Hit with a blast of homesickness. Here's a list of things I miss in random order
Tim Hortons.
Girl Guide Cookies
Pepto Bismal
HDTV
drinking water out the tap
trashcans on the street
bubble tea
sushi
beef (surprisingly hard to find :S)
high heels
short shorts (Hot country. Conservative culture. Why.)
pasta
my car
my cell
my friends
my love
hot showers (I get a bucket of warm water and a jug. Gets the job done, but I miss showers none the less)
my comforter
dim sum
fro yo
puffs plus with lotion
washer and dryer
microwaves
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Money
some lady sleeping next to a stray. I just thought it was an interesting composition.
Aaah money. Trish was taking a photo of this cleaning lady with the hallway all lit up because we thought it looked lovely. Anyway, she turned around and gave Trish a big smile so we were pleasantly surprised.We thought 'oh, what a nice lady!'. So we said thanks and went on our merry way and then we heard 'money' behind us. We turned around and she was saying 'money. Money. How much money? You have money?'. We were incredulous. So we apologized and told her no we didn't have any money.She wasnt too pleased but I'd only taken visa with me. So what could I do. Oh well
Same story with the snake charmer above her. I'd taken this photo from some way off but I think he saw me and he stood up and started playing louder.Then from the distance I heard 'money!'. Good grief, these people. I ran.
The queen's garden witht the winter palace behind me
th path the elephants travelled along
the windows the princesses used to stand by. They'd shower down flowers when their kings and princes returned from wars.
Amber palace 2
More from the Amber palace. These are photos of the winterpalace. The mirrors were meant to reflect heat so that the royal family stayed warm in winter. I couldn't get photos of the palace temple. Anyway we went there while the priests were doing service.I noticed a few stains on the marble but didn't think to much of it. It was only when we came out that our tour guide told us that it used to be a temple to Kali and back when the moghul emporers ruled, they made human sacrifices to her. Really wish I'd gotten a photo. Oh, no sarifices there now though. People only leave flowers.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Amber Palace
Because this post is really overlapping I guess I'll have to do the Pink City in a separate post. And split up the amber palace into two parts. In case you were wondering, yes. I did get to ride an elephant. And yes it was fun :). I'll update tonight and tell you more.
more to come on Amber palace
more to come on Amber palace
Rajestani villiage
These were taken in Rajestan on the road to Jaipur. We passed through this small villiage on the way to the water storage ruins. The people there seemed really nice but we didn't have time to talk to them. I managed to get a photo of the women. Most of them were very modest and covered their faces though.
spot the pig!
the blue tint is my window. I didn't have time to roll it down fully when I took this pic. Anyway, there were a ton of camels in rajestan. We actually saw a few camel herders but I wasn't fast enough to snap a photo. It kindof reminded me of back home in Bahrain.
spot the pig!
the blue tint is my window. I didn't have time to roll it down fully when I took this pic. Anyway, there were a ton of camels in rajestan. We actually saw a few camel herders but I wasn't fast enough to snap a photo. It kindof reminded me of back home in Bahrain.
Jaipur
Adding a few pics from Jaipur. Feeling very sick though. India for me has been the land of indigestion and stomach ache. I'll share a bit with you guys then go to bed. I'm going to try and sleep this off.
This is me and Trish at umm...I never actually got the name of the place. Deepak just called it 'the water storage plant'. So when we got there and saw these gorgeous ruins we were blown away. This was our first stop in Jaipur and it didn't disappoint. The ruins were indeed the remains of an ancient water storage system started by emperor...I think it was Akbar. I'm not sure though. At the very bottom is a lake that is still accessible. It collects rainwater and is also an access to a spring. What you can't see in the pics is all the wild parrots that live there. The whole area echoes with bird calls. The only downside is the smell. As you get closer to the water you smell it. Sadly it hasn't been maintained very well and the water at the bottom has gone fetid. It reeks of bird feces. Dad didn't make it all the way to the bottom. He just gave up. We made it pretty close but nobody wanted to get close enough to touch the water. If you could smell it, you'd understand why. There must be three hundred years of bird-poop floating in there. Anyway, enjoy these shots. Compliments of me. All the beauty without the smell.
This is me and Trish at umm...I never actually got the name of the place. Deepak just called it 'the water storage plant'. So when we got there and saw these gorgeous ruins we were blown away. This was our first stop in Jaipur and it didn't disappoint. The ruins were indeed the remains of an ancient water storage system started by emperor...I think it was Akbar. I'm not sure though. At the very bottom is a lake that is still accessible. It collects rainwater and is also an access to a spring. What you can't see in the pics is all the wild parrots that live there. The whole area echoes with bird calls. The only downside is the smell. As you get closer to the water you smell it. Sadly it hasn't been maintained very well and the water at the bottom has gone fetid. It reeks of bird feces. Dad didn't make it all the way to the bottom. He just gave up. We made it pretty close but nobody wanted to get close enough to touch the water. If you could smell it, you'd understand why. There must be three hundred years of bird-poop floating in there. Anyway, enjoy these shots. Compliments of me. All the beauty without the smell.
Delhi
I'll have to upload pics of Delhi later because unfortunately they wouldn't fit on my usb key. My pics aren't amazing though, and to be honest neither was my experience. When first landing, I was hit by a blast of heat. If you know me, you know this is a good thing. I love heat ! Can't say I was disappointed. It was nice and hot, even at night. Even after a...what was it....13? 14? hour flight, I thought it was lovely. That lasted a few seconds though as immediately after I was hit with a blast of smell. Ahahaha, yay India.
Mom and Dad had hired a driver to take us around India. Anyway, I was very surprised when instead of loading our bags into the car he tied them on top. He explained that there was no room in the trunk. He was right. The van was compact. Anyway, I think Deepak (our driver) was the best investment our parents ever made. Driving in Delhi is madness. It's like the rules of the road are mere suggestions. People drive whichever way they feel like down one-way streets. We had headlights coming straight at us on several occasions. Pedestrians don't follow signals. Well, there are no signals. They just run into the road and you have to swerve to avoid them. People on motorcycles are much the same. They sortof do whatever they want. Deepak says there's a saying in Delhi. It goes 'good brakes, good horn, good life'. Truer words were never spoken.
Our hotel in Delhi was fantastic. It was called the 'amber hotel'. Gorgeous place. Marble bathrooms. Beautiful furniture. Really. Really. Clean. Stark contrast to the city outside. I knew that India had it's share of poverty but I really wasn't prepared for what I saw. People were living in such filthy conditions. I can't believe humans live like that. Old women were working on the side of the road cutting stones. Dad says that the government is trying to keep everyone employed so instead of using machinery they use manual labor when possible. It keeps everyone fed. I can understand that but to see women and kids working like that...it just broke my heart. I think that was the feeling I came away from Delhi with. Intense sadness. It's so overpopulated. And dirty. And poor. I think it's possible for you to enjoy Delhi if you can look beyond the poverty but I just couldn't do it. It wasn't a good experience for me. It did however leave me feeling intensely grateful for my life in Canada and extremely, extremely homesick.
I'll edit this post and talk about Delhi more later. I'll also add some photos.
Mom and Dad had hired a driver to take us around India. Anyway, I was very surprised when instead of loading our bags into the car he tied them on top. He explained that there was no room in the trunk. He was right. The van was compact. Anyway, I think Deepak (our driver) was the best investment our parents ever made. Driving in Delhi is madness. It's like the rules of the road are mere suggestions. People drive whichever way they feel like down one-way streets. We had headlights coming straight at us on several occasions. Pedestrians don't follow signals. Well, there are no signals. They just run into the road and you have to swerve to avoid them. People on motorcycles are much the same. They sortof do whatever they want. Deepak says there's a saying in Delhi. It goes 'good brakes, good horn, good life'. Truer words were never spoken.
Our hotel in Delhi was fantastic. It was called the 'amber hotel'. Gorgeous place. Marble bathrooms. Beautiful furniture. Really. Really. Clean. Stark contrast to the city outside. I knew that India had it's share of poverty but I really wasn't prepared for what I saw. People were living in such filthy conditions. I can't believe humans live like that. Old women were working on the side of the road cutting stones. Dad says that the government is trying to keep everyone employed so instead of using machinery they use manual labor when possible. It keeps everyone fed. I can understand that but to see women and kids working like that...it just broke my heart. I think that was the feeling I came away from Delhi with. Intense sadness. It's so overpopulated. And dirty. And poor. I think it's possible for you to enjoy Delhi if you can look beyond the poverty but I just couldn't do it. It wasn't a good experience for me. It did however leave me feeling intensely grateful for my life in Canada and extremely, extremely homesick.
I'll edit this post and talk about Delhi more later. I'll also add some photos.
Hello
Hi guys,
so I've been meaning to tell you all about my adventures in India, but I feel that without pictures I can't do it justice. So I'm starting a photoblog. I wish I could have done this day by day as I went, but I've been unable to get a steady internet connection until now. So these first few posts will have to be a retrospective. Here I go.
so I've been meaning to tell you all about my adventures in India, but I feel that without pictures I can't do it justice. So I'm starting a photoblog. I wish I could have done this day by day as I went, but I've been unable to get a steady internet connection until now. So these first few posts will have to be a retrospective. Here I go.
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