Deb and Dan's Trip: Mom & Dad Return to America

Dad writing-

We left Deb and Dan so they could recover from our hectic days and headed to Kerala, a State in Southern India. for several days. We have since left India and are now home trying to adjust to the cold weather and gloomy skies.

I want to provide several comments. First, thanks to Deb and Dan for playing tour guide. We owe you! Second, thanks for trying to keep up with us. Lastly, thanks for putting up with us.

When we arrived in Delhi, it was a really rude awakening. People every where; cows, dogs, goats and pigs roaming the streets. No cats, since cats that cross your path are bad luck. They are a very superstitious people. I was told that they take the cats into the woods. Also strong obnoxious odors! Cars, motorcycles, bicycles, trucks, buses and people all trying to maneuver on the road. Below is a typical street in the city. See all the food for the cows and goats. There is plenty more! The biggest problem is plastic bags and bottles. These animals don't eat them.

Early in a.m. pic from our hotel in Delhi.

I did notice that there must be few building codes that are followed.

Wires crossing everywhere.

We went to a Sikh temple in New Delhi. They feed lots of people for free. People volunteer to make sure there is food for everyone. Here we are making chipote. I'm sure Daniel will be making these when he returns to Hawaii.

Sweating while making chipote.

Sweating while eating Tali. (not at the Sikh temple). Hmmm, delicious!

Look ma, no utensils!

Ready for more excitement

We often used the auto-rickshaw for transportation over short distances (1-5km).

Deb would like to be transported in one of these. Dan needs to find another job to support her in the manner she would like to become accustomed to.

Typical street scene. This is in New Delhi.

There are many small shops in the various cities. Each has a specialty. This one sells clothe. The fancy silks are really worth seeing. When you enter most shops, you remove your shoes. I wore sandals everyday.

And another street in Bundi. Auto-rickshaw, bicycle, donkey and people. All moving around without crashing into each other.

From Delhi, we took a train to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. We had reservation for an air conditioned car, nice! Passenger trains are a common mode of transportation. You should have a reservation for the AC or sleeper cars. We also took an overnight train from Agra to Bundi. Just our luck, our car had the smelliest toilet. Every time we stopped at a station, the obnoxious odor penetrated into the car. The other trains we took were during the day.

Below are pictures of us at the Taj.

Bernie & Sharon at the Taj

Sunrise at the Taj

D&D at the Taj at Sunrise

We headed to the fort near the Taj, and saw many monkeys. Better stay away from them if you have food.

"Goldsmith's" parade, Bundi

Holy cow, batman. Watch where you are going!

As Deb said, we celebrated Sharon's birthday at Jodhpur. It started out with a typical breakfast of masala eggs, juice, toast, fruit, etc. And a birthday cake. We sang Happy Birthday. We were really not hungry, so Sharon cut the cake and we decided to eat it with lunch. Lunch was after our jeep ride.

After eating the B-day cake we sat around and chatted before going out.

Note the fledgling.

Sharon and I left Deb and Dan in Jodhpur and headed south to Allepey. Allepey, the Venice of India, is in the State of Kerala. We flew to Mumbai then hired a taxi to Allepey. Our plane which was suppose to leave Jodhpur at 2pm was late. We got to Allepey around 11pm, which was about 1-hour later than we thought. Below are pictures from Allepey. Note all the plants. It rained a bit every day. It was also around 90F and humid.