Finally Internet!!!

I wrote this two days ago... but Blogger was down... so here's the update:

Things have been very crazy since I left the beautiful mountains of Dharmasala!

We were in Delhi for a couple of days...

- We went shopping in the market... I always get a much more expensive price than Aditi so I've been practising my french by telling her what I want and then she buys and get's me a super deal! I got two pairs of earring for 75 Rs which is not even 2 dollars! I also got a beautiful red and cream Saree!

- We also went shopping in the malls which are kinda freaky because they are surrounded by barbed wire and every car is checked (including the trunk) and when you go in you go through a metal detector and there are security people that go through you bags. I keep imagining what this would be like if these procedures were inplemented at the St.Laurent Mall! It's scary and comforting at the same time... Shopping was good though! We got a manicure and a pedicure for about $12.50 too!

-We went to MacDonalds and I had a Maharaja Mac... basically a Big Mac with chicken instead of beef, super spicy mayo... oh, and they put tomatoes too!

-We also went to Qutab Minar which is the tallest tower in India... so beautiful... can't wait to share the picks!

-Oh, Anna, I have another fruit for you to check out at Pete's, look for Sweet limes... they are the size of oranges with green/yellow skin... they taste like lime but they are sweet like oranges... SO GOOD!

-We also did a day trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal... Absolutely breath taking!It is SO beautiful in person...


After Delhi we were off to the state of Rajasthan...

-We went to Jaipur staying in a hotel that was suppose to be finished being renovated but they only had one room ready... and it was less than a block from the railway lines where the train goes by every hour... I slept like a baby. I'm officiall okay with India noise... best part is that they didn't charge us because they were still renovating the place!

-We saw the Maharaja sun dials that used to set the time for all of India... it is acurate to within 20 seconds!

-We took an elephant to the top of a fort (so very cool!)

-One morning we had breakfast at McDonald because there were no other "safe" place to eat... so for the first time... I had a McChicken & fries for breakfast (they don't serve north american style breakfast at McDonalds)... not an experience I would like to repeat!

We went shopping with a bodyguard/driver (I swear parts of my trip I felt famous... little kids in the small towns come running to see the "white girl" and they wave and I wave back and then they run and get more friends to wave!) We got some crazy good deals on semi-precious gems for jewelery, silver, and stainless steel and we didn't have to carry our own bags! We have been so spoiled!

After two days in Jaipur we went to Deogarh... a stop over in the way to Udaipur and we pull up to this beautiful palace and Aditi and I are thinking... we can't be staying here... we had lunch and a massage and then we heard word that we would be not saying in the main hotel but another smaller one that has four rooms and was recently renovated... my mind immediately went to the last hotel and as we drove there in a jeep (it's difficult to reach by car) - into the middle of the dessert - I was convinced we would be sleeping in a tent or something! But we pulled up to the beautiful hunting "lodge" just in time to see the sun go down. Translated this place is called the pearl in the oyster because it is beauty surrounded by water and waterchest nut plants. This 4 room lodge was amazing... there was another person staying there from England that was paying (get this!) 1,500 Euros a night! We paid the equivalent of $80 CDN and that included our massage and all of our meals... It was completely out of this world... we woke up at 6:45 to watch the sun come up... truely breath taking (I'm so running out of words to describe!)

We were only there for one night and we were off to Udaipur to seen the City Palace... neadless to say it was beautiful... it is a white hotel in the middle of the lake... we also took a boat to the island where the "guy" who created the Taj Mahal hid when his life was at risk... this is where he got the inspiration for the Taj Mahal.



After that we flew to Mumbai (and where I am now...)

-We say some very beautiful churches and we went to a Hindi temple and a Mosque... very interesting and very friendly... the mosque is out in the water and at high tide (we went at low tide) the people look like they are walking on water as they walk out!

-We also got to see the Gateway to India.


Ah... running out of time... off to Goa at 5am tomorrow morning... time to relax!