national park, where there were some smaller falls that we were able to play in. I was stopped by a TV crew doing a special on that area. They interviewed me about my experience at the falls. So I was probably on TV in Madhya Pradesh!

On the way home we ran into a wedding party. It was great to see how they celebrated by dancing in the street. Two characters with painted faces came up to our car and started messing with us. I thought it was fun and wanted to get out and dance, but the consensus of the car was to drive on through. Either way it was still great to witness this type of cultural celebration.

Also, since we were driving on roads, i noticed that roads in Madhya Pradesh were quite a bit better than roads in Uttar Pradesh. Each state is dependent on its own government for public works like road condition. I could see that the UP most not put much emphasis on road improvements.

Bhutan: the Land of the Thunder Dragon

The country is heavily influenced by Tibet. It is a buddhist country and has some of the same asian customs. But they also have their own customs and such a sense of pride in their country. They claim that 80% of the country is untouched. I stayed in phuntsoeling, which is right across the border of india, then drove six hours to the town of Paro. We stayed there two nights and then flew out to delhi. (We saw Mt Everest from our plane!)

Paro was a simple farming town, with rice fields everywhere. farm houses scattered the valley with a huge river running through. There was a little downtown area with some shops. We actually got to tour inside an old farm land and farm house. It was interesting that the first floor was the stables for the animals and the top floor was for storage. They also have temples inside their houses. Everything was simple. very little furniture and wooden construction. They gave us fresh peaches picked off a tree. He also showed us how the marijuana grew wild and said that he would feed it to the pigs so they would go to sleep!

Archery is the national sport. We went to the range in the evening and watch the men play a game. the targets are so small and placed 180 meters away! they all use compound bows bought from the U.S. Also the food was great! We ate at some hotels that make food for foreigners but also ate at some tradional bhutanese places. They eat beef and pork!! i had bacon and sausage! they also have a great dish of asparagus in cheese sauce, and also a spicey dish of hot peppers in cheese sauce. They drink black tea like crazy. one day i think i had five cups before 2 in the afternoon! The place is also obsessed with dragons (like many asian countries). It is called the "druk"  They had druk images and carvings everywhere.

Tourism is a growing industry there. Any foreigner other than indian has to book their visit through a travel bureau. The travel bureau issues a guide to the party and takes care of all the traveling, food, and lodging for the entire trip. We went during the rainy season (we got lucky to have sunshine when we were there) so there were not a lot of other tourist, but we did meet a few.

We took a hike up to a temple embedded in a cliff side. This was called the tigers nest and we where the buddhist guru that brought buddhism to Bhutan first meditated. It was so beautiful up on the mountianside, and the temple was very interesting, we were able to see some monks performing a prayer ritual for the king.

Overall it was a great trip and much different than traveling in India.

 namaste

It was a busy couple of days. I visited Lucknow on Saturday, and left for Agra on Tuesday and toured Delhi on wednesday. I spent the remainder of the week in Bhutan, which i will save for a seperate post. 

Lucknow, the capitol of UP, was a great place for a day trip. We went to an old fort/palace that was had great defense architecture! In the walls was a gigantic labyrinth of tunnels. From several places the tunnels would come to a window where you could see the gate or inside. The inside of the building has a huge dome ceiling that claims to be the largest in India without supporting pillars. We visited another mosque and the british residency ruins. I also purchased a traditional lucknow style chikan shirt. My friends say it fits me well, like a real Indian.

Delhi is my favorite city so far. It seemed to be cleaner and better structured. We had a heck of a day visiting 6 sites in about 6 hours. These included the Jami Masjid (the largest mosque in India), The red fort, the India gate, Qutb Minar, Iron PIllar and Hunamayan's tomb. The most intriging was the iron pillar. From an engineering standpoint it is simply amazing that after 1700 years this monument has very little damage, corrosion, or rust.

 So far i think i have experienced every type of travel india can offer: rickshaw, autorickshaw, bus, train, car, airplane (all of which i have done with NON A/C and A/C) I have learned to haggle for corrected prices, and order food that i like in Hindi. I feel comfortable travelling and walking the streets (i had made a couple of friends when waiting at the train station for five hours) The weather cooled off for a stretch of rain, but it has returned to being hot. 

Namaste