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!