Agra
Our first and best experience with south Indian food. Our best experience with lime soda. Oh, and I guess we did go see the Taj Mahal.
First a little note about our journey. On our drive we passed through a rather incredible stretch of countryside. I managed to not be able to take any pictures, so here's a description: the land was filled with canyons, but they didn't seem like water made canyons. They were all about ten meters deep with really steep sides. Nestled into these canyons and cliffs were small huts and fields. The ground was a dull deep brown, darker than most soil we'd seen, but still with that dusty dullness that seems to permeate the country. The fields however were a deep rich green, crisp and clean with new growth. Really stunning. The whole image was really striking and may form one of my clearest images of this trip. Another interesting find was a truck stop. It was a bit different from ours... Really just an open kitchen, some rather questionable facilities, and a hose for truck cleaning. Indians really put a solid effort into keeping their vehicles clean. Mahaveer always welcomed us each morning with a positively spotless white car. Pretty incredible really.
Our arrival in Agra was interesting and sad. We said our goodbyes to Mahaveer, not realizing how much we were going to miss having him around. He was heading home, so we wished the best to him and his family and checked into our hotel. We had made a pit stop on our way into the city, we stopped at a bird sanctuary. There were a lot of storks, we rented bikes and rode a long way around the park. It was neat.
Back to Agra, we checked in then went off in search of some food. We read about a little south Indian spot, and since we were a little tired of north Indian potatoes, we decided to check it out. It's called Lakshmi Villas. It was just a bit down the road from the main bazaar, and that little bit was the darkest, sketchiest stretch of road we'd been on so far. Scary stuff. We turned back and asked for directions twice (we found out the next day that the building that filled the sketchy space in-between was in fact a government building...). This was our first introduction to Dosai. A Dosa, for those of you who are unfamiliar, is a thin rice-flour crepe, which is filled with whatever you choose (I recommend the masala, but there's onion and loads of others) and served with curd and sambar (which is kind of a soup for dipping). When we first came in to Lakshmi Villas, our helpful waiter served us the best lemon sodas in India, then gave us a suggested meal. It was amazing, we had a Masala Dosa, a Rawa Masala Dosa (made with semoline, not that we know what that is, or how to spell it...) and Rice Idlies. It was almost more than our mouths could handle, it really floored us. We went back the next day for lunch. After that lunch we wandered down the wrong road (this would not be the last time we were lead astray by the abysmal maps in the Lonely Planet) and after putting ourselves right, we witnessed a street fight. As we made ourselves scarce, we heard (far behind us don't worry) what sounded a lot like gun shots, then there were a bunch of ambulances headed in that direction. We never confirmed it, but still pretty scary stuff. Then we were at the Taj. Well, we were at the first set of gates. Loads of touts, but they all seemed to be waiting for other (probably bus) tourists, and we were mostly left alone. We strolled down through the grounds that surround the complex that the Taj is in and made our way to the ticket gates. There we found out that it would be 1500 Rupees for us to get in, three times the usual rate. Which isn't surprising, what fool goes to India and doesn't see the Taj Mahal after all? Not us, but we didn't have enough money on us, so we had a nice walk up to the bank and back. After which we discovered that we were really close to the closing time, so we mad every minute count. It really is a colossal building, all the pictures that you see of it have to be quite far away in order to get the whole thing in, so you kind of lose perspective. Other than that, it's just like it looks in pictures. The inside, which is a no photography zone, is hollow, all of it. It is a tomb, and the beauty in there is really something you have to witness for yourself if you can. Sorry to build you up for a let down like that, but that's the way it is. After that, nothing special until we left for Orccha. Except that I tried to buy some shoes, which is impossible, I'm a 45 here and no one carries anything bigger than a 44. Bummer.
So we almost missed our train. I set the alarm and forgot to turn up the volume... Oops. We only made it because the train was late. As a result, we skipped breakfast and sat on the platform hungry for about an hour... That sucked, but was I going to learn from it? No. It just happened on our last train ride too. Anyway, after a really pleasant ride through the countryside, during which we were fed and given some tea, we arrived in Jhansi. There we found a nice little man with lauren's name on a sign. He was the agent it turned out and took us to our driver. Our drive likes the simple things. He loves to drive fast and honk. In the first twenty minutes of our ride I think he easily passed the one hundred honk mark. After a hair-raising ride (he had a habit of passing on blind crest/corners) we got to Orccha. We'd been told that it was a pleasant little town, with a temple and a fort. Turns out it's a nice fort and temple with a village. The fort was massive! We never did go in it, but it dominated the view along the southeast side of the village. The temple was equally grand and sat further away from the town along the river. We spent our day there exploring, we walked up to the top of the hill to rent bikes, found out that there were none left, then strolled over to the river then up to the temple. The river was amazing. It was our first really happening body of water in India. There was a lake in Jaisalmer, but it doesn't really count, it was pretty dried up and murky. This river was doing all the things that healthy rivers love to do. It was rushing, tumbling, roaring, splashing and generally reminding us what it was like to be near to the life blood of the earth. We loved it, we sat watching it for almost an hour straight without talking much, just taking it in. The temples were neat, but we couldn't go in them as they were being cleaned up to be a proper site to visit. Our hotel was also under renovations, which wasn't very nice. It also had a mosque nearby, and the four until seven morning prayer session, was an exercise in sleeplessness.
Next up: Khajuraho
Calm. I think that that's the best description that I can give to Khajuraho. Oh, and sexy. This is the home of the erotic temples. Apparently a lot of the temples in India had erotic carvings, but the Mughals came along and tore them down. Word is that these ones were so remote that they stayed hidden for a really long time. Talk about sweet movie set ups: "there is a legend of great temples hidden in the remote jungles of India. Lost to the world for hundreds of years they no doubt hold countless treasures, but can our hero overcome the dangers of the jungles to reach them? And if he does, will he be defeated by the other, more sinister dangers, of the temples themselves?"
Well, I'm no Indiana Jones, but I made it through...
Our ride was a scary as the one before, and we happily said goodbye to our speed crazed driver and checked into our hotel. Other than the Guests Are Not Allowed To Do Laundry In Rooms sign, it was great. They even offered yoga! That turned out to be a bit of a bust, get Lauren to tell you that tale... I've got a great tale to tell though. We went for a bike ride! We borrowed bikes from our hotel, and headed out to see the eastern temples. They were neat, but as we'd been warned they pale in comparison to the western temples. Which is why we did them first. Halfway we picked up a nice little kid who showed us the way to the other temples, he was really a quick rider. He booted off before we could give him anything for helping. We turned that ride into a loop back into town for a snack. Then we decided to ride to the falls nearby. First I'd like to describe our bikes. They were easy-riders. Long handlebars that curved back to be parallel to the bike, a front wheel that was so far out in front the turning radius was a few meters, and the brakes were reversed. Oh, and most important, they were one speeds. Also, mine didn't fit me... So, after a long uphill to start things off we headed into some rolling country. Rolling hills are normally ok on a one speed, you build up speed on the downs to deal with the ups. However, these bikes aren't the most reliable and building up speed takes a bit of nerve. This workout lasted for 18km. Upon our final arrival at the falls we discovered a crucial difference between Canada and India. In Canada falls stop when they freeze, but are otherwise a year-round kind of thing. In India, there's a dry season. Yup, the "falls" were in fact just a big canyon. We took some pictures and a good long rest then headed back the long weary ride to town. On the way school was out and a bunch of kids tried to sell us pens...?
I think that's enough for this post, time for bed.
Just kidding, the temples are beautiful, but unfortunately mis-hyped. They have some naked people and general eroticism, but we think that the focus for the hype should be on the beauty and intricacy of the work. The detail of the carving all over the temple is astounding, and the naked people only take up a few panels on the temples. The rest of the carvings depict levels of karmic ascension, from gods down through the castes, to animals and beyond. I took lots of pictures. We also saw a neat bird in the complex. It was black with almost neon blue feathers on it's back and down it's tail. Fantastic.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Rajasthani pt.3
Lauren puked in the car. Mostly on herself, but a bit got on the seats. Mahaveer said it wasn't a problem, it happens most trips... I guess that explains the seat covers. When Lauren got back in the car he asked "feeling better?"
"yes"
"enjoying your dream vacation?"
I'm going to warn any of you that might be treating this as some light reading with a meal, or perhaps are thinking that you'll zip through it quickly on your way out that this is another epic entry.
We believe that the meal with the eight ???brothers may have been a touch contaminated (I was fine, but I've been having a bit of a better run of things than Lauren since then, so maybe my system's better equipped). That morning we left the hotel a little bit late so Lauren could get some more sleep. I had a dish called Upma for breakfast, which is couscous and veggies. Mahaveer was happy to leave a little later, turns out that a lot of his close buddies were driving the same loop with us and it was their last night all together. Needless to say he was a little bit haggard that morning...
The end of the pukey drive was Jodhpur. I bought some incense, then we went to the hotel and Lauren crashed. I sat on the rooftop patio and enjoyed another great fort view before strolling through the twisting lanes and alleys to the market and back. The Jodhpur fort is the tallest and biggest (there's a lot of one-upmanship in fort building) in Rajasthan. We never made it up to the fort, but I had a great night drinking with some swedes that were on a temporarily parallel run through the area. We'd seen them before, but never really worked ourselves up to introduce ourselves. Seems like swedes are like canadians in that respect, don't want to impose. They were from the same area that Lauren spent time traveling in, they found this funny because it's a tiny spot.
After Jodhpur we headed to Udaipur, and finally left the desert. The drive into the mountains was great but I forgot to charge my camera before we left. So, if you'd like an in-depth description you'll have to get me to read it to you from my book. I'm quite proud of my writings, some verge on prose if I say so myself. Mostly I'm just amazed that I've managed to record every day (I'm writing this in Nainital, and I've filled over 27 pages, and I don't think I missed a day). Regardless, the road took us through a bunch of small villages and farms on top of the mountains, and finally joined with a large four lane highway that runs out of Gujarat, which is the state that Gandi's from. The highway was neat. They kind of punched it through the hills, with little regard for geography. As a result, the the road changes each year as the monsoons cause different parts to be buried or swept away. We were passing through at a safe time, but Mahaveer mentioned that it can be a really risky ride at times.
Udaipur was lovely. It was a place for homesickness, realizations, dissapointment, and joy. The lakes are straight out of James Bond fame. Man-made, filled with stunning sunsets, and oozing wealth and garbage. This last one became a constant theme for our trip. But really, a feel of old money put to the purpose of lasting beauty.
So that's the joy taken care of, on to the disappointment: this was our first bad hotel. First off, mosquitoes. I guess we should of expected that in a lake city... However, you would think that the hotel owners would've thought of it too. No screens, and the windows didn't shut tight (In hindsight it was a great room, but we were naive). Also the restaurant made us both feel a little off in the belly region. We've learned to avoid smoky kitchens with black walls (no, really?).
Next up, realizations: I think it was here we realized that India wasn't living up to our expectations. Not in a bad way, but just that it was a far cry from the images we'd created. More on that in the final post. I feel we'll end up doing an "observations on India" post at the end. We also realized that we were really getting sick of sightseeing, it's not something that either of us do for fun on a regular basis, so it was hard for us to replace our usual pastimes with it.
Finally, homesickness: we missed North American food. We are both eaters. I feel most people reading this will know that, but for those who don't, there it is: we are lovers of food. Rajasthan (and we would find the rest of India as well) suffers from an excess of potatoes, fried foods and veggies cooked beyond all recognition. I am saddened to tell everyone that on average we ate potatoes for two and a half out of three meals a day. Lauren would like to point out that vegetable prices are at a record high in the country and our findings were north indian specific. Regardless, all that combined with our inability to trust the uncooked greens, made for hard times. The result was that we found a German bakery called Edelweiss, full of European feel and foods, and moved in. They had espresso coffee and fresh baked, whole grain, breads. In comparison India offers white flour breads and instant coffee (usually made as "milk coffee" a sweet, creamy beverage that serves more as a version of hot chocolate than the elixer that I was pining for). We loved it.
We did do a bit of touring around in Udaipur, but in a lower key fashion. No guide and we only did what we felt like doing. Again, there's some pictures and a better description if you want more.
I seem to be making good time with this entry, so I'm gonna try and push on through to the end of Rajasthan.
Next up: Pushkar.
This was to be our "expensive" night, a night to be Maharaja and Maharani, to revel in the lifestyle of the rich. Turns out that means more space and cleaner walls. An interesting side note on the indian hotel industry: When you pay more, you get EITHER a softer bed OR more space, rarely both. So, armed with this new understanding, we headed into town. We ate at a place called Sixth Sense, which is in the hotel Seventh Heaven. I'll be honest, I wish we'd stayed there, apparently you need to book well in advance, and I can understand why. It was a thing of beauty. Haveli style, rooms surrounding a courtyard, but modern enough to be clean, not drafty and bug proof. The top floor housed the restaurant and some plants that streamed over the railings and fell almost the full four floors to the ground. The kitchen was on the ground floor, so, other than your drinks, your order was thrown down in a bag on a rope and then your meal arrived by a clever pulley and box system. Just an extra touch onto an already fantastic spot. The food was really awesome, there where local organic farms paired with local cafes, which is relatively unheard of in Northern India.
The rest of Pushkar was intriguing. It's the home of the only Brahman temple. As a result it is an extremely holy spot. Which oddly enough seems to have resulted in the development of a strong resident white population. You can kind of see the evolution of the hippie as you walk the streets. From the older folks, who really gave me the vibe that they'd found what they were looking for, to the new age. All told a dirth of dreds. Also, if any of you have been to the Black Market in Halifax, you'd recognize a lot of their wares in Pushkar. At the same time as being a magnet for the hippie population of the western world, it's also a strong pilgrimage site for Hindus, although we didn't see much because we weren't there during any holy days. Lauren was still sick and I needed a break from people trying to sell me things, so we didn't go into town much.
Next up: Jaipur
This is the capital of Rajasthan. Not as clogged or as massive as Delhi, it still has that sprawling feel that you get from the non-religious cities. We had a great hotel, good breakfast and a fun time wandering the streets. We also went out to Amber fort, I did some snake charming, and we climbed a mountain instead of touring the fort. It was funny, I kinda felt like we were breaking the rules...
We also went to a spot that makes clothing, the famous "any colour, any cut" kinda thing. Some of you have the results of this trip, and I hope they fit.
Our next drive was to Ranthambore. The famous tiger reserve. On our way we came across (or rather they crossed our path, really slowing us down) an interesting creation called Johgards. Typically, but definitely not restricted to, jeep wheels, chassis and brakes combined with the steering, engine and gearbox from large trucks, these mongrels require no license, registration or insurance. As a result they are restricted to farms. Unsurprisingly I saw them passing as taxis, freight haulers and runabouts. It's a bit chaotic driving in that part of India. Fortunately the road was a strip of asphalt approximately the width of a car that dissolved on either side into the dirt, so no one was driving particularly fast.
Ranthambore. Tigers. Leopards. Deer. Peacocks in trees.
We saw them all.
There's not much going on in the town, really just the reserve and the tourist houses. Mahaveer was on vacation, rocking the sweatpants, sleeping in and not washing the car. It was great! His cousin Vinod was also at the resort, so we stayed up both nights with them, learning about Indian whiskey and laughing fit to burst. They're a funny duo.
That is the end of Rajasthan, but I guess I'll give you guys a little bit more info on the big cats.
First of all, tigers a really big, it's hard to consider what that means, but next time you're near a house cat (except Zoe, she won't really give the right mental image) imagine it's the size of the couch it's probably sleeping on. Consider if you will, the weight of an animal that size. Next, I invite you to remember that tigers, despite their size, retain all of the feline grace, speed and power. We never saw the tiger mover much, but when it did you could see what it was capable of. Truly dumbfounding. To add to the majesty that was strolling through the undergrowth, a leopard was sitting in a tree above the tiger (and as a result, above us). Now, I'll admit, I was in awe of the tiger, so I didn't really give the leopard it's full due at the time. It was further away though, and with the tiger there it wasn't going to climb down anytime soon. Apparently the leopards rule the cliffs, and the tigers rule everything else. Every now and then a leopard will push it's luck and come down into the tiger's domain. We were fortunate enough to be there for it. The stalemate would last until the sun went down, so we didn't stick around. As for the peacocks, there was one poor guy stuck in the tree with the leopard. Talk about a rough day. I don't think he could get down while the cats were aggressively pretending not to care about each other. As we continued on our merry way we saw some deer; large jungle deer, and smaller spotted deer. One looking like the offspring of the other. We also saw some Kingfishers. Not the blue ones that grace the labels of India's oh so refreshing beer, but a larger darker variety with bronze heads. We had opted for the morning tour, so it was cold. By the time we got back we were ready for a hot shower and some food. Then, our last night in Rajasthan.
"yes"
"enjoying your dream vacation?"
I'm going to warn any of you that might be treating this as some light reading with a meal, or perhaps are thinking that you'll zip through it quickly on your way out that this is another epic entry.
We believe that the meal with the eight ???brothers may have been a touch contaminated (I was fine, but I've been having a bit of a better run of things than Lauren since then, so maybe my system's better equipped). That morning we left the hotel a little bit late so Lauren could get some more sleep. I had a dish called Upma for breakfast, which is couscous and veggies. Mahaveer was happy to leave a little later, turns out that a lot of his close buddies were driving the same loop with us and it was their last night all together. Needless to say he was a little bit haggard that morning...
The end of the pukey drive was Jodhpur. I bought some incense, then we went to the hotel and Lauren crashed. I sat on the rooftop patio and enjoyed another great fort view before strolling through the twisting lanes and alleys to the market and back. The Jodhpur fort is the tallest and biggest (there's a lot of one-upmanship in fort building) in Rajasthan. We never made it up to the fort, but I had a great night drinking with some swedes that were on a temporarily parallel run through the area. We'd seen them before, but never really worked ourselves up to introduce ourselves. Seems like swedes are like canadians in that respect, don't want to impose. They were from the same area that Lauren spent time traveling in, they found this funny because it's a tiny spot.
After Jodhpur we headed to Udaipur, and finally left the desert. The drive into the mountains was great but I forgot to charge my camera before we left. So, if you'd like an in-depth description you'll have to get me to read it to you from my book. I'm quite proud of my writings, some verge on prose if I say so myself. Mostly I'm just amazed that I've managed to record every day (I'm writing this in Nainital, and I've filled over 27 pages, and I don't think I missed a day). Regardless, the road took us through a bunch of small villages and farms on top of the mountains, and finally joined with a large four lane highway that runs out of Gujarat, which is the state that Gandi's from. The highway was neat. They kind of punched it through the hills, with little regard for geography. As a result, the the road changes each year as the monsoons cause different parts to be buried or swept away. We were passing through at a safe time, but Mahaveer mentioned that it can be a really risky ride at times.
Udaipur was lovely. It was a place for homesickness, realizations, dissapointment, and joy. The lakes are straight out of James Bond fame. Man-made, filled with stunning sunsets, and oozing wealth and garbage. This last one became a constant theme for our trip. But really, a feel of old money put to the purpose of lasting beauty.
So that's the joy taken care of, on to the disappointment: this was our first bad hotel. First off, mosquitoes. I guess we should of expected that in a lake city... However, you would think that the hotel owners would've thought of it too. No screens, and the windows didn't shut tight (In hindsight it was a great room, but we were naive). Also the restaurant made us both feel a little off in the belly region. We've learned to avoid smoky kitchens with black walls (no, really?).
Next up, realizations: I think it was here we realized that India wasn't living up to our expectations. Not in a bad way, but just that it was a far cry from the images we'd created. More on that in the final post. I feel we'll end up doing an "observations on India" post at the end. We also realized that we were really getting sick of sightseeing, it's not something that either of us do for fun on a regular basis, so it was hard for us to replace our usual pastimes with it.
Finally, homesickness: we missed North American food. We are both eaters. I feel most people reading this will know that, but for those who don't, there it is: we are lovers of food. Rajasthan (and we would find the rest of India as well) suffers from an excess of potatoes, fried foods and veggies cooked beyond all recognition. I am saddened to tell everyone that on average we ate potatoes for two and a half out of three meals a day. Lauren would like to point out that vegetable prices are at a record high in the country and our findings were north indian specific. Regardless, all that combined with our inability to trust the uncooked greens, made for hard times. The result was that we found a German bakery called Edelweiss, full of European feel and foods, and moved in. They had espresso coffee and fresh baked, whole grain, breads. In comparison India offers white flour breads and instant coffee (usually made as "milk coffee" a sweet, creamy beverage that serves more as a version of hot chocolate than the elixer that I was pining for). We loved it.
We did do a bit of touring around in Udaipur, but in a lower key fashion. No guide and we only did what we felt like doing. Again, there's some pictures and a better description if you want more.
I seem to be making good time with this entry, so I'm gonna try and push on through to the end of Rajasthan.
Next up: Pushkar.
This was to be our "expensive" night, a night to be Maharaja and Maharani, to revel in the lifestyle of the rich. Turns out that means more space and cleaner walls. An interesting side note on the indian hotel industry: When you pay more, you get EITHER a softer bed OR more space, rarely both. So, armed with this new understanding, we headed into town. We ate at a place called Sixth Sense, which is in the hotel Seventh Heaven. I'll be honest, I wish we'd stayed there, apparently you need to book well in advance, and I can understand why. It was a thing of beauty. Haveli style, rooms surrounding a courtyard, but modern enough to be clean, not drafty and bug proof. The top floor housed the restaurant and some plants that streamed over the railings and fell almost the full four floors to the ground. The kitchen was on the ground floor, so, other than your drinks, your order was thrown down in a bag on a rope and then your meal arrived by a clever pulley and box system. Just an extra touch onto an already fantastic spot. The food was really awesome, there where local organic farms paired with local cafes, which is relatively unheard of in Northern India.
The rest of Pushkar was intriguing. It's the home of the only Brahman temple. As a result it is an extremely holy spot. Which oddly enough seems to have resulted in the development of a strong resident white population. You can kind of see the evolution of the hippie as you walk the streets. From the older folks, who really gave me the vibe that they'd found what they were looking for, to the new age. All told a dirth of dreds. Also, if any of you have been to the Black Market in Halifax, you'd recognize a lot of their wares in Pushkar. At the same time as being a magnet for the hippie population of the western world, it's also a strong pilgrimage site for Hindus, although we didn't see much because we weren't there during any holy days. Lauren was still sick and I needed a break from people trying to sell me things, so we didn't go into town much.
Next up: Jaipur
This is the capital of Rajasthan. Not as clogged or as massive as Delhi, it still has that sprawling feel that you get from the non-religious cities. We had a great hotel, good breakfast and a fun time wandering the streets. We also went out to Amber fort, I did some snake charming, and we climbed a mountain instead of touring the fort. It was funny, I kinda felt like we were breaking the rules...
We also went to a spot that makes clothing, the famous "any colour, any cut" kinda thing. Some of you have the results of this trip, and I hope they fit.
Our next drive was to Ranthambore. The famous tiger reserve. On our way we came across (or rather they crossed our path, really slowing us down) an interesting creation called Johgards. Typically, but definitely not restricted to, jeep wheels, chassis and brakes combined with the steering, engine and gearbox from large trucks, these mongrels require no license, registration or insurance. As a result they are restricted to farms. Unsurprisingly I saw them passing as taxis, freight haulers and runabouts. It's a bit chaotic driving in that part of India. Fortunately the road was a strip of asphalt approximately the width of a car that dissolved on either side into the dirt, so no one was driving particularly fast.
Ranthambore. Tigers. Leopards. Deer. Peacocks in trees.
We saw them all.
There's not much going on in the town, really just the reserve and the tourist houses. Mahaveer was on vacation, rocking the sweatpants, sleeping in and not washing the car. It was great! His cousin Vinod was also at the resort, so we stayed up both nights with them, learning about Indian whiskey and laughing fit to burst. They're a funny duo.
That is the end of Rajasthan, but I guess I'll give you guys a little bit more info on the big cats.
First of all, tigers a really big, it's hard to consider what that means, but next time you're near a house cat (except Zoe, she won't really give the right mental image) imagine it's the size of the couch it's probably sleeping on. Consider if you will, the weight of an animal that size. Next, I invite you to remember that tigers, despite their size, retain all of the feline grace, speed and power. We never saw the tiger mover much, but when it did you could see what it was capable of. Truly dumbfounding. To add to the majesty that was strolling through the undergrowth, a leopard was sitting in a tree above the tiger (and as a result, above us). Now, I'll admit, I was in awe of the tiger, so I didn't really give the leopard it's full due at the time. It was further away though, and with the tiger there it wasn't going to climb down anytime soon. Apparently the leopards rule the cliffs, and the tigers rule everything else. Every now and then a leopard will push it's luck and come down into the tiger's domain. We were fortunate enough to be there for it. The stalemate would last until the sun went down, so we didn't stick around. As for the peacocks, there was one poor guy stuck in the tree with the leopard. Talk about a rough day. I don't think he could get down while the cats were aggressively pretending not to care about each other. As we continued on our merry way we saw some deer; large jungle deer, and smaller spotted deer. One looking like the offspring of the other. We also saw some Kingfishers. Not the blue ones that grace the labels of India's oh so refreshing beer, but a larger darker variety with bronze heads. We had opted for the morning tour, so it was cold. By the time we got back we were ready for a hot shower and some food. Then, our last night in Rajasthan.
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