# 125 LOVE

(Happy Valentine’s Day from me to you.)  

"Today we visit the east and west temple complexes that the Chandelas constructed.  The erotic stone carvings here have come to symbolize the important role of love and prana energy in Hindu thought.  British archaeologists excavated these intricate stone carvings during colonial times, when the scandalized post-Victorian English sensibilities. 

We will take the 40 minute flight to Varanasi, the holiest of Hindu cities.  Known as Benares during British times, Varanasi is one of the oldest cities in the world, with a written history dating back more that 4000 years. It has an intense, almost palpable atmosphere of spiritual devotion, a feeling of an unending religious festival.  Hundreds of temples propitiate the thousands of deities in the Hindu pantheon.  Pilgrims from every part of this vast nation crowd the narrow streets and the riverside ghats.

This evening, we’ll witness the aarti ceremony on the Ganges.  As the day comes to a close, we’ll travel to the bathing ghats located alongside the sacred River Ganges.  People flock in large numbers every day to bathe and worship in the temples built beside the riverbank.  Feel the timelessness of Varanasi as the sun sets and as the temple priests perform aarti, the sacred light ceremony, on the banks of Mother Ganga.  The aarti performance is best viewed while having a boat ride on the river."

From OAT

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# 124 A Sense of Humor

Namaste

(This is from me—this next part makes me want to reconsider before even starting out, but by now, we have been on the road for 13 days so will probably follow their advice.)

"To enjoy and make the most of this vary long, overland, travel day, you’ll need to approach it with curiosity, an adventurous spirit, and a healthy sense of humor.

We begin our journey early this morning, as we board a train for an approximately two-hour ride to Jhansi, a center of Bundela civilization. Upon arriving at the railway station in Jhansi, we will transfer to our coach and continue overland for a half-hour drive to Orcha. After lunch we continue overland via coach on the long (four-and a-half-hour drive) and bumpy road to Khajuraho.

Although remote and very quiet today, in the tenth century Khajuraho was the center of the thriving civilization of the Chandelles.  The magnificent group of temples (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) was built between the ninth and tenth centuries by the Chandela Dynasty, which dominated central India at the time."

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# 123 Taj Mahal

Namaste

"Today we rise early to view a sight unlike any other in the entire world: early morning at the Taj Mahal.

This grand edifice, built by Shah Jahan from 1631 to 1653 to enshrine the remains of his Queen Mumtaz Mahal, took 20,000 workers to build.  We walk into the inner chambers of this renowned “monument to Love,” and seek out several vantage points to see the magnificent play of light.  The semi-translucent white marble is inlaid with thousands of semi-precious stones in beautiful patterns and the building has four identical faces, a perfect exercise in symmetry.  It’s truly a wonder of the world!

Later in the morning we visit the sprawling Agra Fort on the bank of the Yamuna River.  This immense fort and place were the seat of power for four generations of Mughal emperors; they pulled all of northern India from the early 16th century until the consolidation by British colonial rule in the early 1800s.  Agra Fort’s architecture is an almost perfect fusion between military might and lavish beauty."

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# 122 Mughals

Namaste

"As we continue to explore India, we experience the vast rural countryside of India as we ride toward Agra.  En route, our Trip Leader entertains us with a discussion of the history of the Mughals.

We break up today’s long drive with a stop at Abhaneri to view ancient baolis, essentially a step-all or waterway built to provide a constant water supply to local inhabitants."

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# 121 "Day in the Life"

Namaste

"After breakfast, we’ll stroll into a local village to visit with the students at a primary school that OAT proudly supports through donations from Grand Circle Foundation.

We’ll continue with our Day In the Life of this village, meeting local people and seeing their houses and way of life.  We’ll be the guests of one family for a Home-Hosted Visit.  Next we visit a cooperative where women are trained to make handcrafts.  We'll learn about this enterprise from one of the women involved.  

After lunch, we begin our drive (totaling approximately four hours on a bumpy road) to our village camp retreat.  

Our campsite is nestled among small plots of land used by local farmers to grow a rich diversity of crops.  Often, villagers will stop by to pay us a visit, or farmers will take a break from their work to share a laugh.  Especially enchanting are the mustard blooms, which, in season, resemble thousands of buttercups waving in the breeze.

Dinner is an authentic Indian dinner prepared especially for us by our camp cook, who uses the freshest locally grown organic ingredients.  

After dinner we’ll relax around the campfire and enjoy being entertained by local dancers who proudly perform cultural Indian dances for us."

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# 120 Safari Time

Namaste

"In the early morning, when the nocturnal animals may still be active, we head out for game-viewing before breakfast.  Once again, our mode of transportation is a canter, a safari truck.  We may see all the great Indian species: smaller, nilgai, the shy chinkier and chital, and the always cunning Langur monkey.

After lunch, we regroup for a second safari expedition.  Though it is rare, we may see the Royal Bengal tiger, usually sleeping by day in the tall grass.  A recent census showed 26 tigers in the reserve.  We also see lakes that hold crocodiles, and a wide variety of water birds in season.  More than 450 bird species frequent this area, from crested serpent eagles to painted storks."

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# 119 Ranthambore National Park

Namaste

“After breakfast, we leave Jaipur and drive through the rural country-side and into the low Vindhya mountain range.  The drive is about five hours in length along bumpy roads” (oh great!).

Our destination is Ranthambore National Park.  Located near the town of Sawai Madhopur, the park is one of the eleven sites chosen for Project Tiger, India’s national tiger conservation program, the largest such effort in the world.  The park comprises more than a hundred square miles of deciduous forest and several large lakes, and until 1970 it was a hunting preserve of the maharajas."

From OAT  

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