Destination INDIA

Death of a Roofer and The Chukkar Sayings!!!!

2012-01-22T16:12:00.012-06:00

So, on our Chukkar walk, we came across this sign in the woods. We speculated the cause of death was a stampede of cows.

But, we quickly dismissed that theory.

So, all the waste receptacles use green signage to reflect sayings from a myriad of people. Enjoy!!!

And neither do monkeys........

Steve McQueen?????? hmmmmmm

There were probably more, but we didn't find them up there. Next time, it would be a great theme for a scavenger hunt.

More pictures to come.

Namaste

The Chukkar!!!!!!

2012-01-22T13:32:00.053-06:00

So, on Wednesday, November 30th, we went for our walk to the heights of the foothills, an area at the top called The Chukkar (pronounced chucker). We put it back into perspective by bringing back one of our pictures showing the tower at the top of the hill. That's where we will be for this picture gallery.

As we start the climb, Mussoorie spreads out to our west.

We start to see small villages to the northwest...

The road is narrow at the top of this foothill...but all the roads are narrow near Woodstock and Mussoorie.

The power grid looks stable today at the top.

We occasionally see some people as we walk.

Tibetan prayer flags.....

Suddenly, the Himalayas are visible to the north and northeast!!!!

As we focus in closer and closer, Banderpunch, the mountain that Woodstock staff climbed last summer is prominent.

Very rare, but there are vehicles up at this altitude; pretty much one way traffic!!!!

The foundation stone for the Surya Ecological Forest Resort dated April 14, 1903.

The Christian Cemetery ....caretakers...The Landour Cemetery Committee

View to the east as we come around to the center of the figure eight.

Here's our tower. We're almost even with it now. We're heading southeast to that figure 8 center.

It's quite a drop.

Local artwork........

Steps we DID NOT climb........

Taking a break with a photo of Cindy

A water tank

Kellogg Memorial Church, established 1903

We did maintain decorum...which everybody knows is rare for me.

The church is the home of the Landour Language School. We did not inquire which language.

Services at 10:00 a.m.

The view as we continue to the south side of the second half of the figure 8.

Don't worry, we won't actually even think of it.

Over the top of Woodstock now.

And our favorite tower.

Mussoorie as we begin our descent.

Close up of the dorms.

Another rare vehicle.

Where Steve lived for the first year.

St Paul's Church

Cindy and her friends....a form of transportation for goods and services.

The famous lounging pack of dogs.

The next post will reveal the famous sayings we encountered while on the Chukkar!!!

Shopping in the Bazaar

2012-01-22T12:30:00.028-06:00

In this segment of pictures, we feature the to and from of going to the bazaar and a few bazaar shots. The first step, however, is for Steve to don the infamous weightlifting rucksack...now pictured here for the first time in the blog.

Then we start the trek to Mussoorie and the bazaar.

It may be a long way to Tipperary, but it's also a long way to the bazaar.

Going up........

Going along steep, narrow ledges strewn with garbage

I mean, we're talking very narrow. And yes, that does drop off rather abruptly!!!!!!!

Steve goes ahead for his meeting in town.

We, meanwhile, pass a goat. "I can do it with a goat. I can do it in a boat....." With apologies to Dr. Seuss......

Entering the bazaar, there is traffic with 4 wheels and 4 legs. It all comes together.

The fabric shop for the saree and accompanying accompaniments......

Just a couple of choices......yeah, right........

On to the tailor for the fitting.

He is really not a short person, he is kneeling on the floor.

There, he stands.............

Oh, hold it. We have a telecommunications failure. I don't think we have dial tone.

Or, if we do, we can't really tell from where it comes.

Back home again along the Tipperary Trail. The rucksack is full!!!!!!

Shubhra leads the way, preparing a path for us.

Steve and Cindy follow her close behind.

I'm last, taking the pics, of course.

Another day at the bazaar, we ended up there in the evening. Here are a couple evening shots to give you a feel of the nightlife.

Fresh fruits and vegetables!!!

Fresh fish!!!!!!

Mussoorie version of Cub Foods. You can get anything there, including the great ice cream!!!!!!!

Another picture sequence complete. I'm on a roll!!!!!!

Dream Job Day - Reading to 1st & 2nd Graders

2012-01-22T11:07:00.023-06:00

As we go through the school gates on Day 2, our first assignment is to visit Steve's advisor group.

Here they are, for the most part paying attention........

They were wanting him to pose for a school shot.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the best lighting, so they were going to do it another time.

In action, he reminds the students of a luncheon at their house the following Saturday.

After the advisor group, Steve escorts us to Shubhra's classroom.

This is the beginning of the rock star syndrome as the kids crowd the teacher's husband....

Then we get to the business at hand.

They are very attentive and engaged!!! What a thrill!!!!!

You might recognize our narrator, Mahima, from the Christmas Play; which according to the timeline will occur 3 days later from this picture.

And there's the shoemaker's wife.....

Go UMD!!!!!!!

Here are a couple of videos of the live action!!

Stay tuned for more pictures. I'm back to uploading again!!!!

Happy New Year!!!!!

2012-01-06T13:20:00.002-06:00

As we enter 2012, it doesn't seem possible we were in India just last month. The picture uploading came to a halt during Christmas and New Year's, but we'll get back on track soon.

I wanted to give you a link to Woodstock's website which will allow you to view the 1st and 2nd grade Christmas presentation of Shubhra's class.

http://www.woodstockschool.in/santa/JSpresents.htm

It is really fun for Cindy and me to replay those memories of watching the presentation.

Have a blessed New Year and stay tuned for more pictures!!!!!

Merry Christmas from Mark, Cindy, the Shoemaker, His Wife and the Elves!!!!!!!!!

2011-12-24T10:47:00.043-06:00

We now take our blog back to December 1st, the day Shubhra's first and second graders perform their Christmas Presentation, the Brothers Grimm "The Elves and the Shoemaker". Enjoy the pictures and follow along, if you wish.
http://www.authorama.com/grimms-fairy-tales-39.html

We begin with the nervous spouse waiting for the performance to begin.

The quad is decorated for Christmas and the chairs and seating are ready to go.

The props are placed in their proper position.

The older students take their places as the audience.

Shubhra does a final microphone check and surveys the audience.

And the introductions begin the presentation. "We'd like to thank the parents, the staff, Mrs. Mark (the head of junior school).....

We'd also like to thank Ms Kate for providing the music today.

Ms Kate, are you there?

Yes, she is!!!

Mahima is our narrator and she sets the scene.

Cue the shoemaker and his wife. "Well, dear, the shoe business isn't going really well; the price of leather, import fees, taxes." Okay, maybe that wasn't exactly the script.......

"I think you need a new business plan; maybe some capital injection. Maybe we could go public with a stock offering?"

"For now, I'll work on some shoes, while you think of some ideas, Dear."

"Well, it's late now. Let's go to bed."

"He always snores. I can never get any sleep."

Cue the elves. Pretty great choreography!!!

And the elves work during the night, making shoes for the shoemaker while he and his wife sleep.

Here's what the presentation sounds like as they make the shoes. They are so cute!!!!

Daylight is coming, it's time to scatter before they wake up!!!

My goodness, dear, these are great shoes!!!! Where did they come from? The quality is similar to Fabindia!!!

I am looking for a great pair of shoes to wear for Christmas. Do you have anything that would fit the bill? And, I'm very particular!!!!

Those shoes sold so well today, but I still don't know where they came from. All my customers appreciated the quality of them.

Well, let's go to bed and we can figure this out in the morning.

They're asleep. Let's get to work again. We can make more shoes!!!

And here's little audio and video as they celebrate.

More shoes. This is getting weird. Where do they come from and who does such quality work?

Mr. Shoemaker, I am looking for a great, quality shoe. What can you show me?

They are sleeping again. Let' get to work!!!!

Shhhhhhh. They don't see us. So, we have a gaggle of elves helping us each night. That's pretty awesome. We must do something for them.

Shubhra and her classroom assistant are pleased as we're getting near the finale.

Well, we're done for the night, sun is about to come up. Let's get out of here!!!

We must thank the elves someway. Maybe we can make them some clothes and some shoes.

So, as we come to the climax, this is what the real script looks like. A lot of the above words were not in the script....maybe you figured that out.

Cue the elves for one last time.

Celebration now, come on!!!!!!

We love our new clothes and shoes. Thank you, Shoemaker and your wife!!!!

We will be just fine. We will live happily ever after. THE END!!!!!

Curtain call!!!!!!

Photo ops.

Back to the room for a final portrait shot.

They are studying antonyms. Did you study antonyms when you were in 1st and 2nd grade?

Here they are!!!!

Merry Christmas from Mrs. Shubhra's first and second grade class at Woodstock School in India!!!!

Welcome to our Blog!!

2011-12-19T15:58:00.004-06:00

We are getting some new guests to our blog via our Christmas card, so I just wanted to say hi.

We are in the midst of uploading pictures from our trip. Because there are over 1500 of them, we are being selective which pictures are uploaded and the order of upload. Unfortunately, it will take some time.

Feel free to go back in time and read some of the older posts starting with November 24th (Final Boarding and Closing at Home) when we departed for India and moving forward. The pictures might be more meaningful if you have read some of the daily posts that we generated while in India.

Again, welcome and thank you for your patience as we continue to upload pictures.

Namaste

Campus Tour - Extreme Endurance Hiking!!!

2011-12-18T16:14:00.048-06:00

Having reached the gate from our last post, it's time to look at the campus. Remember, to do this takes some stamina and energy as you navigate the heights, the stairs, the inclines and any other term that denotes fancy footwork!!! One more thing...remember we're at 7000 feet above sea level, too!!!!

Let's again look at the layout. If you look at this map, you will see an area to the lower left that contains Ridgewood, Alteridge and the Midlands. When you look at any picture of Woodstock, the round building is pretty distinctive. That is Alteridge, a girl's dorm. We'll be going down to that lower area of the campus today on our tour.

Here's a close-up again of the near campus. We'll look at the high school and the gymnasium on this tour, also. So, get those hiking shoes/tennis shoes on and let's get started.

The main gate is right along the main road.

The road is pretty narrow.

Not a lot of room to pass.

This is the entrance to the Quad. On your left is the music and arts building; to the right is the administration building of the junior school, grades Pre-K - 6.

Here, you are in the quad area looking at the music/arts building.

From the music/arts building, the quad wraps around where much of the classroom space for the junior school is to the left and again, the administration building is to the right.

Looking down from the balcony, the music/arts building is in front of you.

Here is the junior school assembly room.

This is the cafeteria.

This is the junior school administration building.

Looking back towards the gate, a covered ramp goes up to the high school and gymnasium.

Here you can see the senior school, grades 7-12, on the left and the reddish roof of the gymnasium.

Here is a close-up of the senior school. When Cindy and I toured, it looked like any older high school building in the US with it's massive stairways and traditional classrooms.

The Win Mumby Gymnasium is a modern masterpiece for physical education.

It is the home of the Woodstock Tigers!!!!

The gym floor is decked out with desks as students will be taking finals in the next couple of days.

Pretty modern facility!!!!

And Steve's office is in this complex. Here is his command center from which he directs senior school physical education programming.

From the balcony above, you can feel the size of the complex. Below us and to the left will be the weight room and locker rooms.

At this balcony level, to our right, is the gymnastic room. This room is used for the junior school students and their activities. Shannon handles their curriculum.

As we head to the lower campus, let's see some perspective again. Ridgewood would be to the 8 o'clock position from Alteridge. The Midlands is at 12 o'clock above Alteridge.

So as we go from the schools to the lower dorms, we walk by the principal's residence. Remember, the principal is the equivalent of the superintendent in Minnesota schools.

You now walk along the road and head to the stairs to go down.

This is looking back at just some of the stairs we are navigating to go to lower campus.

As we arrive in the area, there is a full outdoor play area.

This is Ridgewood, for junior high equivalent boys.

When Shubhra started at the school, she was a resident parent and this was her living space atop Ridgewood.

As you go by Ridgewood, there is the round architecture of Alteridge, junior high girl's dorm.

Going up a hill from Alteridge, the Midlands dorm complex is for senior high girls.

And again we provide perspective....in the foreground you will see a blue area which represents the pool of The Hostel. Behind that area, you will faintly see Ridgewood, Alteridge and The Midlands on the crest of the hill.

So, we now actually go down further to The Hostel, dorm for senior high boys.

It has a beautiful heated swimming pool.

Very beautiful setting...

Imagine playing basketball at night with the hillside ablaze with lights...magnificent.

A final view of the Hostel and the backdrop of the foothills.

I don't know about you, but I'm bushed......and I've been back for over a week. It still makes me tired just looking at the pictures.

The 196 Steps - Indian Weight Loss for a Better You!!!!!

2011-12-18T13:19:00.026-06:00

During the postings, I mentioned how you step down 196 steps to get to the main gate of Woodstock from S & S's home. You also, of course, have to step up 196 steps to get home again. Now this doesn't take into consideration the inclines where there are no steps. So, to document this process of going to school and back, Cindy and I will imagine an Amazing Race detour.

In this detour, teams must make their way from Abergeldie Duplex East to the main gate of Woodstock, counting the number of steps down or up and documenting via camera shots. The first team member goes to the next change in switchback and is photographed by the second team member, all the while counting the stair steps up down or up.

Well, here we go!!!!!

Task complete and we get our next clue!!!!!

Hey, Hey, We're the Monkeys!!!!!

2011-12-17T10:15:00.029-06:00

It's been a few days without posting the pictures. It's getting difficult being back and working again. But let me take this opportunity to get rid of all the monkey pictures.

You have many species of monkeys hanging around the area and I am going to feature just a few.

We start with our road monkeys; known for hanging out along the road.

A variation of the road monkey would be the ledge monkey. They are much more comfortable walking or laying on ledges.

As you look above your head, you start to encounter the tree monkey.

Because of the height attained by the tree monkey, they usually morph into what we would call the "Monkeys on the Hot Tin Roof"

And it doesn't take more than a couple of minutes before they become the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz. (Cue the music!!!) You remember us talking about the beautiful monkey dives. This one received a score of 4.8. Pretty good form!!

Now, if they get close to the house, they now become the patio monkeys. They start by checking out their environment within the woods, making sure the coast is clear.

Then, slowly they turn. Step by step, inch by inch.......walking along the fence.....with great balance and poise.

Stopping every so often to get their bearings.

Until they feel comfortable testing the gazebo!!!!!! Yes, this is our friend, the equal opportunity employed monkey that tested everything under the sun!!!

And once he was done, he was very proud of his work for the day!!!!!

A little movie to end our posting.

THE END!!!!

Home on the Hillside

2011-12-12T19:43:00.029-06:00

So, what does a home in paradise, in the foothills of the Himalayas, look like? Let's take a closer look at Abergeldie Duplex East.

This is the south facing facade. The two windows upstairs are two of the bedrooms. The windows on the lower level are the living room.

On the east facade, the upper windows represent the front corner bedroom, the master, and the third bedroom which S & S are using for an office.

And here's the lovely couple welcoming you into their home. Ok, maybe they were just posing for a picture, but I can add a little drama to the story if I want.

Through the front doors we go............

They open into the living room.......

which is a very nice size............

Around the corner of that back wall is the kitchen. As you look at the kitchen picture, you will notice something out of place. Can you guess what it is?

Of course. A close-up reveals that there is a jar of Peter Pan Peanut Butter on the counter.....it is not usually found in India. Only brought in by foreigners through customs in luggage that is checked by the TSA.

In the corner is the dining room, enough seating for at least 6 guests.

And upstairs is our bedroom, the main headquarters for the late evening/early morning blogs.

And outside, the beautiful patio with its 70 degree temperatures and beautiful south exposure. Used very often for Cindy's journaling..........

And my sleeping...........

So you ask, what type of view did you see from the patio? Well, let's first look at where we are as we look up from the campus. Note the green building right in front of the duplex.

As we pan out, you can still see the green building to the lower left corner......

And panning out more, you can still see the green building in the middle left of the picture.

With that perspective in mind, here's the view from the patio looking back onto campus from where those pictures were taken. Remember, we saw this view every morning. And also visualize this view, totally clear at night, seeing lights as far as the eye can see in the valley far below to the back of that hill in the rear of the picture. Totally awesome!!!!!!!!!

And here's a picture taken directly south to the right of the lower campus. Again, at night perfectly clear, you could see the lights of Dehradun go all the way to the horizon.

Which goes to show you why this was a perfect pit stop for this leg of the race.

Team Woodstock Heads Home Via Train

2011-12-11T16:56:00.009-06:00

As Team Woodstock has completed their race day activities, it's time to return to Dehradun and the bus ride up the hillside to Woodstock.

Here's the train we'll be taking, the Jan Shatabdi Express.

Here's another express train in the New Delhi train station.

An example of one of the platforms and the variety of activities occuring on them.

Steve coordinating with the conductor on the seating arrangements for the Woodstock team.

One of the racers, Jay, post-race traumatic sleep syndrome.

The Woodstock campus during the day. We arrived at night, so this picture doesn't really reflect the actual situation. It is done more for dramatic effect.

Race Day - Delhi Half Marathon 2011

2011-12-11T16:47:00.000-06:00

On November 26, 2011, for the first time ever, Team Woodstock prepared to run a half-marathon together!!!!

Team Woodstock in final preparation

Team Woodstock ready to go!!!! Some of the women had already gone into the stadium, so the entire team was never together for a picture.

Fearless leader in straight-faced focused mode.

Wife and Father wait with breathless anticipation

Here he comes........

There he is..........

There he goes...... You can just hear the doppler effect.

1 Hours 24 Minutes 45 Seconds

However, they ran an extra couple fractions of a mile, so his time might be less for an official half marathon. Controversy abounds!!!

Pre-Race Events

2011-12-11T16:29:00.009-06:00

Here we see a few pre-race pictures to tie into the blog.

Our room at the International Youth Hostel.

The shower facility in our bathroom at the IYH.

The other end of the bathroom in the IYH room.

The long line for registration at the stadium.

The official transportation for fathers of race participants....the motorized auto rickshaw.

The installation of scaffolding for a building facelift in the Khan Market shopping complex.

The smog level prior to the start of the race.

Hotel Venus - Scenes from the Rear Window - In Deference to Hitchcock

2011-12-11T15:35:00.009-06:00

While I'm having my first breakfast in India using a banana and Peter Pan Peanut Butter, the world outside is straight from Hitchcock's movie, "Rear Window".

Are we on or off the power grid? Very hard to say.

A vendor collecting his thoughts before the day begins.

Waiting for the rush hour.

Rush hour cometh.

They aren't up yet.

Fan Man.......

Travelling to India in Pictures - Days 1 and 2

2011-12-11T14:39:00.022-06:00

We started our Amazing Race theme from the very beginning.

Cindy's Thanksgiving and Birthday Luncheon. Yes they were both on the same day!!! Happy Birthday, Cindy!!!

The evening Thanksgiving/Birthday Dinner on the plane to Amsterdam from Minneapolis.

Amsterdam Amazing Race Detour - Pretend to be Santa in the Schiphol Airport for an entire layover.

Our 747-400 that will take us to Delhi.

The famous hairline crack on the wing.

Hotel Venus 1 of 4

Hotel Venus 2 of 4

Hotel Venus 3 of 4

Hotel Venus 4 of 4

The air conditioning control.........

Goodbye India!!!!

2011-12-11T06:50:00.006-06:00

Thursday morning, we wake up at around 7:30 a.m. and take our hot showers and get dressed. The bathroom looks like something right out of HGTV, with it's modern fixtures and beautiful countertop and wall treatments. What a beautiful room!!!!

We head upstairs one flight to a dining room table decked out in fancy dishes and linens. The wait person provides us a menu and we choose our different breakfast options. Steve has scrambled, Cindy has omelette and I have fried eggs. There are two types of bread for toast, cereal (Corn Flakes), bananas, milk; the list goes on. It is a great breakfast and will serve us well for our final journey.

We walk over to the Delhi Subway station, about 4 blocks away; the B & B allows us to leave our luggage in a locked room while we go shopping. We will return later to pick up our luggage to go to the airport.

The Delhi Subway station is very clean and modern; it reminds us a lot of the Metro in Washington DC. Steve goes over to the ticket counter and gets a token for each of us that will take us to Khan Market. The ride takes about 30 minutes, with one transfer in the process.

At Khan Market, we shop for some Indian clothes and eat at Cafe Turtle. I take some pictures to document the Market that I was unable to take when were there two weeks prior. We leave Khan about 3:30 and proceed back to the B & B to recover our luggage and head off to the airport.

With the transfer at the New Delhi subway station, we need to go across the street to the Airport Express subway station; so we go outside and cross the street. The sun is down, so it's getting a little dark; fortunately we can still see where we're going. This was kind of weird, as we thought the transfer would be underground. Something to remember for next time.

The airport express subway is very sleek and modern and we arrive at the airport about 6:30. We walk around the airport looking for our foreign departure entry and find it near entrance 8. (Another note for next time.) To gain entrance into the airport, you need to have your printed itinerary; which they will gladly print for you for 30 rupees. Even then, we are at the airport over 7 hours early and cannot go into the terminal until 4 hours before our flight. There is a "visitors waiting area", where we will now spend the next 3 hours.

At this point, we want to get Steve going to the bus depot for his overnight trip back to Mussoorie. It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye; we will see him and Shubhra again in June in the U.S. We hunker down in our visitor waiting area seats and wait for the clock to strike 9:50 p.m.

As we wait in our uncomfortable straight seats, there are some lounge type seats against the wall. We are eyeing them and waiting for two to open up. At last, somebody moves and we quickly jump up and occupy the lounge seats for the duration of our 3 hour wait in the VWA (visitors waiting area).

Finally, at 9:50, we take our chances with the guards that have been guarding the entrance into the terminal and bring our passport and itinerary to them. They review the information, look us over (everybody does in India) and allow us to pass.

Once in the terminal, we find our check-in area for KLM and say goodbye to our overweight suitcases. That is literally a weight off of our shoulders...hands..arms, etc. We proceed to customs, where they verify our carry-on luggage, check our passports and stamp them for exiting the country. At about 10:45, we settle in across from Gate 19 in the Gate 20 area to relax in our seats until boarding begins around 1:00 a.m., Friday. (The seats in Gate 19 are pretty much taken. In this way, we can survey from afar and people watch to boot!!)

The boarding process is pretty much controlled by a gate agent that looks like Rob Reiner in a turban. When they say, only first class passengers board, Agent Rob only allows first class passengers board. He is witnessed from our vantage point telling people to go sit down; in fact, this is his constant request of people. He is spending more time telling people to sit down than letting passengers board. There are long moments where no one is boarding because of Agent Rob and his insistence for order. Finally, our row is called and we slide by Agent Rob and his minions hoping that they don't retract the row and tell us to sit down.

Our gate push from Gate 19 is early at 1:37:34, Delhi Time, Friday morning. The taxi process begins at 1:43:26. At 1:50:18, the 747-400 begins acceleration and we are in the air with wheels up at 1:51:09. I suspect the smog in the air participated in the 51 second slow take-off. Either that, or Agent Rob insisted the 747-400 go sit down for a few seconds. Anyway, we are off in the air and departing India.

The flight is pretty much in darkness the whole time and we land in Amsterdam with wheels down at 10:23:47 p.m. CST, Thursday night, an 8 hour 2 minute 38 second flight. We taxi to Gate F8 with a gate stop at 10:27:13, making the total flight 8 hours 19 minutes and 39 seconds.

With an early arrival, our layover is over 5 hours. We spend some time on the internet (insecure, as you remember from our earlier layover), eat a little food and boogie over to the gate area, E7. We notice about 2 hours before scheduled takeoff that people are already going through the security check for our gate. We decide to do that to ensure a seat in the waiting area, because, again, the gate area is much smaller than the capacity of the plane.

As they start to announce boarding, the gate area is packed and hardly anyone can move. Unlike Delhi with Agent Rob, there is no rhyme nor reason who is boarding, even though the announcement says rows 10-14. I was estimating that there were about 150 people in rows 10-14. We never heard another announcement for a row again and finally just stood up and went to board. The boarding agent stopped a group of us and said there would be a delay in boarding because the walkway was too cold to stand and wait, it was warmer in the terminal. These people have obviously not stood in a walkway in Minneapolis in winter and in fact, upon our arrival in Minneapolis, we noted the walkway felt warmer even though the temperature was 30 degrees colder. Anyway, we finally board and get seated.

Using CST, our Airbus 300-330 pushes from the gate at 3:51:55 a.m. CST. We start our taxi at 3:57:13 and begin to accelerate at 4:08:17. Thirty-seven seconds later, we are wheels up and begin our final leg of this trip.

The sky is clear as we descend upon the US, flying right along the North Shore of Lake Superior. I'm able to take pictures of Grand Marais, Taconite Harbor and a little bit of Silver Bay as we fly right down highway 61. Closer in to the cities, I can take pictures of Big Lake and our home in Plymouth, as we fly right over it.

After 8 hours, 54 minutes and 52 seconds, we are wheels down at 1:03:46 p.m. with a gate stop at 1:09:18. Total flight time, 9 hours 17 minutes and 23 seconds. Our trip has ended!!!!

As we go through customs and pick up our luggage, Cindy's bag doesn't show up on the carousel. We report in at baggage claim and the clerk finds her bag destined for arrival at 5:30 in the afternoon on another flight. We choose to have them deliver the bag later in the night vs coming back to the airport by car and by 8:30 p.m., all luggage is accounted for at our house.

Fourteen hours of sleep later, Saturday arrives and the blog is updated again. That brings us current to today, Sunday. Pictures, commentary and an epilogue to follow.

Later.........

The Taj

2011-12-11T05:56:00.003-06:00

Wednesday morning, up and going at 4:45 to prepare for Lolit's encore performance at 5:30; to get us to the Jaipur train depot. We arrive at the train station at 5:45 and depart towards Agra at 6:15; this time no opening backpack or LBP.

My notes get sketchy on arrival time into Agra, but it's probably around 11:30. We decide to get a taxi and go right to the Taj immediately and we'll eat afterwards. The drive to the Taj probably takes about 10-15 minutes. Remember, that we have all of our luggage and that can't go into the complex, Steve will wait outside as we go in. He has been here before, so that's okay with him.

As we enter the ticket area, there are two options for tickets, Indians and foreigners. As foreigners, we are called "High Value Ticket Holders"; which basically means you get charged 750 rupees per person vs 10 rupees per person. After receiving the tickets, Cindy goes into the line labeled, "High Value Ticket Holders Ladies" and I go into the line labeled "High Value Ticket Holders Gents"; kind of a priority entry line. In fact, at the point we were entering, Cindy was the only High Value Ticket Holder Lady in line, so she went right to the front.

After getting in through the gate, your bags are checked by security and then you are in an atrium area outside of the Taj complex. There is not the best signage, so you basically are following the crowd and off to our left there seems to be an entrance to which everybody is gravitating. Through the arch, you get your first glimpse of the Taj Mahal. As you go through the arch, you are confronted with the first of many "Professional Photographers", who can escort you through the entire complex taking picture after picture. They have their portfolio right with you, so you can see the picture quality. We say no and keep saying no through the whole time.

Your first impression of the Taj is the enormous size. It certainly seems as large as the Capitol in Washington, D.C. And the next impression is the whiteness of it. In fact, you probably need professional photographers, because there is an awful lot of backlight as you take pictures. I'm trying everything under the sun to get a picture of Cindy where her face will show with the Taj. Finally, flash fill-in seems to work okay. A friendly family helps us in taking a picture of the both of us and then the father wants us to be in the picture with his family. Caucasians draw photo ops!!!

After we take these initial photos at this spot, we start walking closer and take more photos. There are two identical mosques, one to the left and one to the right of the main Taj. We take photos of those. I believe we have over 100 photos from various angles; we will certainly be able to prove that we were at the Taj Mahal. We take photos of shoes that have been removed to go in; we are not going to go in on this trip. Steve said, it isn't that big a deal, just a tomb. We take pictures of Tibetan monks, red hat people (we can't say Red Hat Ladies, because there were some men), flowers, fauna and a chipmunk; plenty of photos to document the event. (Can you imagine, if this were film and we had to develop all of this? Oh my!!!!) The whole process took about an hour.

With that complete, we depart the Taj and look for a McDonald's for takeout that we can take back to the train station. The taxi driver agrees to take us to McDonald's and then the train station for 300 rupees. At the McDonald's, he gets cold feet and doesn't want to take us to the train station. Steve holds him to the fire and forces him to get another taxi driver that will take us to the train station at the agreed price. He finally comes back with an older taxi driver who is very much willing to take us; we think he wants to show off his English speaking abilities.

As we get our order in McDonald's, Steve warns us to pack the food in the backpacks, otherwise beggars will surround us. Even with the food packed, the drinks are still visible and sure enough beggar kids come out of nowhere and surround us as we're going to the taxi. They are relentless and finally, we get the doors of the taxi closed; even then, they continue to knock on the windows until we drive off.

At the train station, now about 1:30, we settle in for a long wait. Our train doesn't leave until 8:25 p.m. We occupy the corner table in the train station restaurant and hang out....playing games on the ipad2, talking and napping. As we get closer to our departure time, the sign board says that our train is delayed. We decide to go over the walkway to our platform and wait there as the train delay is uncertain. On platform 2, we arrive at the Caucasian stronghold, a back to back bench arrangement where we find a younger couple and a single gentleman (Caucasian) seated. We had noted while in the restaurant that there were several Caucasians in the station today; most likely because of sightseeing at the Taj. As we sit there, I start to name some of the characters on the platform.

There is "Starer", probably in his 20's sitting about 8 feet away just staring at Cindy, me and the other Caucasians. There is "Hover", a kid about 13 or 14 who keeps walking around us staring all the time. Then, we have "PoleMan", a very old gentleman holding a pole with some fabric design attached. There were many more that I didn't name, but were still beggars. They hang out at the train stations and you watch them go from person to person. They have good memories, so they know when new people arrive and don't bother you once they know they're not going to get anything. Some of them have deformities; some of them are young mothers with malnourished kids. Very sad!!!!

Our train is delayed probably due to fog and finally arrives around 9:50 p.m. We hop on and find a very comfortable, plush seat, similar to a fancy coach bus. We are seated backwards to the train direction and settle in for a very fast trip to Delhi... about 2 hours and very few stops. It is their version of the New York to Washington Metroliner on the East Coast, a very fast corridor.

We arrive at the New Delhi Station, no confusion this time where we're supposed to be. Steve tells us to wait and goes to negotiate a taxi driver. We are again so thankful to have Steve accompanying us. We get into the taxi and he breezes down the vacant city streets, where we arrive at the Saket Bed and Breakfast about 12:30 a.m., Thursday morning.

Our last night sleeping in a bed in India.....but what a beautiful venue!!!!! Steve is considering this venue for next year's Delhi Half-Marathon for the kids and staff that will participate. It is a few blocks from the Delhi subway system, which would transport the kids and staff to the race or to shopping and food, all for much less hassle and cost than the taxi fiascos we experienced upon our arrival.

More about this on Thursday's post....for now it's bedtime in India.

Jaipur, the Pink City

2011-12-11T04:21:00.005-06:00

Before going into Tuesday's events, we want to thank Smita, Shubhra's former college roommate, for all the accommodations in Jaipur. She had provided the driver Monday night to get from the train station to our hotel, Utsav Niward Jaipur. She made our reservations for this wonderful hotel and she arranged the tour driver that we will have all day for the sightseeing. Thanks, Smita!!!!!

So, up at 7:00 a.m., we take our showers and get dressed. We have an opportunity to meet Smita as she stops by and checks on all the arrangements. Then we gather downstairs for a continental breakfast of omelettes, toast and a mixed fruit drink (probably orange juice, mango and something else).

Our driver for the day, Lolit, arrives at 10:30 and we're off for the day!!! Lolit did not complete any education, high school or college, but has lived in Jaipur his whole life. He is about 37 years old and has been conducting driving tours for quite a few years; he has a permit from the government, so he's a registered tour driver. As he drives, he will tell us some interesting tidbits about what we're passing. Unfortunately, I don't have my notebook handy and Cindy has the back off a ticket stub, so our notes are somewhat limited.

We start our tour driving by a flooded bog where workers are scraping the top of the water for some sort of small seeds. They will sell these seeds at market. The bog is in the middle of the city, so I can't imagine the water is extremely clean; it seems like a very dirty job. Lolit tries to have the woman come over with her bucket to show us the produce, but she is leery of a car full of Caucasians and ignores us. A little bit further and we stop in front of Raj Mandir, one of the largest and most opulent movie theaters in Europe. It is considered the best theater in Asia and seats over 900 people.

As we drive through the city, Lolit points out some beautiful architectural details on buildings such as the Technology Centre and the government buildings. We also drive by a polo grounds where they specialize in both horse and elephant polo. Unfortunately, there are no matches today; we would have liked to witnessed elephant polo. I can't imagine a pool large enough for an elephant, but Steve corrects me and says this is not water polo. So, never mind.

We stop at Albert Hall Museum, which is closed today due to a Muslim religious day. The architecture of the building is beautiful and the front of the museum has an area where people feed the pigeons. As we stop, thousands of pigeons take to the air, reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's movie, "The Birds". Cindy takes a great shot on the camera as they take to flight.

We enter through one of the seven gates of the Pink City, which is the original walled city. It is called the Pink City because of the distinctive wall colors of the buildings, a hue of pink. The streets are lined with vendors and shops all clamoring for a little of the tourist action. Jaipur is a large tourist attraction and much of its economy relies on tourists, hence Lolit's vocation.

Continuing to our north and going out of the Pink City, we stop at Man Sagar Lake, site of Jal Mahal, the "Water Palace". This palace was built before a dam was placed to form the lake and was used as a summer place for the king, because 4 of the 5 stories are under water and provide a cool environment for the hot summer. The architecture is such that there is no water seepage and, according to Google, restoration has maintained no water in the facility. Along the water, you can throw fish food in the water attracting hundreds of fish. A group of young girls came up to Cindy and wanted their father to take pictures of them with her. Cindy was wearing sunglasses, so each girl put on the same pair of sunglasses to look like Cindy. It was pretty cute.

At this stop, Cindy, Steve and I are allowed to get out and ride camels. Cindy and I are together on one and Steve takes the other. We go for quite a few blocks and the comfort level is such that you can't imagine any type of "wise men" riding for any long distance. We take our own photos, but, of course, are offered "professional" photos by the vendors nearby. Any time you have a tourist area, be prepared for offers of "professional" photos for a fee. We also encountered a mother and child who wanted us to take a picture of them, only to find that she wanted to charge us for taking the photo. It sometimes get very tough seeing the poverty of these people and the constant begging for money. You can't give to one, though, or you would literally be bombarded as word would spread. Very tough!!!

Our next stop in Jaipur is a textile mill, where they weave rugs and prepare all sorts of fabrics and clothes. There is a demonstration of the weaving process and also the vegetable dye stamping process. The complex is very large and has a salesfloor for each type of product made at this mill. Cindy tried on a saree and immediately she was the center of attention for another photo op from curious Indians. As this building went on and on, what we didn't understand is that one hour of our tour would be tied up by salespeople trying to sell us each product; sarees, rugs, tableclothes, jewelry, carved items, artwork.....my goodness, would it never stop? Finally, we were very hungry and just said enough is enough and said no to everything. Suddenly, we figured out Lolit is probably getting a cut of the action at each stop. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

At this point, we stop at a restaurant that surprisingly is filled with Caucasians, the designated tourist restaurant. The registered tour drivers union must have this restaurant stop in their contract. During the dinner, there is a little boy that comes over and dances for us, also expecting money. We simply ignore him and then try to guess to which table he will perform next. Again, very sad and harsh, but necessary to avoid being inundated with other beggars.

After lunch, we head up into the hills to tour the Nahargarh Fort and Madhvendra Palace complex. The view is breathtaking as you look over the city of Jaipur. The fort and palace are mid 1700's in age and the palace had nine apartments for the nine queens of the Maharaja. Some of the detailed architecture is still visible today, but it's the view over the city that is spectacular. There are other forts in the distance on other hills that basically provided a strong defense for the city.

As we descend from the hills, Lolit gives us some options for additional sightseeing and we decide to go back to our hotel and call it a day. As we get back into the city, we encounter terrible traffic now being created by the Muslim festival. Thousands of people are on the streets all heading to some central location. It becomes a little scary as the car is surrounded by people and we're not moving; three Caucasians with driver inside a very small street. Lolit eventually asks a passerby the best option for exit and we drive away.

Back at the hotel, Smita had suggested another excursion later in the night, the Chokhi Dhani Village. Lolit picked us up around 7 and took us to this "Renaissance Festival" similar venue. It came complete with elephant and camel rides, a bazaar, a human driven ferris wheel, magic acts, dancing acts, restaurants and small museums. Unfortunately, we were running tired and spent only about 45 minutes there, but there was certainly a lot packed into this sprawling facility. Probably an item for a return visit some day when we can spend more time.

Lolit dropped us off back at the hotel about 9:30 and we were off to bed for another early morning train ride; this time to Agra, the site of the Taj Mahal and our last excursion before departure from India.

Namaste

Posting Status

2011-12-07T23:09:00.005-06:00

As we are sitting here at the Saket Bed and Breakfast, www.saketbedandbreakfast.com, I am going to run out of time to finish Tuesday and Wednesday's blog.

So, here's what we're going to do. Upon our return, I will finish the writing of the escapades on the weekend, so you will be throughly updated come Monday morning. My hope is also to upload some pictures that will complete some of the stories we've been following.

I've provided you the flight information earlier. Let's look at weather.

VIDP -- Clear and 61 degrees

EHAM -- Chance of rain and 46 degrees

KMSP -- Mostly sunny and 15 degrees!!!!!!!

I think this makes it a perfect weather profile for our flights given the time of year!!! I know that our light summer coats will probably not be quite enough for Minnesota weather, but we will adjust.

This entire trip has been one of adjustments and we feel so blessed to have the opportunity to see Steve and Shubhra and to experience a foreign country, for me, for the very first time. There are so many memories and the posts have tried to bring you along with us. Hope you have enjoyed them.

So, for the very last time from India on this trip, Namaste!!!!

P.S. No TD. Congrats to those taking the poll that said I wouldn't get sick....definitely another blessing!!!!!!! :) :) :)

Travel!!!!!!

2011-12-07T20:58:00.008-06:00

So, the last three days have truly been a whirlwind.

We did wake up on schedule Monday and started our descent by taxi to Dehradun at 3:30. We arrived at the Dehradun train station at 4:45 and departed via train to Delhi at 5:12.

The train ride went fine and we arrived in Delhi at 11:15. Our next departure for Jaipur was not until 5:30, so we took a taxi over to Connaught Place and hung out at Subway until about 3:30. Subway gets real busy in this area, which is a major shopping hub in Delhi, but we were able to stay at our table the whole time with 2 large suitcases and 3 backpacks surrounding us like a little fort.

We left Subway via taxi and went to the New Delhi train station. Upon arrival, we don't see our train listed. A couple Indian gentlemen look at our ticket and tell us we need to go to the old Delhi Train Station, the train to Jaipur departs from that station, instead.

Steve is a Godsend and knows exactly what to do; find another taxi quickly and get us piled onboard. The trip over to the Old Delhi station doesn't take long and we are still sitting, timewise, in good shape. Our train will depart from Platform 9, we climb the steps up to the bridge that goes over the tracks and climb back down to Platform 9....always carrying two suitcase and three backpacks.

We arrive in the platform and none of the signage is making sense. There is a train here, but it doesn't seem to be ours, our car isn't here. In India, each train car has a designation A1, C3, etc. Your ticket tells you which car is yours. When we walk along the train, we don't see our car, yet the passengers are telling us it's going to Johrpur, which we think might be another city. Finally, we find someone that confirms it is our train. So, now we don't know where to go....we can't find our car. We are running up and down the platform. Suddenly, my backpack opens and all the contents spill on the platform, including this ipad2!!!!!!! Thankfully, some very helpful Indians are close by and help us scoop up the belongings. We decide to just jump into any car and sort it out with the conductor. We push everything onto the train, Steve goes back out to talk to someone and the train starts to move. I yell at him to get on the train and he boards as the train is moving. (Now Amazing Race fans, does this sound familiar????!!!!! Oh, my!!!!!!

On board the A1 car, we seek out the conductor and find that the A2 car is at the front the train and we can't get to it from here. We ask him if we could get off at the next stop and transfer. He does one better and finds us available sleeping berths in this current car that we can use to get to Jaipur!!! So helpful!!!!! The only awkward situation is to sleep in the berth with our suitcases. They are too big to be stowed under the lower berths, which are occupied by the lower berth people.

The LBP (lower berth people) are an interesting lot. As I was on the top, I had to move around and my feet with shoes on had to fly over their heads. Well, I was quickly told that dust from my shoes had dropped upon the gentleman....as if the train is spotless, anyway. Well, no more than 30 minutes later, Cindy was eating potato chips and one of the chip crumbs dropped below. Immediately, we were scolded that our food had dropped upon them. Cannot win!!!!

So, we thought, if we could just sleep, we wouldn't disturb them. However, they had the lights on, cell phones going off and constant conversation. So much for sleep. Ahhhh, but when it was time for them to sleep, they shut off the lights no matter what we were doing and our berths were completely black. So much for doing anything else. It wasn't the best train experience. But, again, very thankful that we made the train and received a place to put our bodies for the trip.

The trip is about 6 1/2 hours and we arrive at around midnight. A thirty minute taxi ride to the hotel and we've arrived at our final destination, Utsav Niwad Jaipur.

A long day ends with excellent accommodations!!!!!!! (And may I point out the accommodations came without LBP!!!!!)

Namaste

Final Photos - Final Shopping

2011-12-04T07:47:00.003-06:00

So, our final day in Woodstock/Mussoorie contains quite a bit of walking/hiking.

We started our morning with Steve's apple pancakes with bacon and fresh orange juice. Having had an energizing breakfast, Cindy and I hit the Woodstock trails for the last time, literally focusing on the dorm buildings for photo opportunities. We went to the lowest building and farthest building from S & S, a drop of about 500-600 ft and photographed all the buildings in between. I believe we now have photographed every building on campus, so for any of you having students considering Woodstock, we can provide you a travel brochure!!

Returning home, Cindy had a beautiful Indian meal with Dal and assorted other foods. I went for Shubhra's homemade bagels, which were fabulous!! Completing the hike and the lunch, we napped in the sun on the terrace for most of the afternoon.

At about 4:00, we set out for our final trek to the bazaar for some final shopping. The bazaar was very busy with a lot of traffic. We found some great bargains, thanks to our India shopping consultant, Shubhra. We also picked up some antique bed posts that Shubhra had purchased a while ago from an antique dealer. With each of us carrying one, it made the job a lot easier and in one trip. She is going to have a table made from the posts.

In walking back from the bazaar, we saw many coolies carrying very large packs, some of them large electronic speakers. S & S say they are primarily of Tibetan ethnicity and have very short lifespans due to the extreme weight of what they carry. We noted that many of them were very short in stature, with the pack sometimes larger than them. And remember, they are carrying these packs up very steep hillsides. Quite a tough and strenuous job!!!!!

So, we are now back here packing and preparing for our 2:30 am wakeup call to meet the taxi at 3:30 that will bring us to the Dehradun train station. This will start the second half of the trip, which will be the sightseeing portion of the trip.

As I stated previously, internet is uncertain, so we will play it by ear for future blogs this week. Our itinerary puts us in Jaipur Monday night, with an all day tour, Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, we travel to Agra and end up in Delhi that evening. Thursday is spent in Delhi, with our flight for home leaving at 1:50 am, Delhi Time, Friday morning.

Flight information for those tracking:

KLM 872 departing Delhi 1:50 am arriving in Amsterdam 6:05 am local time

Delta 259 departing Amsterdam 10:45 am local time arriving at MSP at 1:00 pm CST.

So we basically travel the same calendar day, Friday, the 9th of December.

Until later......Namaste

Saree, Students and Scrooge

2011-12-03T19:45:00.007-06:00

I thought the title of this post tells enough for our Saturday in the foothills. You would think Saturdays would be laid back and quiet, but in Woodstock, something is always happening.

Our morning begins with Shubhra doing some cooking in the kitchen. She is preparing Butter chicken for the afternoon visit of Steve's advisees. With laptop close at hand revealing an internet recipe, she works on the preparation. Meanwhile, Steve and I read another internet recipe for Naan. http://www.indianfoodforever.com/indian-breads/naan.html. We get to the point of waiting for the dough to rest and it's time to go to the bazaar for some shopping.

Steve needs to meet someone further in to Mussoorie, so he runs ahead to meet the person by the deadline. Shubhra, Cindy and I go to the fabric store to buy a saree for Cindy. The shop is small, but just full of various forms of Indian dress or fabrics. We sit on these benches, very similar to when you go to a shoe store where someone waits on you. He has his assistant pull several saree options, it is totally overwhelming. There are different colors , different fabrics, different designs.....finally, Cindy and Shubhra narrow down a color range. With still many options , the shopkeeper suggests holding them up in front of Cindy to see which one would work the best. Once they are in front of her, the obvious one is chosen. The next step is to get the blouse and petticoat fabric. He has his assistant up on a ladder choosing multiple fabrics and the shopkeeper chooses the right one.

Having paid the shopkeeper, we walk down to the tailor. He takes all of Cindy's measurements and will do the preparation of the blouse and petticoat. Shubhra will then bring the whole outfit when they come in the summer. Steve meets up with us after his meeting and we all walk back along the narrow path which overlooks the hospital and the road below.

Once back at the house, Shubhra and Steve finalize the preparations for the advisee lunch. There are twelve 12th grade advisees; seven boys and five girls. They are representing the countries of India, Nepal, Korea, Thailand, Bhutan and the state of Colorado in the US. And do they ever eat a lot, especially the boys!!!!! :)

After their departure, there is a little downtime until we dress up and head off to the Principal's residence. In Woodstock, the principal is the equivalent to the superintendent of schools in Minnesota, reporting directly to the board and overseeing the entire operation. She is an 83 old interim principal with a lot of spunk. Select staff have been assigned roles for the reading of Dicken's "A Christmas Carol", which will be read to the other invited staff. It was a great idea and everybody enjoyed the evening.

We retired for the evening knowing that tomorrow, Sunday, will be our last day at Woodstock and in Mussoorie. The time has gone so fast and we are very sad to be leaving so soon, especially when Shubhra cannot join us in our sightseeing due to her work schedule.

With us departing early Monday morning for Delhi and then Jaipur, we begin a stage of our trip that is unknown for internet access. It may be that the blogging will stop until wheels down in MSP. We will just play it by ear.

Namaste

Christmas in Woodstock

2011-12-02T18:05:00.004-06:00

As we had toured the dorms yesterday, there were Christmas decorations galore throughout. Yesterday, also marked the beginning of the Christmas pageants where each class presents a drama each day beginning with the early childhood/Pre-K.

Well, today is the 1st and 2nd grade presentation supervised by our own Shubhra!!! We gather in the Quad around 8:15 with cameras in hand. The entire junior school students and staff represent the audience, in addiition to parents AND in-laws.... :)

At 8:30, Shubhra takes the microphone introducing the story, The Elves and the Shoemaker. http://www.authorama.com/grimms-fairy-tales-39.html

There was the narrator, who was our own Mahima Peters (remember Michael,the renamed Golden Gopher). There was the shoemaker and his wife. And then there were the elves. This presentation was unreal!!!!!!!! The kids knew their lines, they were very dramatic, you could hear them, enunciation was fantastic; a stellar performance!!!!!!! (It is unfortunate I can't provide the photos yet.) After the performance, Cindy and I went into the classroom and took a group photo. They were so proud of their accomplishment, and rightly so!!!!!!

We said our goodbyes and walked upstairs to the alumni office, where they sell Woodstock merchandise. I was finally able to buy my "topi", Hindi for hat, among other things.

The rest of the day was spent resting and reading in the sun. It is so peaceful and tranquil with the weather and the view!!!!! We did have a couple of stray monkeys walk by, one of them was using Cindy's slacks hanging on the clothes line as a peek-a-boo. I just can't keep the camera close all the time; didn't get that shot. :(

In the evening, Steve and Shubhra took us to this very fancy restaurant back up at the Chukkar, Emily's. http://www.tripadvisor.in/Restaurant_Review-g297689-d2062556-Reviews-Emily_s-Mussoorie_Uttarakhand.html

Emily's resides in this very beautiful hotel called Rokeby Manor. It is owned by one of the Woodstock alumni and was used as a boy's dorm during remodeling of the hostel, the current boy's dorm. The restaurant and hotel were all decorated for Christmas, very festive!!! The view is priceless and the food at Emily's was exellent!!!! Cindy had salmon and I had Almond Crusted white fish; both of them prepared perfectly.

One advantage of stuffing yourself at any restaurant in Mussoorie is the walk home. You always walk off the meal!!!!! In our case, we drop about 400 ft back to the house.

Another memorable day in Mussoorie!!!!!!!

Namaste

Chukkar!!!

2011-12-01T18:54:00.009-06:00

http://www.mapmywalk.com/s/routes/view/run-jog-map/india/mussoorie-chukkar/13436806

Here is a map of where we went this morning. Ironically, this website also has a comment by Mussooriesteve. Anybody care to guess who this runner might be? As you look at the map, the green dot indicates where Steve first lived when he arrived at Woodstock, hence the reason he is familiar with this run.

Well, those of us that qualify for Perkins senior discounts decided to walk!!! S&S currently live at 6900 ft, which means about a rise of 300-600 ft for this hike today. The views were breathtaking, especially on the north side looking towards the Himalayas!!!! The actual snow covered peaks were already surrounded by haze, but you still could see them. This is the view to which Steve awakened every morning in that first year. Again. I am frustrated that I can't upload the pictures now, but upon our return, you will be treated to quite a slideshow!!

The entire trek took about 2 1/2 hours. It was complete with monkeys, cows, shops and bazaar, two churches, a Christian cemetery and the views. Not a lot of traffic at this altitude on the single vehicle road, so that was good, but you still had to be alert for them. This is where my words won't do it justice, the pictures need to be here. It seemed to me that the people at this altitude were a little friendlier with many more "namaste" greetings as we passed. Usually when we've been walking, people will stare and not smile. This was a little different.

We also had our friendly dog following us for the first half hour, hoping that we would guard him against the dog gangs. Well, he turned around and we never saw any dog gang at that altitude, we saw them as we going down the hill and they were all laying down sunning themselves, not an extremely fierce group of dogs.

Getting back to home, we relaxed in the sun the rest of the afternoon, reading our electronic books. Yes , I am liking the ipad2!! Yes, I am somewhat hooked. BUT......... I can't upload my photos to the blog and typing on the electronic keyboard is a pain. However, it is an easy and compact way to communicate with the outside world and for that, I am deeply appreciative. It also helps to have a very reliable wi-fi provided by S&S!!!!!

In the evening, we were invited to dinner by the Peters. They are the people that hosted the Skype wedding of S&S in July. We brought gifts for them from the US, especially for their son and daughter, who were big helpers at the wedding.

For Ashish, we gave him a talking Vikings football that presented three audio clips: "Touchdown Vikings!!!, the Skol Vikings song, and the Viking horn. The sound began every time you would tap or hit the ball. Well, before the night is over, I believe the Vikings scored more touchdowns than the last 4 seasons and Mahima, his sister was humming Skol Vikings!!! For Mahima, we gave her a stuffed U of M Goldie Gopher. She immediately began to feed it peanuts and renamed it Michael because of the letter "M" on his sweatshirt. It was fun to see their reactions.

And now, Mark, what was for dinner???? We had small pieces of fish, some round things, some peanuts and then the entree, Tibetan Momos. I am trying to cut and paste the Wikipedia website, but can't do it. Just Google "Tibetan Momos". She had made three different types, spinach and cheese, chicken and mutton. I went with the first two. I believe I am sufficiently surprising all by my ability to try and eat of these different things and not get sick!! ! :) But for the most part, these will probably be delicacies I will probably not continue to eat upon my return. I know, no surprise there!!!

While we were down in that area of the campus, we toured the buildings, which are predominantly dorms. If you look at a picture of the Woodstock campus, you will usually see a circular building. That is the area of campus. Now when you put that into altitude perspective, we were now probably about 500 ft below S&S base camp. Add that to our trek this morning, and you have about 1000-1200 ft of vertical rise and fall today; quite the exercise.

Another great day in the Himalayan foothills!!!!!!

Have a great evening!!!!!!!!