Backwaters
Our tour boat glided slowly through Kerala’s backwaters.
We gazed out over palm trees, and life along the river banks.
Yes, we’ve seen similar scenes while pedaling. But here we didn’t have to worry about Tata trucks blasting past us.
Traffic chaos
Bedlam
Still groggy with sleep, Paul pulled the hotel curtains open.
Outside – chaos, confusion, traffic anarchy!
And we soon would have to pedal through it…
More on the road impressions:
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Parade
Parade
We spent the morning sitting on a teashop bench, watching the decorated trucks and busses drive by.
I was just about to leave when Paul said, “Grace, wait. I see something else coming.”
More Badami impressions:
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Main street
Main street
The real India can be found in its villages, rich with all of their countless activities.
On Badami’s main street, preparations were beginning for the Diwali festival.
More Badami impressions:
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Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm
Schools out for the day. And if you chance upon a foreign cyclist, why not stop them?
More on tour impressions:
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Ganesh
Ganesh
In India, shrines are everywhere.
We came across elephants who bestow blessings, Hanuman statues carved in rock faces, termite mounds draped in gold cloth and even Ganesh’s face painted on tree trunks.
More traveling about impressions:
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Shekhawati
Faded Glory
Cows lounging in the streets, shacks with tin roofs, bus horns blaring to announce their departure. That’s India.
But the painted towns of Shekhawati display a wealthy past that’s difficult to reconcile with their present day state.
Touring the dusty, backwater towns felt as if were were visiting an abandoned art gallery.
Another Shekhawati impression:
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Truck stop
Truck stop
At a truck stop, a Sikh chauffeur showed us our location on the map while the mechanics wanted to know what was in our water bottles. (Whiskey? diesel?)
The place was a world in itself since the mechanics lived behind their workshops.
Another highway impression:
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Amber palace
Palace
The last thing we expected to see while traveling the polluted, over-crowded Delhi-Jaipur highway is Amber Fort.
It’s a beacon of elegance that rises above the Aravalli hills.
Once inside, we felt miles away from the chaos of India.
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Intersection
Intersection
Distracted by the movie billboards, Grace collided with an oncoming rickshaw.
Thankfully nothing was damaged and they were both able to pedal on.
Another Delhi impression:
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