Beyond...

England.....

What to say... England thrives with beauty running from gushing rivers, with moors on either side, to little farmers houses made of stone and their long vast stretch of green that comes along with a million sheep and cows. The occasional Gypsy Cob, 

Clydesdale or some type of warm blood or heavy horse but no sign of the elegant Riding Ponies , Thoroughbreds or Arabs. Brooks run along beside grazing sheep and little lambs bah to their mothers. Blue bells... soft bells lingering in forests 

and Roman bridges leading you over small rivers or big streams. Little deer running towards you then realising you are a predator and fleeing. Squirrel's bouncy grey tails bobbing in and out of sight. The sound of birds crowing, calling, whistling and cackling. Cold, hot or warm England is always beautiful. Castles and forts , lakes and rivers all the same. Everywhere there is something beautiful.

RMS

ABBEY

It was another long journey - from India to Leicester took us around twenty hours from when we left our rooms in Delhi till we pulled in at Uncle Tom's driving in our new home. The camper is great so far. She could do with a paint job and has a knock in the wheel if you hit a bump but the mechanic looked at it and said it was safe and would cause no damage. Its very compact and we may not like each other after eight weeks but hopefully we survive! Gerard's cousin Tommy met us at the airport and directed us to where the van was parked.

He had driven it down to London for us. We headed off and promptly got lost taking us straight into the centre of London just one block short of Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace. We were glad to see UncleTom when we finally arrrived. We had dinner and fell into bed.

Tom looked after us well. We out matched his energy only because there were four of us. I am sure he was actually glad to have his house back when we finally left! 

We stayed three days in Leicester while we fiddled around gettting set up to go. Its rather a funny place... little India they say. Indian restaurants on every corner and Sari shops every where else. And Indians! Well officially there are less British in Leicester than the total of other nationalities. Gerard's cousin Mark came back from his weekend away and we had a good time catching up... which really should have been getting to know him...since we only met him briefly twenty years ago but it was rather like we knew him all along. Could be that we exchanged so many emails while he looked for vans for us! Or it could be the family connection, or perhaps just cause there was lots more good chat about things in common - how minds work!! Gerard will tell you the story of having our car impounded but eventually we got on the road.

We headed to North Wales via Birmingham where I was born. In fact the A5 ran right past Sutton Park where my Grandad spent so much time gathering leaf mould for his garden and when he was young he swam in the lakes, and where he took us when we were kids. We swung into Kingstanding (where Nanny did her shopping), bought some lunch, drove up Collindale Rd said 'hi' to the house where I was born and then went to the Park for a picnic. The house and streets were much smaller and shorter than I remember – Grandad's front lawn was tiny!! But the park was the same. 

The big old oaks, the holly bushes, deep leaf litter and grey squirrels the wooded paths, the open park land, the little streams, people walking their dogs. There was even an ice cream van and we all had a cone with a flake!!

We made it to Snowdon National Park by dinner time had a meal at a pub and pottered on again looking for some where to stop. Eventually we pulled into a farm that, like everyone else had camping sites. It was ideal actually. The farmer owned all the land around mount Snowdon with many walks. It was very picturesque and the weather was absolutely perfect!!

Camille

Hi every one!

The last couple of weeks have passed very quickly and in the small amount of time we have done many things. Did someone tell you about the police man and our van? Well, I will tell you anyway!

We were driving towards a set of lights and Mum saw the police dude give us 'the look' anyway wee turned into the road and kept driving. The police man (Can I just call him cop?) on the motor bike drove next to us and asked Dad to pull over, so Dad did and the cop (cop sounds like he is bad so I'll call him PM police man) told Dad that the car was uninsured. Dad said,

“It is insured'.

He pointed at the French insurance sticker. The PM walked up and had a look.

Any way the PM didn't think that French insurance counted! At that point Mum, Abbey and I were all taken to jail!(Joking)

No we were not taken to jail but we did go to a Internet cafe and I answered some of my emails....

Ok anyway the PM took our van away! But we got it back! Dad has probably told you the rest...

After staying in Lester for some days we drove all the way to Wales and parked in a millionaire farmers camping ground! He owned both sides of the valley!

The Welsh country side looks quite barren from a car window but when you're actually in the grass you can see the little flowers and moss that is every where.

The day after we arrived we walked to Mt. Snowdon (The highest peak in both Wales and England).

 The path winded it's way through sheep fields and looked over a small stream. It was not as hard as Triund but it was still a challenge! Abbey and I walked slower than Mum and Dad and we enjoyed the views. England/Wales seems to me much older than any country I have been to. The crumbling hill sides, the old walls and ruins are just around every corner. It seem millions of years older - the land it's self, not just the ruins - every thing seems old! The height of the mountains gave us an all round view of the valley.

There is a train on Snowdon and I wished that we could have been on the train...!

We had almost reached the summit when something - maybe a bug - flew into my eye and I had to walk to rest of the way up with only one eye. We had a Hot Choc at the top and started the long and weary walk to the camper.

That night when we got to the camper there were millions of people camping in our once quiet field. We had Tuna Mornae it was so nice to have a home cooked meal.

The next day we walked to a lake with huge hills on each side protecting it from the noise of the train and the many cars. For the half an hour we stayed there Mum became a pro photographer to the extent that she started to move a old cows head all over the country side!

 Abbey and I waded in the cold water until we came on a stream that flowed into the lake. We stepped into the stream and our feet were frozen off our bodies. When we ran back into the lake it was comparatively warm!

Sitting on the side of the lake after having lunch I looked around and really 'took in' our surroundings. This place was so still, almost frozen in time (except for the men on the the other side of the river playing Coldplay and Beyoncé) cows grazed on the thick grass and sheep bleeted and Baahed. It is impossible to describe....

Well we have moved on now and have seen many different things in the past few days and if I had to describe them all it would take ages!

One of the fun things is 'wild camping', that is where you pull over on a stretch of grass beside the road and camp. 

We went on a walk on a reserve and saw our first blue bell woods! The trees towered high above the carpet of blue flowers, with a small wet land and even a deer or two (I didn't see one!) made our first wild night even nicer!

The next day we went to The Beatrice Potter Attraction. It was so sweet! There were models of all of her characters just like they are in her drawings! Hunca Monca, Peter Rabbit, Mr. Jeremy fisher and Mrs. Tiddlemouse! You could walk into their houses and some times if you looked up their was squirrel's perched on branches of trees! 

It was a little kids dream! So cute to see all of those fun little rabbits and mice etc!

We drove on to our next camping spot, on the way we stopped at an old roman fort and found out that IT IS SOOO COLD I AM FREEZING WHILE WRITING THIS SO YOU BETTER ENJOY IT!!!!!!!!!!!

this is our first opportunity to blog for like years sorry!

Write More Soon

Frances

P.S

When I had a shower the water was not even hot and my feet started to kill me because the showers water was toooooo hot for my poor cold feet! (that is how cold it is!!) BRRRRRR!

Hi there. Well, Frances told you a bit about the PM and the van. Turns out he was doing random rego checks and the van came up as uninsured! Jacqui and Mark helped sort it, and after a trip to Hinkley Police Station, the showing of insurance documents, we were provided with the necessary papers to release the van from the holding station. After that, and the 150 pounds impound fee (which we should get back when we put in the request....but of course its more complicated that that!) we were ready to roll.

The van just yesterday climbed up a high and twisty pass (two in fact) and we landed in the famous Lakes district. The land of Lakes is full of Wordsworth, Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit and Scar Feld Pike, the highest mountain in England, and spectacular walks and of course lakes. We intend to climb the Pike today, weather permitting. One of the passes we conquered, called Hard Knott pass, is the highest in all of England, with the steepest, tightest and most twisting bends...the guy at the van site said we were among the fortunate few to make it successfully in a camper! The other pass is called Wry Nose, and 'tis true that they both had my heart pumping as we negotiated the bends, the oncoming traffic (the road mostly a very narrow lane with multiple passing points), the especially once revving engine and sliding tyres, and relief as we reached the second 'summit'. But the way down from Hard Knott was even more twisty and steep! We definitely wouldn't have made it travelling west to east, as the descent from Hard Knott was soooooo steep as Frances would put it.

See you, Gerard

Wednesday we went to the Ranthanbore National park, renowned for its tigers. It is a 400 square kilometre park, a one time hunting ground for the Raj of the times, now a sanctuary for samba and spotted deer, antelope, peacocks, langur monkeys, sloth bears, leopards and 40 tigers. That's fifteen more than the park can hold, but of course India/the world is running out of space for these creatures so they make do, with the odd foray to a neighbouring safari hotel for a tasty tourist morsel... no not really, but they do leave the area and have been seen hanging around the hotels nearby. So many tigers for such a 'small' area makes for good lottery odds on sighting one, as well, this time of year the park is a hot dry desert so the animals are seen often at the few remaining water holes. After the monsoon in Novemberish the park is lush and tropical with abundant foliage and bird life and fewer tiger sightings. However, despite the odds in our favour we didn't get to see a tiger or a leopard or a bear although we saw the tracks of each. We weren't disappointed though, we saw plenty of the deer and monkeys and peacocks at close range and our main goal was to see India as nature intended it, before the billion human bodies reduced it to plastic bags and blasting horns. It was beautiful.

The jeep ride though the surrounding rural country side was a joy in itself, seeing the woven huts and cowpat stacks at close quarters with the motifs (not unlike American Indian or Aboriginal art) painted by the women for goodluck on the mud walls of houses and gardens. The fields are beautifully tended and there was no rubbish once we left the crowds. The park is rugged rocky crags and dry dead looking scrub that comes alive after the rains. The river beds are still holding some greenery, and the animals. It would be totally stunning to see in all its finery and without the heat. We began the 'safari' at 5.45 am and it was blistering by the time we got back to the hotel at 9.30am.

The girls swam in the pool till it was time to catch the train to Agra. Then we were on the move again...or not. The train was an hour late which meant we had to sit on the platform and wait. Just getting out of the rickshaw brought a rather large crowd which I tried to capture on camera but they get very excited by photos and all immediately began to pose... (and after, ask for money for the privilege of taking their photo!!!!).

Sitting on the platform was something else! As we walk some of the baba types will touch our feet and bow to us. Regular people want to touch our hands or have their photos taken with us - they are besotted with Abbey! But once we stop moving they just gather around and stare, the men and children openly, the women overtly. Pleasantly, I tried holding their gaze. They do so unflinchingly, but it is emotionally taxing to be so exposed... its easier to look away and pretend they aren't looking. As we sit so did they. If someone gets the inspiration to try their English I'll try chatting. Sometimes the conversation is limited to 'what country you from?' 'ahh, Ricky Ponting!'. Other times the speaker has a reasonable grasp of English. Often they want to be a brother, take your phone number so they can count you as their friend...The crowd immediately grows and presses in. Gerard goes to find out about train times, platforms, toilets... anything to avoid it. Frances feels like a monkey in the zoo. Abbey finds it amusing. It is interesting; taxing, but educational, a window into their world, their way of thinking. I have done some calculations, the price of things here is about ten times cheaper here than at home... but they earn about forty times less than us. It means that their cost of living is at least four times higher than ours. A loaf of bread for them would cost an Australian equivalent of$12 to $15 dollars, a kilo of rice $20. No wonder their thoughts are consumed by money, they see us as money banks(as our taxi driver told us). Never-the-less there are are many good people and opportunities to make connections that may never occur in Western countries.


The train suddenly arrived at the wrong platform. We leapt up and staggered awkwardly under our massive loads wondering which end of the platform our AC coach will be.

We arrived safely in Agra, negotiated a taxi with the skill of seasoned travellers and made it to our hotel around midnight. And what a hotel!!!! Many people had told us about the unpleasantness of Agra and Gerard didn't want to take any chances so he had booked us into The Gateway Hotel, a five star hotel straight out of Pretty Woman - all the stuff laid on such as welcome drinks while we checked in and so forth, plus a view of the Taj Mahal from our window.

We had another early start to see the Taj at sunrise. Into the tuk tuk by 5.30am and many stops along the way to buy tickets and so forth, each time there is the pressure to buy souvenirs or take carriage rides from dilapidated nags. It is rather impressive to see mostly stallions working together and standing together without a murmur. Is it that they have become accustomed to it or is it just sheer exhaustion?

Eventually we arrive, make our way through the east gate, and there she is, The Taj Mahal. So delicate in the soft light of dawn. It is truly the most beautiful creation, exquisite in every detail. Again I am awed by the capacity of humanity to achieve such wonders. Every detail so intricately manifested and so perfectly crafted. She is a swan resting in the quiet foliage of the surrounding gardens. Words cannot do it justice nor photos... it is to be experienced.

By nine the heat has set in. Delhi is having a heat wave at the moment. We head back to the hotel to a fancy breakfast and a day by the pool.

In the evening our tuk tuk arrived to take us to the Red Fort, where the creator of the Taj spent his last days overlooking the Taj, locked up by his son for fear he would bankrupt India if he was allowed to fulfil his obsession to build a black Taj to match the elegant white. I guess they could never guess how much tourism would be created...



From the fort we pressed on to see the Taj at sunset from across the river, in the gardens that were laid, along with the foundations for the Black Taj. It was quiet there but still, when the girls flopped down in the grass for a moment of countryness (after so many months of city living) they were immediately surrounded by adoring people wishing to have photos of their children taken with them. Gerard and I left them to it.

We picked up our luggage and headed off to the train station. This time the train was three hours late. We wouldn't get into Delhi until 3.00am! A helpful station guard rushed off and bought us tickets on a train that was just pulling in. We raced again to another platform and he directed us to our seats... chair class!! Neptune said we should try it all. So there we were after two lonnnng days in baking summer heat, with no AC, seated in the coaches that regular Indian travellers travel in. It was hot and noisy. The windows are barred but open so the rattle of the train and passing trains and the whooshing of the hot wind are all one can hear. We drank litres of water and the girls slept on our laps.

We eventually made it to our rooms that we had booked when we had visited with Nina and Judy when we passed through Delhi, sooo lonng ago. Well somehow instead of the two rooms we had requested we were in a 'dive'. A room with no window, no AC, no flush on the loo, only three single beds (complete with bed bugs) not even a tele. What a come down from The Gateway!! But still a fraction of the cost and all a part of the whole experience of India. We crawled into bed at 1.00am and slept till lunch time, helped by the fact we couldn't see a thing. We ate, packed our bags for the plane, walked around the neighbourhood, ate again and went to bed early and woke at 4.00am to take a taxi to the airport.

And so ends the India part of the journey. What an experience! So much we have seen and learnt that we can only touch on in these writings. We have visited it and lived it and it has been truly amazing. So from here to the beyond...

On The Road Again

 STOP PRESS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 

MICHELLE

(we won't mention that it is a pretty special birthday...)

So we leave with Sabu (our driver) with out breakfast... (well we had a apple pie). We look out the window of the car at the small houses and their slaving owners taking care of their babies and doing the washing at the same time. They are much the same as the slum ladies but they have built a warm mud house instead of a plastic tent. Its a long drive to Amritsa . I try to meditate by counting to ten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 …...10 times with out thinking about anything else. We stop at the place we stopped at the first time we arrived in Pathankot. We all had a disgusting mango shake and bought some bickies and chips for the way. To make a long story short we drove all the way to Amritsa. Then we arrived in our hotel which is paradise!

Only rich people go there ha ha ha . We had pizza for lunch and left for the Pakistani- Indian border.

We arrived and went through the checks to make shore we had no guns and stuff. Then we sat down and watched Indian people run with the Indian flag. I could not believe that there was a metal gate that separated India from Pakistan. The music was so loud and the Indians started to dance, it was lovely. The army solders did their bit. This is all happening while the Pakistan are doing their thing across the gate from India.. Once the Indians and the Pakistanis opened their gates and the two generals shook hands, they paraded around kicking their legs up down pathetically and stupidly, much like a rooster fight. They even had a head dress that looked like a rooster's comb and shook their heads and arms like roosters ruffle.
 After that Sabu took us back to the hotel where we had dinner and then he drove us to the Golden Temple which was beautiful and so peaceful. We watched Sihk men sing and say prayers. The one thing I did not like was I having to wear something over my head, it was so hot even at eleven o'clock at night. The rest was spectacular.

We sat for a while and watched fish swim past the edge of the holy lake. The day ended by hops in da bed and snnor snnor.

In the morning we had an egg and juice for breakfast;it was so good. We packed and Sabu took us back to the Golden Temple to see what the temple looked like in the day time . Again it was lovely. We sat and talked to some Indians who thought we were three angels (NOT DAD!) .

Next we went to Jallianwallah Bagh, which is where when Gandhi was protesting against the British Occupation, the British locked all the gates out of this court yard and shot the Indian protesters just to show they were bigger and stronger than the Indians. The protesters jumped down a water well to escape but the British still got them. There was little signs of blood but it was not just a well.

Sabu took us back to Pathankot to catch the train to Pushkar.

 our faithful stray who guarded us and our bags while we waited!

RMS

ABBEY

Abbey has pretty well described some of the journey to Amritsar, with the only things I want to add being the huge number of lorries that shed their tread on the roads as they ply trade across the continent; and I cannot fail to briefly mention the rash and perplexing way in which bus drivers transport their precious cargo; if they want to overtake, they overtake. On coming traffic (foot, bike, cart, lorry, military, other buses) just have to make do with the width of the road at the point of potential impact.

On our little road adventure the equilibrium of life was maintained for kilometre after kilometre, and we breathed a slight sigh of relief when we reached Chakki Bank, knowing that rail transport was somewhat safer, if we could only negotiate the platforms!

A man called Jurgen approached us whilst awaiting on platform 1 for the 20.00 hr Poojar Express to Ajmer. Turns out he knew our American budette Jeevita from McLeod; he had missed out on his wait list ticket on a previous train and so had booked a hasty general ticket on our train. Once aboard he negotiated an upgrade to AC Sleeper class 2 for his journey to Delhi. During the night we were awoken many times as various passengers clambered off at their destinations, or clambered on to their awaiting destinies. We emerged at Ajmer into a stifling heat. Armed with the knowledge of the price of taxi ride to Pushkar, we negotiated a fair fare and pressed on. After a brief misunderstanding, the taximan dropped us at the Horse Ranch and we settled into our new lodgings with the able assistance of mine host Marcos.

Pushkar is famous among many things for its fabulous blue holy lake, lapping at the steps of the only temple in the world for Brahma, the Creator. Yes, the only one (there is a Hindu story about that). Thing is, the lake is now empty. Two years ago, a committee was formed to place a tribute to Ganash, the elephant look-a-like God, into the lake - as is performed each year. But for a first (and last!) a large statue of Ganash was made from cheese, and some associated condiment... relatively huge for a cheesey construction (one tonne)....you can only imagine. Anyway, the statue sank and rested on the bottom of the lake, and 'melted', and hey presto, next day or so, the thousands of holy fish that inhabited the lake were all dead, to the very last one. Some of the fish were over a metre long, as there was no fishing allowed in the lake. So, three weeks before the annual Pushkar festival (a major festival on the Indian calendar, going for over 15 days) a putrefied lake greeted the town; stank it out. So the lake was drained and dredged to a extra depth of 2-3 metres, the fishy layer being removed first, and further dredging still continues. The dreadful smell slowly abated and the festival went ahead (truth is the smell would not have stopped the festival anyway!). Unfortunately Rajasthan experienced its second year without a monsoon and so the lake remained empty, and now it awaits this monsoon to fill...but the jury is still out, will such a major disturbance to the base of the lake allow its deliverance from a human-wrought 'drought'... Will Brahma forgive them the blasphemy of his lake or will Shiva, the Goddess of Destruction, maintain her new dominance over this sacred site? And who were the creators and approvers of this cheesey statue? In India acceptance seems to come as quickly, easily and indiscriminately as criticism or punishment, so, as they say themselves, 'who knows '?

`````

The stifling heat only slightly abated during the night, but at least we had access to a shower, water cooler and ceiling fans. In the morning we enjoyed pancakes and went for a walk to capture a view of Pushkar from a slightly higher elevation. We bumped into a Baba at his temple, and were duly enshrined into his entreating manner and lack of mystique! He offered our family a blessing, which we agreed to have the following morning (as Frances was still resting at the Ranch).

It is easy to see why all the Westerners head to Northern India at this time of year. It is so hot here, average summer temperature of 47 degrees, reminding me of our time visiting Camille's dad at Desert Hot Springs in California a few years back. Still, we are managing OK, drinking plenty of water, and staying within 27 or so degrees Celsius of being cool!

Gerard

Horses At Last!

YAY! After an over night train ride to Pushkar in Rajasthan, we walked into the gates of Shannau horse ranch, where we were greeted by a neigh from the resident stallion. The guy, Marcus was very happy to see us and lead us straight to our room. While Mum and Dad chatted to him I splashed my face with water and lay on one of the beds. There are four horses here, one chestnut mare, two paint mares and one grey stallion.

We (The Girls) looked at the horses. 

They all had the curved-in ears of Indian horses. The chestnut mare was kind of head shy and the older paint a bit grumpy. The stallion was friendly and so was the other mare. In India horses are valued by their colour and height. White horses are used in weddings all the time so they are most expensive. The stallion is maybe fifteen hands high but looks massive. He has real power in the front of his chest and neck. The stables are only three sided. The back and the sides are walled in with the front open to the yard. Bamboo poles stop the horses from getting out of their loose boxes,the walls are made of stone and concrete and look really old, the roof is tarp and bamboo.

The power just went off leaving us to the unmerciful heat of the desert. I can feel the sweat forming on my face and back of my neck.

The room we are staying is very plain compared with the hotel in Amritsar, but in a good way. All four walls are red brick and on one wall there is a painting of one of the Hindu goddesses with the Himalayas in the background. The roof on the inside is grass (It looks thatched) and on the outside there are slate tiles. Right now some tailors in the factory have a Hindi pop song on full blast to keep them awake; it is kind of intrusive, disturbs the peace...

Part 2

Today I woke up feeling sick and chucked up. EWWWW!!!

So after that lovely start to the day I had pancakes with Abbey and the rest of the adults. Mum, Dad and Abbey walked to some temple and they can tell you about that! I came inside watched the time ticking away (aka. I was BORED!). They came home just when it started to heat up. We had a very nice MANGO and then did maths. We had to do two maths today and I fell asleep before we could start the next one!

We RODE!

 

Marco's stable hand saddled up the paints and the chestnut Arejeey (RJ). He led the older paint out and waited till we had finished petting her then he said 'Little baby on this one' (Just to tell you Abbey HATES being called 'Little baby' I don't like being called 'Big baby' but not many people do call me that!). I could tell Abbey was not pleased with herself being on the eldest. I hopped on the younger paint. The groom rode off on Arejeey and we followed. He took Abbey and I along small roads next to fields of flower farms and veggies. We rode along a concrete canal and came to a place were a group of young Indian men were playing guess what?! CRICKET!!!

They stopped playing while we trotted past them and I felt like us and our horses were on a fashion show! Their eyes were glued to the horses. On the way back a tractor with very loud music on drove up behind us. My 'bombproof' but not 'tractor-proof' mare spooked. She hated the loud music. I reach out to pat her paint neck and she tried to buck but only managed a mini rear thing. The groom swapped horses with me (Which was SOOO cool). I rode Arejeey back the rest of the way! She had the best trot to sit to and lovely head carriage. But sorry to that mare, Lochy tops all horses I have ever rode!

I was not game to try their canter because when the groom cantered the paint her canter was so uncoordinated and it looked so uncomfortable!

Write More Soonish

Frances

So from Pushkar to Jaipur, just to spend the day as real tourists doing the sights. We, well I, actually started the day with a little drama. While Gerard signed our bags into the cloak room I agreed to a little shoe polish from a nice shoeshiner for a price of 30 Rps. While polishing he noticed my shoe needed a little stitch so knowing that it may be a little more I reluctantly agreed and he proceeded to restitch both of my shoes... and charge me 200 Rps ($5). Knowing it was a rip off by Indian standards I laughed and told him he had tricked me. We haggled for a while, I pointed out that he should have renegotiated the price if he was going to up the price that much. A crowd gathered, the poor guy got very defensive. I gave him 60Rps and we left it at that...so I thought. Then while we had some breakfast the police arrived, with the shoe shiner. He asked what he had charged and for what work and how much I had paid. Then he took 30Rps off the guy and gave it to me, grabbed him by the collar and pushed him away. He explained that someone (in the crowd) had put in a complaint and that shoe shiners weren't allowed to charge that much for that service. I tried to tell him I was happy to pay 60 but he wouldn't allow it. I don't like injustice as I have said before, it made me all... well anyway I paid the fellow that 30 after the police left. I mean it was all of $1.50 to have both my shoes restitched and polished. Sure he shouldn't have done the sneaky price rise but can you imagine a system that says he will never be allowed to earn more than what the law says...

Then we carefully negotiated a taxi to show us the sights for the day - $15 to take us everywhere all day and wait while we do our thing and take us back again. I don't really enjoy sight seeing but the Amber Fort was beautiful and we could have spent the whole day there, wandering in and out of the maze of passage ways of the palace fort, imagining life as it would have been.

Then tiredly we caught the train to the next adventure, to arrive very late at our hotel Tiger Safari.

As we have said before it is wonderful to get your comments and know that we are entertaining you.

Keep writing, it reminds us that we have a home to come back to!! Camille

The Past Week

We have been very busy this last week. We went to Tica's for lunch on the weekend. It was a very lovely day. We met her good friend Jane and Choke and his wife Pemma and two children. Choke is the Translator Head at the Tibetan library for whom Mom edits from time to time. We spent a very pleasant afternoon having lunch and discussing the world and Tibet and all the things that are the topic of this part of the world... Buddhism and spirituality. Tica grew up in Cuba, lived in Switzerland, was a translator in the UN, she also translated for the Dalai Lama for many years. People here have lived life!! She has decided to live her retirement here, for now... monsoon is what makes people move out. She has a lovely house between Mcclo and Dharamsala. She spends her time learning more Tibetan and teachings. She has been caring for a stray dog and her puppies. The children played with the puppies and we whiled away the hours chatting.

During the week we took both Jevita and another friend we met Johnathon, to Charan (on separate days). They both in their capacity as real teachers had good things to say about the little things we have managed to achieve. The sand pit, the water play, the playdough keep the children all very busy. From the observers perspective it runs quite smoothly. Only from my view, being in the thick of the teaching them the finer art of sharing, does it all seem so chaotic! But it is true that the 'hurricane of tears' that met us at first has all but gone. The older children now have the opportunity to focus on the maths and English games that Gerard does with them. They all enjoy the activity games we play. They loved the sports day we did on the grassy bit below the IPL stadium. They love us and we love them. From Vijay the cook, Krishna the jolly Queen of the Hill

who has made her tent into a palace, with a garden, to little Madoo with her three siblings that she alternately jiggles on her hips while she soaks in every little bit of learning she can get and little Reeshma who comes every day despite living in the maharishi side with only an A frame of plastic to house her and the seven or more siblings, while her parents lie wrapped in bags under the shade of a tree... not unlike the pictures we commonly see of the Aboriginal plight. What is it that makes two humans with the same opportunities or not, choose such different ways of being in this world? The Queen on the Hill... Reeshma's parents... Even so, the joy they have at our presence is the same. It is a wonderful thing to spend that time with these people. The sincerity with which they embrace the volunteers. The genuine cuddles from the children (and dear Arti),

the laughter, the stories of their lives that the people shared with us.... Of course I was sad as we said our goodbyes on Friday.... and when I made a quick exit Nandini came to tell me what a good family I had, how she wished one day she would have lovely girls like mine and what a good husband I had. Veeru told me in his very broken English how much fun the children were having and, as I washed the children's hair and clothes and shovelled the sand, that I was a good farming woman... apparently a good thing...He gave me a little glass stone to remember our time by. Its so hard to tell you how kind they were and how what they said was so special... their English doesn't say it without the weeks of getting to know them, like the joke Vijay said about wanting me to be his mother...

And little Prinka's look when Nandini told them we were saying goodbye, or the way Arti took me in her hands to kiss my cheek or the fact she has brushed her hair so neatly every day since I washed and braided it for her! Or the Charan community members that meet us any where in Dharamsala or Mccloed and cross the road to just to smile and hold our hand as they do in India.

We reported back to Tashi and Jamyang, giving them a folder of games and activities we worked out with your wonderful help! Jamyang (who is a lama) gave us a katag. Jonathan and Javita both said they would come back to work at the camp and were interested in supporting the hostel children. Frances and Abbey did so well. It was hard for them because the kids were less likely to do what they told them (especially with no English!) but they managed to console and cuddle, perform and demonstrate just as well as we did. Vijay and the other helping cooks took a liking to Frances. Arti adored Abbey.

Johnathan and his friend Catherine were also lovely people. They were only here briefly on their way back from travelling in Nepal and Tibet. We went to dinner with them and Javita and played Zip Zap, talked and talked, looked at their photos and exchanged invitations to visit one another. They live in Canada. Johnathan has a log cabin by a lake, Catherine a home in the hills. Goodness me but the world is full of beautiful people.

I caught a taxi early in the morning twice with Amy to have a chiropractic appointment at the Karmapa's where a Chinese doctor was treating the Karmapa's monks for free. We sat and watched the monkly antics while they came in and out, received their treatment and even had Chinese lessons. We walked the kora and chatted about the usual things one does here. Amy is another great person and the exchange of invitations has been extended there also. We often bump into her and Zompa on the way to dinner and join them with much laughter and thought sharing. Amy has lived here most of the year for the past fifteen years, adopting Pzompa when she was just a babe and ensuring she grew up with her Tibetan heritage. Amy was a specialist teacher before retirement and we hope to fit in a little poetry lesson before we go... which is only days two away, oh how time flies.

Then there was the return to Triund. Again so many wonderful people to meet on the top of a mountain drinking chai! Beautiful scenery and a cave adventure. The morning walk to the point to watch the sunrise over the mountains, filtering its soft light down over Himachal Pradesh below. Apparently the view is stunning after the monsoon washes the threshing dust from Punjab, the smog from Delhi and the Rajestani drought ridden soils out of the skies. We had lots of fun with Javita, enjoying the philosophical exploration of all things... teasing her about her restless night on the hard floor of a cave.

Yesterday we walked through the beautiful forests to Nardi, an old traditional farming village. Aptly and confidently lead by the sprightly Antoinette, this little walk was a delight. Thanks Antoinette! The animals in Nardi are housed down stairs, the people live above. They grow their grain and thresh it in their court yards. We watched a couple of children bring a pony and a donkey at 'liberty' through the streets and out through the fields. Pretty good but still a little way to go before they are as adept as the herders who transport the sand and bricks to the building sites around McLeod. One morning as we walked to Tong-len, we passed a herd of six or eight pony stallions waiting quietly at 'liberty' to be loaded up before carting the gravel up the mountain track with no more than a few whistles and hups (and a stick for back up) from their herder!! The animals roam here without fences. The crops grow, without fences... I haven't discovered how but it is interesting. Best of all the mountain trek and the village are away from the filth of tourism and Punjaby middle class tossers. The country side is relatively clean and tranquil. Apparently we need to go to Nepal next.

Anyhow for now our adventure here is all but over. We have a couple of dinners to go to and then we are off to Pushkar to the horse ranch, Jaipur to the Tiger Park and Agra to the Taj Mahal. It will take us about a week. The temperatures are expected to be up to 45 degrees down on the plains... Thank goodness for England... We leave India on the 15<sup>th</sup>. Maybe we will get the chance to post another blog but if not, then its until then!!

Camille

THE PACK OF HIGH LANDERS

THE PACK OF HIGH LANDERS

Today we, Abbey,Frances,Camille,Gerard,and Javita went to Triund again, this time to sleep in a cave.So we left early and got a taxi to the first chai shop and had a chai (and a Desire Chocolate bar) then continued up to heaven. We walked and talked and found our way to the second chai shop. There we met a pack of Dogs, that after we had a little drink, followed us. We called one Big Mumma and one Big Boss, another Goofy and another Cheeky. We walked on with them. They waited for us, so we waited for them.

It was again beautiful, except the Rhododendron's weren't flowering and there had been lots of fires, but still green and the dogs won our hearts. Why travel up to the mountains? We stopped at the next chai shop and had a drink we looked at some caves and moved on. The last part was hard and rough but our pack made it. When we got to the top the dogs spilt up and ran around happy to be at the top. We ate lunch and looked at some more caves. One was so deep into the cave that mum was too scared of the tight space. One was to open and the other one was to small. So we went to look at the other side of the saddle where there was one other cave. We found it and it was juuustttt right, so we set up camp.

By then it was dinner time so we had a nice dinner at the chai shop before we made our way back, lit our fire for smores. Smores are marshmallows plain bickies and melted chocolate yum yum. We talked until it was time to go to sleep. I was sleeping on a ledge and all the rest of our pack,not including the dogs - they were somewhere, slept on the ground.

In the morning mum, dad and our dogs went somewhere to watch the sun rise over Dharamsala.... any way, it was apparently beautiful. I woke up and went to the chai shop with Javita, soon followed by Frances. We had a chai. Mum and dad soon came and we looked at the chai shop owners pictures in winter (he lives up there all year round in his tent shop). We played around had a pancake and the adults talked while the children played. 

 

We said good bye to the dogs and left for home. We walked down and down until we saw some donkey's carrying packs up the mountain. We gave way to them but Frances and Javita were coming around a hairpin bend and didn't notice them so the donkey's just walked into them. Javita fell down a little off the edge, but Frances went right off the edge saved by clinging onto a prickle bush. If she had fallen the whole way a monk would of caught her on the trail ten metres below!!!

We went on and on down and down to the chai shop. Javita ate lunch but I just had a apple juice and chips. We still headed down ,stopping at the chai shops, looking at the goats. When we got down to McLeod we said good bye to Javita and got some late lunch. Then we had a SHOWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! which we never get because there's no water =-< any way ...

RMS

ABBEY