Our last stop was at Lucknow, a city of 5 million citizens. There are 40% Muslim, 40% Hindi and 20% of mixed religions. This city is a pilgrimage site for Muslims and there is a magnificent, gigantic compound of mosques, meeting halls and living quarters that were constructed centuries ago during the mogul rule of... Continue Reading →

This city of 4 million is the spiritual capital of Hinduism. There are a number of long-told stories of how the city was founded. One of the more popular ones is that Lord (now a God) Shiva started the River Ganges by unbraiding a section of his hair to get a knot free. How it... Continue Reading →

Darjeeling is in the foothills of the Himalayas and on a clear day you can view Mount Everest. This city is my favorite of all the places I've visited in India:Mumbai comes in second. The hillsides are covered with tea bushes and we visited an estate that processes organic teas. The bush is the "mother... Continue Reading →

We are traveling by van in the northeast corner of India--in the foot hills of the magnificent Himalayas. That means narrow roads, washed out areas and crazy drivers. I've learned my lesson and now I sit in the back of the van, put my i pod buds in my ears and I don't look out... Continue Reading →

The broadway play has really nothing to do with this city--the play was named for a nude French painting. That doesn't make it any less fascinating. The city had a name change in 2001and today is known as Kolkata. The city population is 4.5 million growing to 14 million if the surrounding areas are included.... Continue Reading →

It has taken several days with van, train and plane trips to work our way up the east coast of India along the Bay of Bengal. After a 13 hour overnight train we arrived at Hyderabad--an industrial and high tech city of about 9 million people. These are some pictures of a train (all the... Continue Reading →

We got into to the port city of Kochi and had three nights there because we were connecting with our new group and guide. I was soooo grateful because I had come down with a dreadful cold/cough that had been infiltrating our group. I only got out of bed to go to the pharmacy for... Continue Reading →

After our overnight train from Mumbai, we had three days at the beach in Goa. The season had not started yet so a lot of restaurants and beach cabanas were not ready for us. The Arabian Sea was pretty ruff with "red flag" warnings for riptides. Lunch was a yummy papadum (a cracker like baked... Continue Reading →

I do mean BIG! Twenty Two million people live in Mumbai. One view is of modern skyscrapers, high rise condos and a ton of construction cranes: Turn the corner and you can find tree lined streets with lovely blocks of attractive buildings and private homes. If I didn't know better I might think I was... Continue Reading →

The distance between these two cities is a overnight train but each seems to exist in a different century. India has 70% rural population with many living the same "ways of" their ancestors. If it were not for the tv dishes and motorcycles I would think I was "Alice and fell down a huge tropical... Continue Reading →