Off to Bundi!

some kids dressed up for Dewali

This monkey is angry because we were taking pictures
of it's babies. we ran away right after this picture!


Last night we were invited to a family's home for dinner, and it was incredible! It was the old man from before that suggested the thali restaurant and his son's place. It was a traditional Indian family set up, the old man and his wife, their son and his wife, and their daughter. They taught me how to make a Rajastani specialty because I told them I was a cook. It was delicious. There were crusty tandoori rolls, a lentil soup type thing, and a little dessert. We had a blast. They really treated us like family. No wonder Indian hospitality is world renowned! They showered us with small gifts, and we looked at photo albums. Right after we had to catch our bus to Bundi.
Okay, it's time to come clean. India isn't all a walk in the park. There are a lot of bad things too. It is often very noisy with honking horns, people shouting, and now that it's Diwali (a really big festival), the occasional firecracker that sounds more like a stick of dynamite. Then there are the smells. Sometimes it smells like curry, sewage, and burning garbage all at the same time, oh and some incence for good measure. The people are a bit pushy too. They don't really have "waiting in lines" in India, it's every man for himself. These are all fine though, once you get used to them. Lastly, the really good restaurant I wrote about in the last blog, maybe wasn't quite the dream come true I thought it was. First Cara got sick, then last night on the bus I got sick as a dog. This isn't an ordinary bus, though. It was a sleeper which is more comfortable then the state run buses, but still not that comfortable. You lay down in a bed and the roads in India are so bad that you roll around all night. It feels more like you are on a little boat on a stormy sea. I was so nausious that I couldn't take it. I plunged my head out of the window. First I made sure to look towards traffic so I didn't get my head taken off, as they also drive like maniacs in this country. I won't go further into detail, except to say that the rest of the night was more along these lines. All in all though, the good definately outways the bad and I don't regret any of it. Besides, I guess you haven't really lived until you've had lentils coming out of your nose! sorry-ashby


This is a sleeper bus, the one that says TOURIST,
like a big bulls-eye!