In case you're wondering why there wasn't a post yesterday, we were abducted. By camels. In the Thar Desert. And left to die. All that is true except for the abduction and the dying parts. We did ride camels yesterday and today. We left at around 2:30 yesterday and went to a cemetery, a temple, the empty village, and the camel village. The empty village used to have people until the 1700s or 1800s when everyone packed up and left overnight. Now it is "of archaeological, historical, and architectural importance." Next to it is the Jurassic [Cactus] Park. We didn't ...
Today was toasting hot. It spiked to 100° Fahrenheit and felt like 110. We're inside, though, in the air-conditioned Hotel Surja that serves... toast! For breakfast this morning, Ethan had a chocolate-banana pancake, orange juice, masala tea, and toast. Mom selected a cheese omelette, tea, orange juice, and toast. Dad ordered scrambled eggs, tea, OJ, and toast. I had a masala omelette, tea, and- you guessed it- toast. After going to the Jain temple complex and buying two wall-hangings from a woman (!) named Bobbi, we wandered around inside the fort. Dad had Ethan and I stand next to a ...
I woke up at- oh, this hurts- 3:20 am take a shower so we could be in a taxi at four. Our train was supposed to leave at 4:45. It left at 6:30. Between these times, we saw a pickpocket trying to rob a man sleeping on the platform. We think he failed. Once on the train, we went to sleep and when I woke up, I put my hand on the window. It was the inner of two. And it was almost hot. Our train finally chug-chug-HONKed into Jaisalmer. The brown buildings were a welcome sight after hours of red dirt ...
Today was our village day and our last day in Jodhpur. We did this with Lorrianne. Rachel was with us at the very beginning and end. I liked the two schools better than the village because the kids were less shy and so cute. The first school we went to was the one where Rachel, our next-door neighbor, is working for three weeks. We only went to her classroom, which was kind of disappointing because I wanted to meet some of the younger students there. The class sang songs like "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" for us and two of ...
This morning on our way home from the park down the street, Dad commented on the lack of cow poop in the road.There is a lot on the road, including filling up potholes. "There is some," he admitted. "But there are lots of cows." These would be the holy cows, naturally, and a few minutes after he said this, I found two reasons why. 1: There was a wheelbarrow full of the stuff on the side of the road. 2: There were bricks of cow poop drying on the side of the road. Whether they'll be used for bricks or ...
"Where are you from?" the man asks. "United States," my dad replies. It seems like half the population of India should know that this family are from the US. Obviously five hundred million people don't, but it feels like they do. When people ask "Where are you from?" they usually add, "England? Canada? Germany?" No one has guessed the United States. I'm surprised they guessed Germany because they heard us speaking English, which is why most think we're British. When we say "United States," there are plenty of funny reactions. Here are some of my favorites: Boy: Where are you ...
We’ve arrived at J number 2: Jodhpur, India. We’ve just left Jaipur, and Jaisalmer is next on our list. After a late (7:30) wake-up call, we had breakfast, watched some Olympic highlights, and moved out of Devi Niketan. The Admiral took our picture in front of the building and said he’d send it to us. After saying good-bye and thank-you and have-a-nice-trip, four people, four suitcases, four backpacks, and one hat piled into the taxi and rode to the train station. Each time we ride, I feel a little less conspicuous. Apparently we look like seasoned travelers (or just English-speakers) ...
This morning we “did” the pink city’s main attractions: the observatory, the palace, and the wind wall. The observatory wasn’t like I thought; I was expecting a telescope. Instead, it had things like holes in the ground (to tell time/date) and UFO-shaped trees. (Seriously- they were pruned in the shape of UFOs.) We didn’t go in the palace because it cost US$20 for all four of us, but we did see our first snake charmers outside. Mom freaked out and kept her distance. It was my job to keep her calm. The wind wall is a wall (surprise!) that high-ranking ...
We’re watching the Olympics from afar and are cheering on all our favorite athletes including the U.S. women’s gymnastics team (Kyla Ross, McKayla Maroney, Gabrielle Douglas, Jordyn Wieber, Alexandra Raisman) who won gold in the women’s gymnastics team event last night. Sad Silver Good job to Alexandra Raisman on the beam (bronze) and floor (gold). And three cheers for Gabrielle Douglas in the all-around (gold)! But we are sad about Gabrielle's losses on the beam and uneven bars, Jordyn Wieber's loss on the floor, Alexandra's third-place tie on all-around, and McKayla Maroney's silver vault. Ciao! ...
Today we had the good fortune to visit three forts near Jaipur: Amber Fort, Jaigarh Fort, and Nahargarh Fort. We spent the most time at Amber Fort because that was the first one we visited. We were trying to get to Nahargarh Fort because the Amber Fort tickets included a visit to its neighbor, but our driver misunderstood and took us to Jaigarh Fort instead. At Nahargarh Fort, we only paid a visit to the palace because we were looking for a good place to take pictures of Jaipur. Apparently the conditions weren’t right, but we did get to smell ...
Today was another sleepy day. After a huge breakfast that included papayas, bananas, corn flakes, toast, and omelettes, we got suggestions about things to do in Jaipur from the Admiral. His name is Madvhendra Singh, but "Admiral" is so much easier to pronounce than "Madvhendra." In the book in our rooms, you can read about things from the rules of bocce to when your guests have to leave to the Admiral's family's story. His son, Bhriguraj Singh, is the Senior Vice President of HSBC bank in Mumbai while his daughter, Dr. Piyusha Singh, is a Programme Director at Excelsior College ...
We got to sleep in! (Sort of) We were allowed to wake up as late as 7:30 so we could have breakfast an hour later. Shiron’s mother made an Indian breakfast for us: putis and a potato curry. You’re supposed to scoop the potatoes into the puti (which is like a tortilla that is very thin and circular) and stick it in your mouth, using your right hand of course. (In case you’re wondering, Shiron is the owner of N Home Stay.) After eating, we finished packing and learned more about the power outage: it was nation-wide and had happened at about one in ...
We woke up this morning at 5:40 to get to the Taj Mahal by six. (Shakil took us.) After two hours there, Shakil returned us to N Home Stay where we showered, rested, and had a breakfast of toast, eggs, and, for Ethan and me, Cadbury chocolate shots and strawberry gummies. We tried to get Olympic coverage on the TV but for some reason we couldn't get power. The mini-Taj was next on our list. It was built for the king by the king but he never finished it. It is waaaaay smaller than the Taj Mahal across the river, ...
We arrived in Agra last night at eight after five hours on the plane and about four hours on the train and too many hours awake. While on the ramp out to our plane, I picked up an Olympic magazine, which kept me company along with A Thousand Words on our flight. Once we landed and went through customs and immigrations, we got some cash, water bottles, and mochas. The mochas were delicious, and so was the Oreo brownie Ethan got. My peach and banana cake was bland and dry. We got into a rickety taxi at Post 36 and ...
At a Swensen's in Thailand... hopefully. We may actually get to go to India tomorrow! Swensen's was pretty much all we did today except for swimming twice. The first time we were at Viva Gardens and Ethan and I swam by ourselves. Well, there were two little boys in the pool too, but they stayed in the shallow end. Ethan and I are such tall people that we could only be in the deep end (1.2 meters). Well, only in the deep end until we raced. We had one really long race at the end: three half-laps with different strokes ...
Wow Eryn! you really are going all around the world!!!! LUCKY!!!! I’ll miss you @ school though 🙁
Eryn! Have a safe trip! I miss you already. And post a lot of things, cause I’ll be checking;) Love you TONS!
Good Morning Miss Eryn, Did you like bowling? Did you put the ball down the lane or were they gutter balls like I manage? I’m glad y’ll made it safely to the country of Siam. I’m assuming you have gotten warm, thaughed out or otherwise melted? You’ll get used to it as the days go by. Enjoy everything to the fullest. Laters, Love Grandma
Bowling was okay. Not my favorite … “sport”. (Honestly, I prefer minigolf.) Umm… it seems like half-and-half, but I think it was 1/3 gutter balls and 2/3 “good” balls. Oh, yes, we’re very thawed, and we’re melting through the back of our shirts. 🙂 I love you! Tell Grandpa and Zoie “hi” for me, and tell Grandpa I send my love!
Good Morning Sweetie, Well guess what…its raining. should be in the mid 60’s today. Did u get my reply from yesterday? when I pushed the Post Comment button it said the server was down or some such nonsence!
I’m getting ready to go to Curves. Today is the Garage Sale and its raining. Should have it on a different weekend.
Have fun today. Love you
Good Morning, Ethan!
The things and places you have already seen and enjoyed are very interesting and will be remembered for your life. But even more interesting to me is what you see when compared to the other scribes’ reports on this ADVENTURE. Keep up the good work!
Your discription of the Buddhist shrine/Temple leave me wondering how odd Christians must look to Buddhists.
I am really enjoying your notes.
Love, Gramps
Hi Eryn,
Wow! Is what I have to say! You have a great writing style, informative and entertaining 🙂 I look forward to your continuing sagas.
Happy trails!
Eryn.. it most certainly seems like you and your family are having a wonderful time
(so Jealous!) Love your stories, especially about your mom ! Thanks for keeping us posted.
Yes… but I tone down the stories of my mom a lot. 🙂 And, yes, we’re having a good time here in South Africa.