Back home--but blogging "virtually" from India via cyberspace...

Amazing and lovely people, so gracious and full of grace...

Ironic that the only place I actually got on line was on the flight coming home courtesy of Lufthansa....

India was everything and anything--a feast for all the senses all of the time --the sublime and the ridiculous--awe-inspiring temples, people with such warmth and generosity, the smell and step of dung, stray cows, dogs--goats on beaches, a string of "toilets" that would make any truck stop on 1-95 blush.

A list of three three that any traveler needs:

1) Roll, rolls, and more rolls of toilet paper--plus the capability to squat deeply, aim directly for the hole in the ground, and not pee on your feet.  If all can be done simultaneously--you earn a degree--though which degree is debatable...

2) Snacks.  All kinds.  Dried fruit, chocolate--junk foods optional.  Don't know when you'll eat and where--banana leaf meals were excellent as was most of the food--problem is--our wimpy Western stomachs prefer bland and white food groups....So snacks can come in handy.  So do TUMS. 

3) Lastly--AN EXTRAORDINARY SENSE OF HUMOR.  When a hotel employee or person says "NO PROBLEM," be prepared for a BIG problem.  If someone says "Internet will be working today" that means, "Internet will be working never."  If you ask for water and someone says, "Coming," it really means, "Good luck. No water, never."  A  laugh, patience, and just being grateful in general keeps a gal happy no matter what the circumstances.

Here are some pic previews--though more to come when I iron things out...

Handsome guides a bonus--Radhakunda Das, Barry Silver, Yoginder

Extraordinary decorations

 

Other bonuses... and more on trip and locations after jet lag wears off!

FINALLY IN INDIA!

Okay--it's taken me FOREVER to actually GET ON LINE anywhere in this country--which is the reason for the radio silence.

INDIA.  What can I say?  First, off, I miss Lufthansa--they are much more efficient. At least when you push your "call button" someone appears instantly (a stewardess) and offers you something.  Here, no one appears and you never get what you order anyway--least of all electricity.

But there is no snow here so that at least counts for something.

Hotel Guest in Chennai

Here are some feasts for the eyes....I hope.

The weather here is around 85 degrees and sunny all the time so that's a plus.

Witness the beach and palm trees..

Outside of hotel room

There have also been some very unusual sights from the temples and people on the street, all of which I am posting since they defy any kind of New York explanation.  Suffice to say that the concept of "hurrying" does not exit here nor does the concept of the very famous "New York Minute."  India is very much like Ireland (minus the climate of course) in that (like they say about Ireland) "When God created time, he created plenty of it."  In other words, no one here is neurotic which can be quite lonely but perhaps refreshing.

Some more unexplained India images that speak for themselves..

Hare Krishna Temple in Chennai

Shiva Temple

Temple Entrance at Night

Temple Devotees and Beggars

None of this would be complete, however, without the Neurotic Traveler having been transformed or having received "darshan" at the temple.   Hence, the crazy and final picture of me with the Shiva insignia painted on my head by the temple priest--a red dot in the center--actually a smudge--to signify that I received the priest's blessing.

Did he know what he was getting into??

Will post more pics when and IF I can--onto more festivals, more crowds, and more wild INDIA.

Ah, Lufthansa!.

Neurotic Devotee of Shiva