Journeys

ON TO SERAM

2011-08-26T16:45:00.001+10:00

Flew out of the Bandas to Amahai on Seram and then travelled overland to Sawai on the very north coast of Seram.

This island is reputed to be one of the most rugged and inaccessible islands in Indonesia, but the road over the mountains has now at least linked the south coast nearest Ambon to its north coast. It is indeed rugged and beautiful with the enormous Manusela National Park taking up a vast proportion of the eastern part of the island.

This was a bit of a difficult journey, and the vehicle we'd hired finally bailed on us 6kms from the destination, claiming the road was too "rusak" (i.e. wrecked, except for 4 wheel drives). We were so glad we'd bought our sturdy Eagle travel packs with truck style wheels as they turned out to be very suited for Indonesian travel! A young man carrying a chain saw on his shoulder this same distance walked along with us, and finally a passing motorbike rider, who just happened to own the guest house we were aiming for, organised us a couple of ojeks to finish the journey.

We soon forgot the heat and being cross when we saw the setting, and when we were served some gorgeously tasty food, and we could sit and watch the corals and fish from our verandah's edge......

Dawn at Sawai...........

Where we could watch coral grow.........

And see the sunset.........

And the next night was even more spectacular........

We had a wonderful dinner that evening with a group of 10 who'd returned from the Canopy Safari. They included Bill Bailey and his family - those of you who watch the wonderful comedy "Black Books" will recognise the name. All of the people in the group had funded a range of projects in Indonesia aimed at enabling a number of communities and various environmental projects - most impressive.

Some days the colour was amazingly tropical.........

Kids all over the world love fishing.........

A stray boat from the Darwin to Ambon Yacht race..........

Water life varied almost by the minute..........

And on our early morning forest walk we saw the absolutely gorgeous Seram Cockatoo fly over, as well as Sulphur crested cockatoos (same as Australia's), Hornbills, pigeons of various kinds........ (not my picture, but isn't the Seram Cockatoo gorgeous?)
Oh, and we declined the offer of the "Canopy Safari", sleeping 45 metres up in the rainforest canopy on a huge platform so you could wake pre dawn and actually be with the birds ............. If you want to try, I have the website!! The great thing about this project is that the local people have turned from being poachers to being guides and protecting the birdlife!

Then we took a longboat for the day, upriver a few hours to see the forest, and while this picture isn't great, it is the tail of a 3m estuarine crocodile disappearing from view!! (better than just seeing a tiger pug when you've gone out spotting tigers!!)

Much nicer was our own island for picnicking and snorkeling - Pulau Kecil.......

And then under the limestone cliffs for another spot of snorkelling to complete the day.......

We took a longboat from Sawai to Saka in the very early morning.........

And then a Kijang ( a 6 cylinder four wheel drive Toyota vehicle with 3 rows of slightly elevated seats built into the rear) Question: How many people can ride in a Kijang? Answer: 15, plus one on top with some of the luggage, but let's not forget the assorted bags, boxes and produce inside!!
(I'm sorry, there is something really wrong with the ?screen settings on this computer. The pics are not squashed like this on the cameras, but I can't change settings, so you'll have to be happy with an impression.)

It was actually a really comfortable ride for 2 hours to the express ferry from Tulehu to Ambon......... Another chapter concluded.

GLIMPSES OF BANDA

2011-08-21T18:12:00.001+10:00

A few glimpses of this beautiful group of islands in the Central Moluccas. (the photos are not excellent - this computere wanted me to do something odd, so some are a little distorted, but you'll get the picture!!)
Look at the shape of the Bandas on a map - they used to be a volcano, but now the islands are grouped around a caldera after Gunung Api (the mountain we saw from our deck each day) blew apart a very long time ago. The top of Gunung Api is warm to the feet I'm told, and there was a small earthquake while we were in Bandaneira (the capital). Imagine our friends who were lunching on the edge of the crater at that very moment!! The Bandas are known historically as the Nutmeg Islands at a time when European colonial powers were looking for black gold (slaves in Africa), metallic gold (South America) and Moluccan gold (nutmeg) - all comparably valuable at the time. There are some horrendous stories under the turbulent times of the Colonial powers, but now life is unbelievably peaceful, the people among the friendliest we have ever met, and it is a privilege to have spent time there in this picturesque place. Kevin's dream was truly fulfilled.

View of the harbour at the foot of Gunung Api from our room.

Sun setting over Gunung Api.

Gunung Api from another island, Lonthar - note the black lava flow down the slope whihc is not visible from our gueest house island. This is the Classic view Lonely Planet has in the front of their current edition of Indonesia, recommending the Bandas as the Number One place to visit in Indonesia (No, that is not why we visited!!)

Nutmeg fruit (like large golden apricots), with the red mace inside and then the nutmeg pod, and finally the nutmeg inside.

The nutmeg plantations were unbelievably beautiful, like huge parks. The nutmeg trees are the smaller ones, and these 300 year old buttressed beauties are Kenari trees, which give shade to the nutmegs. They produce an almond like seed, and kenari goodies you can buy in the market are delicious!

Life is not difficult for local people in some ways!

The village was so colourful, and we stumbled on the wildest colour schemes!

And the market had its own brand of colour!! A lot of things are sold by the can full.

Kids really know what play is!

There is so much history, but these kora kora boats were especially interesting and are still used on an annual basis with competition between the villages on all the islands.

The figurehead on this boat.

The kora Kora were so much more interesting than the oodles of yachts that were in port. The Darwin to Ambon to race was on, as well as "Sail Indonesia" so there were lots of yachts coming and going.

And they were never as interesting as the local public jetty - hours of interest here!

But it was just beautiful, whatever day you went somewhere or whereever you went.

Yes, and the English lessons went on and on in informal ways, not formally, like other of our friends did..... girls were especially shy to ask, but once they did, they were delighted

It was so easy to relax with other travellers under the shadow of Gunung Api at the end of the day.... we were so very privileged. People said the Bandas were really much like they had found them 15 years ago - glad we went!

And read "Nathaniel's Nutmeg" if you are interested.

INTERNET AND REMOTENESS INCOMPATIBLE

2011-08-19T15:07:00.000+10:00

Hi All

We are just fine, but have decided possibly to delay posting pics and stories until after Sept 12.... connections are so slow - 30 minutes just to download our email last time, and another 10 to open one e mail - not worth wasting time, though Ternate seesm better. We'll see.

Continuing the island hopping and exploring, and all is going well and we are both well. In Ternate. We found such an amazing hotel deal due to Ramadan(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) - we got a Ramadan special in a schmicko hotel - paying the same here for luxury and includes a huge breakfast and dinner, gorgeous pool etc, all the same price as we've been paying previously, being ultra careful and seeking out places!! And the internet is good, all on remote Ternate!! Plan is we'll do lots of day tripd from here. Trying to get to Lelai but may not make it.

In early Sept will transfer to Halmahera, then fly Ternate-Denpasar (Bali) Sept 9 and hobart Sept 11, arriving Sept 12.

The Kelimutu Experience, continued

2011-08-10T18:33:00.000+10:00

(Well, the Internet connection is a bit like the old dial-up, but perhaps the teensy weensy earthquake earlier this afternoon disrupted the air waves!!!! I added more to the end of the first Kelimutu posting a few days ago, so do check that if you didn’t realize I’d edited the first effort….. Figured I’d try a separate post and see if that works any better today speed-wise.)

The Little shanties became enclosed in plastic of all kinds:

Wanci to Ambon began in daylight hours, but it was quite late when we reached Ambon, and we had to wait for a few hours while another Pelni ship vacated the wharf…. By now it was rather wet – we seemed to have travelled into a persistent south easterly breeze and significant swell, so the decks were wet also, and it was foggy from time to time. All unloaded, and reloaded in Ambon in 3 hours, but we went to bed soon after it all began. We could see numerous tourists getting on (up until then we had been the only Europeans on board), and undoubtedly the pickpockets would be running wild. (In Banda at the Guest House we learned several people had lost valuables, one Norwegian girls lost passport, money, the lot…. The websites do all warn about this problem and people are unbelievably trusting and careless.)

Grey morning, decks really quite wet, floors dirty, nowhere to stand,quite cool and damp, but the people were still all absolutely gorgeous, fun loving and eager to talk. The clouds gradually lifted, and as they did, towards mid morning, we could see the first outlying islands of the Banda group, and soon Gunung Api emerged. It was a delightful scene, and we couldn’t wait to arrive.

This harbour is like magic: it opens up in front of the ship as it turns, and then turns the opposite way to negotiate the entrance........ We have to say we admire the skill of the men who control the Pelni ship - they do an amazing job getting in and out of wharf spaces and harbours! (These are other Pelni ships here, but you get the idea!)

There have been about four Pelni ships just in the 10 days we've been here, and there are only 5 each month, so organising travel is not straightforward! The best view is this one: We are lucky enough to have a waterfront room in the Delfika guesthouse - wonderful staff, all you could want, and best of all, this view of Gunung Api (644m a.s.l.) just fills our view; look to the right and we get a bird's eye view of the ever changing life on the public jetty; look left, and there are more islands and blue water.......... couldn't ask for more!! The sun sets behind Api. And no, we haven't tackled the climb - it is pretty vertical, and not for us, but a really kind French student is sharing his photos from the top - how kind!! Somehow watching this huge variety of boats chuntering up and down is far more entertaining than watching cars on a road in Tasmania!

Not sure how much blog I'll be doing if speeds remain like this further north - keep checking! Cx

The "Kelimutu" Experience

2011-08-08T19:13:00.001+10:00

For decades, Kevin has dreamed of sailing on a Pelni ship in Indonesia. These passenger (and by default, cargo) ships make a wonderful contribution to the more remote places in Indonesia, especially the eastern islands. Their frustrations lie in the fact you can't explore the ports of call in just 2 or 3 hours, plus you only access their schedule in the current month; however, by flitting off to Ubud and Lombok for the ten days, we fitted this schedule, boarding in Benoa (Bali) and arriving 6 nights and 5 days later in the Banda islands (Kevin's second dream!). We travelled via Bima (Sumbawa), Makassar (Sulawesi), Bau Bau (Buton island), Wanci, Ambon and finally Bandaneira, picking up many more passengers and much more cargo than we'd anticipated, but what an experience!
Our ship travels down the Irrawaddy in Burma had taught us the value of having a first class cabin (i.e. own space and own toilet) - the rest we were prepared to enjoy! I've decided a photo "essay" is the best way to go - it's all pretty self explanatory, and there is, of course, much more we can tell beyond this bare bones story.
July25 arrived at the appointed time at the Pelni office, and purchased the tickets - and yes, foreigners over 60 are generously offered a 30% discount, as are Indonesian nationals! July 26, ready to board!

Note the civilised, almost empty wharf, lack of crowds, and especially, lack of cargo! Loading all of this took about 2 hours, and at the end, the gangplank had to be brought back down for a wealthy man's huge black motor bike to be manhandled on by 6 porters!

Terrific staff looked after us, especially when they thought we would not understand all the announcements made in Bahasa Indonesian!

And there was wonderful space - we could do laps around the decks in between all sorts of great conversations with people, someof whom would be on this ship for 2 weeks, travellling from Surabaya to Papua! Even the cafeteria had space - not a lot given there were about 1,000 people on board:

Then there were the hours we spent talking to such interesting people from all of the island groups - they were without exception warm, inclusive and really interested in conversing with us. In turn we gave dozens and dozens of English lessons, especially to Toss, a man who teaches English in the Tanimbars:

And diminutive Verney, who teaches in Buton. They teach under extraordinary conditions; Verney, for example, teaches computer studies to 45 students in a class, 13 computers, 2 of which are connected to the web! They are inspiring peole and we just loved their company.

First morning out: Lombok's Rinjani was clearly in view:

And later in the afternoon, after sailing past drier Sumbawa, the majestic Tambora was in sight (This eruption occurred in the few decades before Krakatoa and was significantly larger!)

The sunset that day was glorious, but we didn't see Bima, except by the lights of the wharf. we did see 17 truckloads of really large bags of shallots - we should have been suspicious!! By the light of day, the decks were carefully stacked (including over portholes) - gone: the deck circuits!

And people camped in all the other spaces on the decks. We believe there technically was space in enconomy class, but people preferred the open air of the decks!

The sunset as we approached Makassar was glorious, and unique - the whole sky was orange! The wharf was absolutely chaotic! Porters with huge loads, people embarking and disembarking, and pickpockets dashing around in the crowd, making a killing!

The next morning, the hallways, and foyer spaces were also jammed with people!

And on the decks, further camping spaces were carved out:

Still, we enjoyed the company of so many...... Wanci was a delight to see, just what we all dream of about tropical islands!

The amount of cargo visible was a bit daunting - but this time it was loaded on the foredecks with the Kelimutu's crane.

And the whaarf crowd once again was quite unique:

Exiting crowds are just as interesting and one way traffic was essential!

Now the decks really did become crowded, with all sorts of little shanties developing:
(more tomorrow - perhaps it really will upload then!)Cx

BEGINNING ANOTHER INDONESIAN ADVENTURE

2011-07-24T14:36:00.000+10:00

Well, the pace is hotting up in more ways than one!

Spent a few delightful days in Bali surrounded by greenery, temple ceremonies, Balinese charm and in the company of our octogenerian friend, Elizabeth, from Howden ........... We'd found a most picturesque homestay away from the madness of the main street, and entering their family compound was like walking into an oasis of carefully manicured trees and flowers, traditional Balinese architecture, and being enveloped into the arms of their family - just wonderful. It was a rich view when compared with the penjor decorated street outside. These decorations are there especially for Galungan, the most important festival in the Balinese calendar.

But it did rain, and every day, but of course, it is the dry season, so following Indonesian logic, what else would you expect!
Then we took ourselves off on a shuttle bus via the big slow vehicular ferry east to Lombok. We ignored the most popular places, Senggigi and the Gili islands as they are wall to wall westerners, hotels, and all that we want to leave behind.
Instead, off to the centre to a small hotel on the slopes of Mount Rinjani, almost 4,000m high. It was a spectacular sight to wake up each day and have the view filled with this splendid volcanic form.

The Sasak people in this area are totally different to the Balinese - strongly Moslem, much darker and wirier, and totally ingenuous - a real delight to spend time with. Women (as one would expect in this culture) were not out in public very much. The centre of Lombok is a few steps behind, and so tinkling bells heralding a cidomo (horse cart) approaching were relatively common, especially in the towns.

I loved the conversations, hearing the wishes and hopes of the Sasak, and explanation of their lives - sadly they are pinning their hopes on the building of a new international airport near the south coast, just north of Kuta, Lombok, all funded with Dubai money. Vast tracts of this coastline have been bought by Chinese, Korean and Dubai money with plans for amazing hotels and multiple golf courses, and the associated bulldozing of the comfortable Lombok houses which are along the proposed highways. All I can say is we drank in the spectacular coastal scenery, and we are so grateful we beat the opening of the airport.

Another gorgeous 4 hours on the slow ferry back to Bali, entertained by people in general, and blown away by the fabulous sight of Mount Agung, Bali's tallest volcano.

Back in Bali now on the east coast at Candidasa for 2 nights, before hopefully getting our tickets on the Pelni ship,the Kelimutu to Banda on Tuesday. Turquoise seas, tasty food at warungs (small local restaurants) and hours of conversation with their owners..... a true delight in balmy warm tropical air.

'til next time!!

Snorkelling at Menjangan Island

2010-07-17T22:03:00.002+10:00

Well, today was pretty wonderful. We are at Pemuteran, North Bali, and today we took a trip to Menjangan Island, just half an hour's boat ride off the northern tip of Bali with the volcanoes of Java looming blue in the background . The island has a terrific coral shelf, and then this drops off into the deep, the face covered in corals and sponges and fish of every description - what a world of fish and coral, and what a place for us both to do our first ever snorkel - no photos, but the colour and life there were enthralling, and now we're hooked, there are other trips on the planning map!!
What made this a special trip is that it represents a success story - north Balinese people used to farm in the wet season and fish in the dry season; they practised fishing by dynamite and other practices which had all but destroyed the reefs nearby. This lifestyle has now been turned around, and these men now drive wooden boats to ferry tourists around, as well as act as guides and tutors, so the area is gradually being rehabilitated to the benefit of all - great to see and support!

Jatiluwih Rice Terraces

2010-07-13T17:15:00.001+10:00

This week's highlight had to be this 14 kms of amazing rice terraces in every direction - they are so incredible they have been nominated for UNESCO World heritage. The only pity of the day we travelled was it was very misty by the time we arrived, quite high up on the southern volcanic slopes, so the light caught me out a few times. Also, had the terraces just been planted, there would've been more green, but isn't the shining water ready for the planting this week gorgeous? Still, it was wonderfully spectacular and worth sharing. More great things have happened since, so watch for the next episode!!

The next few weeks

2010-07-09T19:53:00.000+10:00

Not sure about postings over the next few weeks. Tomorrow we are travelling through the Tabanan area to Munduk, up near the volcanoes. From there we will go along the north coast, try our hand at snorkelling and a few other things - never too old to learn, eh?!! From there, west to Gilliminuk, and then along the south, possibly to Lovina before we head back to Ubud for 2 nights, 24/25, leave 26 and arrive Hobart 27. Hopefully, I will do a posting at some stage along the way, fingers crossed. Take care, all.

The Cremation of a Royal

2010-07-04T18:13:00.001+10:00

Ubud puts culture, celebrations, dances and ceremonies in your face every time you turn around, but the most recent, most colourful and amazing day had to be Friday when we attended the cremation of the 95 yo widow of the King of the Regency of Mengwi, south of Ubud. Possibly billions of rupiah were spent on the event, which of course is another issue altogether in an island state where there is still considerable poverty but where custom. religion and tradition still largely dictate what people do.

"The belief here is that a soul borrows a physical human body, and so upon death, this body is returned to the five elements, wind, earth, fire, water and air, to release the soul and enable it to reincarnate on earth or unite with the divine Supreme Being."

Little prepared me for seeing the huge nine storey tower, the crowds, but it is so difficult o put this long day into words. I hope the following give you some idea of what we saw.

The Tower - 9 storeys for nobility, high caste

Colourful detail - bamboo, paper, wood, glitter, mirrors, paint, decorations

The white bull, the sarcophagus of nobles

One of the two black bulls and a few of hundreds of offerings

Laying the white carpet from the Palace....

to the niche for the corpse on the top of the Tower

Bringing the corpse up the ramp

Next came the ghost

Tying the oldest (and holiest) priest on. It is so high, and remember, its platform is carried by about 50 men to the Pura Dalem (Temple of the Dead), half a kilometre away, where the cremation ground is located.

At the Cremation Ground, taking the top off thebulls ready to symbolically insert her possessions.

Preparing the white bull for the corpse and her ghost

Senior female relatives light the first flames amongst the offerings

The fire quickly spreads and engulfs all three bulls.

Making sure the platform does not fall - that would be inauspicious

By now, it was 4pm and we had to leave. The bones would be retrieved, crushed, and taken to the sea that night. Then the tower, and all the rest of the objects would be burned.

An amazing experience, and we were just two among thousands, with relatively few tourists.

Saturday

2010-06-26T12:07:00.000+10:00

A few busy days ahead - just sharing a few images we have enjoyed lately.

Carving in most directions you look!

Carved teak tabletop in a restaurant

This one took my fancy!

More Balinese than you can say!!

Lagoon at Candidasa

Clouds build on Agung early

Other passengers in the bemo with us!

Handsome fellow - likes stones!!

Owl

Dancing as a Bird of Paradise

Drummer in Orchestra

Female Gamelan Orchestra - unusual

And the most gorgeous of all!

Take care, all CX

Connections with People

2010-06-24T18:40:00.000+10:00

This week is marked by some wonderful times spent with the people of Ubud. (As you read these posts, just keep in mind I am being entertained the whole while by the gamelan orchestra practice area just across the street - a gorgeous sound, particularly the days when the bamboo gamelan practises.)

We began on Saturday after hearing from a local person there was to be a "cultural festival for seniors" at the Palace early Saturday. It turned out to be more like a U3A display: groups of 60+yo having an absolutely splendid time. In full traditional dress, (which of course looks stunning on men and women alike), they marched into Ubud from surrounding villages. Some groups were accompanied by the gorgeous Barongs (lion like figures operated by 2 people inside)while others had bands with them - all were smiling of course.

Within the Palace grounds, there were areas for all the groups - holy singing, everyday singing, making offerings and more. We spent a delightful few hours wandering around, chatting to them, and generally picking up a bit of knowledge (just in case I need to make an elaborate Balinese offering one day!!) The hit of all though came at the end when the aerobics group took centre stage on the red carpet, and while in formal "temple" or traditional dress, they strutted their stuff for the audience! Such laughter and joy - we could all learn a lot from these people. Their happiness, their involvement and the fact they were all just having a go and enjoying each other's company was really evident. As an added bonus, the Palace was opened for the people to wander through the immaculate gardens on tiny pathways. The Palace doubles as an hotel, and costs a mere US$65 per night per room, tiny compared with the ultra showy villas way out in the rice fields for hundreds of dollars and no historical ambiance. With warm hearts we wandered off to explore the rice fields to another village in another direction, after we had identified the room Kevin had stayed in in the Palace in 1979!

And the next day another Palace centric event - we spent another full morning just quietly watching lots of young girls from Ubud practise traditional dancing - some had flair, some had a long way to go, but it was really clear to me they each had absolute confidence in their abilities and were not daunted by body image hangups- terrific. And they already looked elegant, SO Balinese. Across the road the boys were being put through their paces in the Bale ( a large roofed open sided hall for community uses.) They were just as wonderful to watch, but somehow the demands being put on them by their male teachers were not as stringent.

Before we got to the Palace however, we were wandering down our street and we stopped to admire a fabulous decoration that was being put up outside the gate to a family compound. Coincidentally, a family member came out to place that day's beautifully created offering, and invited us in, "because there is going to be a wedding tomorrow". Well, you've probably guessed it - we stayed for a hours, wanting to see all that was happening - decorations, food preparation and more, all by about 50 people, the members of the groom's banjar or community. Turns out we knew someone in Hobart that one of the sisters knew..... and then we were invited to come to the wedding, not just the public ceremony, but beginning with the private family ceremony in the morning, and then joining with the other 400 (!!!!) guests for the rest of the day. Wow, how good is this!! After watching the dancing practice at the Bale, we made some hasty decisions about a gift, then got our borrowed traditional temple clothes ironed (too late for washing and drying in this humidity!!)

We commandeered the staff at our homestay to help us dress, and away we toddled - properly wrapped sarongs for girls are very restricting!!

This was one of those days that was a total privilege from beginning to end, to be welcomed into the home, to watch, to share. First the "fairly holy" ceremony - watched over by a priest that was not the highest one - this was very interesting with all sorts of symbolic events we did not understand, but which were obviously very symbolic for them, and we found it refreshing they were both dress in fairly every day clothes,

The first wedding ceremony

After this religious ceremony, they both were taken to one of the compound buildings and dressed in their finery which took ages - for us mere guests - grazing from the many bain maries - great food!! Apparently the cooking had literally continued the whole of the night before! Then they emerged, and there was lots of coming and going of community friends and neighbours clearly those of more significance came earlier than others (we think!).

The groom

The Bride

About 1 pm we went home, as we knew they were going to the bride's village to have a ceremony to remove all the bad spirits that would prevent her form happily settling with the groom's family. Because they were going by car, we felt it would be an imposition on space, so we came back at 3pm for the holiest of ceremonies - the oldest priest presided there!!

The second holy ceremony

The shared meal - the final symbolic act

Again much symbolism and detail, and clearly a treasured time by those involved. At 5pm we declined the invitation to the DJ Party (!) and went home; what an amazingly excellent time we'd had - again!!

The Balinese are such generous souls. I have run out of time, there are so many wonderful images I could share!

Last Week's Highights

2010-06-20T17:21:00.002+10:00

What an amazing welcome "home" we had to Lecuk Inn! It was like we were family: broad smiles, warm handshakes, touching of arms, checking on how we are, where we'd been - this is the Balinese way. Total welcome and warmth. As a tourist, I'm confident you could not stumble on such spirit if you zoomed in and out in 5 days. Ubud is becoming jammed with French and Han Chinese - but we largely avoid both groups by getting up early and doing hours of exploring up until lunchtime, then resting Kevin's knees in the heat of the afternoon - we are managing so well!

Tirta Gannga was a delight, and there we got our first views of a Balinese volcano - Agung, the second highest in Bali was absolutely spectacular in the dawn light, appearing to rise out of the green rice fields.

View from our room Tirta Gangga

When you look at the rice fields, remember there was a large eruption in 1967, and the lava flowed down these valleys and the adjoining hillsides and farms were covered with thick layers of ash. There are a few large rocks remaining amongst the rice, and it is interesting to see the bunds of the rice fields on this side are often built (or rebuilt) with stone, while others high up on the opposite side are devoid of stone - I guess farmers didn't have much choice but to use the stones where they landed. We were told trucks ferried away vast amounts of the lava for road building and other construction work.

Dawn on Agung

Tirta Gannga's two main features are the Water Palace (mostly rebuilt) and the rice fields walks. We are so glad we indulged in a guide, Komang, as we have no idea how we would've found a fraction of what he showed us. Farmers here are mostly share farmers, earning only about 50% of the value of what they harvest (2 crops of rice and one of sweet potato, peanuts, soybeans, chillis or corn each year) and paying the remainder to absentee landlords who usually live in one of the cities such as Denpasar. Of course, rural work in this climate is unbelievably hard and ALL the cultivating we saw was being done by wooden ploughs pulled by Bali cows (smaller than buffalo). However, the views were stunning and we were able to see right out to sea. Agung disappeared very quickly as the clouds built up.

We walked long the bunds, into the forest and out again, through fruit plantations and traditional villages - delightful. I was amazed to find here only the village people (i.e. "poor") eat banana flowers (usually curried) as I had enjoyed them in so many dishes in Burma - but of course, that says it all by implication. No animals but thousands of dragonflies, and absolutely gorgeous butterflies which are impossible to photograph.

We planned out visit to the Water Palace for early the next morning, because, as luck would have it, we timed our visit to coincide with the last week of the school year - kids all over Bali are getting marks, and being told whether or not they can progress to the next class. Their treat is to be driven for year group picnics to other parts of Bali, and you've guessed, it, the water park is high on the list!! Picture this facility located on a bog curve on a two lane mountain road. Add police directing traffic, large buses trying to pull in and out, and no less than 18 buses parked on one side of the non existent verge at all times. The 'shift' of visitors changed about 3 or 4 times a day, so the squeals and other noises of kids enjoying themselves did not let up between 9 and 4!! That's why the distant rice fields were so jolly good!! So, we escaped from Tirta Gannga early, wishing we'd chosen another week to visit!

We chose a number of ways of travelling to the coast, a taxi (man with 4wd which he hires out) once but mostly bemos - little public mini vans that do short haul trips between villages - great fun.

The next highlight of our week away was a three night stay in Amarta Bungalows at a little place called Sengkidu = heaven. One bungalow away from the sea wall, so could always hear the waves. and a gorgeous tropical view - you all know the kind, I'm sure with little bungalows tucked in amongst a palm shaded leafy garden.

View from where we ate our meals

Sadly the people in these parts ruined their reefs when tourism first arrived by mining the reef for limestone, so the beaches got washed away, hence they built sea walls. This meant there is little room for traditional fishing boats to pull in. They are wonderful little boats without a keel; we saw fishermen elsewhere just run them up on the sand rather than mooring out in deeper water. But the good news is they are trying to fix things, and the snorkellers this place told us the coral was regenerating out along the artificial reef. One morning I spent ages watching those gorgeous bright yellow and black angel fish feeding right at the base of the wall at hihg tide. Swimming was wonderful - the water was gorgeous, quite clean, and calmed by the artificial reef. We agreed though, we couldn't really take much more than 3 mights of this!

Traditional fishing boat moored

A real traditional fishing boat on a slip of remaining sand - they need eyes to see their way home!

All good this end - hope this finds you all well and managing the winter ok.

Back "Home" in Ubud

2010-06-18T19:45:00.000+10:00

Just letting you know we are back safely from rice field walks, taking in tropical seas, great food, and all sorts of really interesting places and people and experiences. Will do a full posting soon, complete with pics, but not today. Marija, I don't have your new e mail address with me - drop me a line when you can please? Take care all. Cx

Onwards from the Monkey Forest

2010-06-07T18:57:00.002+10:00

A Sliver of Ricefields "saved" to give (expensive) cafe views from two parallel streets - very orchestrated, or fake, whichever way you choose to look at it!!

Today's walk was several hours dawdling along Monkey Forest Road and Hanuman Street to the Sacred Monkey Forest, a little calm spot in the middle of a whole heap of commercialism. Not sure of the size of this forest, but it's a true oasis for the revered monkeys. Gorgeous Banyan trees and teak trees, and carefully manicured paths made it an easy but delightful morning. Amazing how many people ignore the signs about not feeding the monkeys, and attempt to nurse them to get the perfect tourist photo - very risky!! One fellow got his prescription glasses badly scratched - lucky it wasn't his eye! And there were fieldtrips of Year 7 students everywhere - we answered innumerable questionnaires, all in the cause of learning English!

Pictures from the Botanic Gardens - mosaic path, orchids and Pitcher Plants

Fish at a Temple Entry

Ricefields Walk

Carvings everywhere - great inspiration!

Wonderful Faces. These fellows were patiently waiting for the Cockfights at the temple.

Won't be posting for a few days. We are taking a break ( 3- 6 days, not sure) to East Bali, including places such as Tirtagangga, Amlapura, Candidassa, Seogkidu and Klunkung. The blog posting is more difficult than I expected - India was a dream with every computer set up wonderfully. Here I may yet find one with Picasa, but until I do I cannot change the slideshow at the top....... am making do with a few snaps.
Our companion in the bathroom - Tokay (sp?) always calls with a "lucky" uneven number of calls!! He would be about 25+cms long

Bali Week One

2010-06-05T19:29:00.001+10:00

Well, from high tech Indian internet cafe to Bali dreaming - this is the third cafe I've been to, and finally found one where I can get blogger to show the 'map' in English rather than in Indonesian!! Being multi lingual is not my strong point!!

Great trip over - good connections, great flights but long because of the way we'd chosen to come. Can recommend Air Asia to anyone, but we have learned several helpful things, so if any of you want cheap flights, ask us for all the helpful hints!!

Ubud is lovely, but I think Kevin has been a bit shocked to find the degree of change since he was here last! Linear development all along the road from Denpasar to Ubud! Our room at Lecuk Inn has all we could ever need and we have a large covered verandah overlooking a garden and one of Bali's famous ravines beyond. Green everywhere, hot, but once you learn to be up and about before 6am, and be a sleepy lizard in the hottest part of the day, all is fine. The early morning walk through the rice fields today was just a delight.

We drove in to find the next day was day one of the week long temple festival - parades, classic dances, everyone dressed in his/her best, cock fights, and lots more every single day this last week. I have to say though, we don't look the most elegant dressed in local costume, which is what we have to do if we want to go into the temples for these events. The owner of Lecuk is currently the head man of the temple organisation so we are lined up for other events - there is a cremation early next month which promises to be just as spectacular.

Last night we went to the Palace to see the famous Barong and Legong dances - an hour and a half of glorious classic Balinese dancing, magnificent costumes and all accompanied by gamelan music. The centre piece was the Barong or lion, a large shaggy monster with a wonderful red mask, the costume is worn and operated by two people, one the head, the other the rear - he was delightful.

We are walking non stop, which is great for both of us - good to be able not to be committed to all the busy stuff from home, so we can take the time to do this. It's lots of fun just exploring the streets and the art galleries. Went to see the blanco renaissance museum yesterday, (www.blancomuseum.com and www.marioblancobali.com) which had wonderful gardens surrounding a totally over the top but elegant museum built especially to hang the works of this Spanish fellow who found his way to Bali in the 1950s. His specialty was erotic art, and his son, who does much more conventional work is clearly living on the income from his father's reputation!

Another treat today was visiting the Thread of Life Shop which has been set up to ensure the traditional weaving and dyeng skills are kept on in all the regional islands. The work was stunning, and I took particular interest in the indigo dyed pieces. Not sure, but we may get to where they practise this art. (www.threadsoflife.com )

Doubt that I will get time tonight to put up pics, but better luck next time. My camera died and went to camera heaven big time on the first night - clearly the problem that was 'fixed' last year continues to play havoc. If anyone has good suggestions/recommendations for a replacement, do let me know by e mail. We'll possibly just use Kevin's camera from herein, and I'll do some internet shopping on my return unless Kuala Lumpur airport has any good bargains. I doubt Melbourne arrivals area sells anything duty free except alcohol, cigarettes and perfume!!

Take care all - tonight for tea I might have just an avocado juice - the glass is drizzled with chocolate before the avocado juice is added - am told by other foreigners it is delicious. Up until now have had delicious Indonesian food, but always have to request "pedas" - more chilli sambal please - it is always too mild!

C&K

Wonderful Boots!

2010-05-19T14:33:00.003+10:00

So thrilled with the finished product made in a weekend workshop with Luna. They are for Kieron who has extraordinarily difficult feet to fit. I made them with the toughest leather, lined with soft leather, and finished off with great soles. He's a happy chappy and was suitably amused whenI told him I'd made the left one for his 2009 birthday and the right one for his 2010 birthday!

KISS piece ready to fly!

2010-05-17T22:07:00.002+10:00

The challenge is done! I'm sure the kantha makers of Gujarat would recognise their homes!

The KISS Project

2010-03-08T09:44:00.003+11:00

Dijanne threw out a challenge earlier this year, making a simple quilt. It is far more of a challenge than it appears at first glance - designing within the confines of a square instead of a rectangle has its own challenges! Line drawings, auditioning machine versus hand stitching - all very engaging; a great challenge!

So far, a glimpse of where I am headed, inspired by the fast disappearing Bhunga huts in the Osiyan region, Rajasthan. I have decided to use hand stitching, as I was not happy with the effect of the machine work.

Journalling With Lino: Windows

2010-03-08T09:23:00.001+11:00

Experimenting using some lino prints from last year's course with Dijanne - overlaid the print onto sundyed cotton over painted with dynaflow. All machine stitching, bobbin work, painting (lumiere), beads,cutting back. A4 size.

Flowering Today

2010-01-31T13:33:00.010+11:00

Daisies and Just Joey

Mrs Perry

2009 Challenge for "Stitching and Beyond"

2010-01-21T15:05:00.005+11:00

Stitching and Beyond, the group to which I belong, holds an annual challenge. Last year's was called "The F word", so instead of descending to the lowest level, I allowed my mind to wander; this is how I described my piece which was called " Frivolity of Fans" and which measures 40x139cms.

"Fans, a party accessory; what a party of flowers bloomed this spring, flowers abundantly and wantonly flaunting themselves, dropping their scented petals with gay abandon! Enter: five fanciful flirtatious flowery fans, flowing, falling with frightful frivolity towards the ferny floor!"

(Well, on 27/8/2010 I reviewed this site and found the single long photo of the piece had disappeared off my blog for some strange reason - gremlins! But so had the original disappeared from my computer!! Thanks to my friend Ros, I do have this record - when I get a chance I'll meld them properly into a single image, but for now, call up your imaginations - it was about 1.40metres long)

The following images are closeups of the individual fans. They are photographs of flowers in my garden transferred onto fabric and attached to the backing, hand dyed with procion dye. I machine quilted the piece and embellished with hand embroidery and beading.

Fan 1:

Fan2:

Fan 3:

Fan 4:

Fan 5:

Returning: Textiles and flowers this time!

2010-01-20T16:23:00.010+11:00

I think it is time I blogged the other half of my blog name, so I will post intermittently on textiles, my other interest apart from reading and gardening! A few peeks at what is currently flowering: From the top: Lilium Wildfire, Dahlia (a most precocious one) and Lancifolium.

The Final Few Days

2008-03-28T13:50:00.000+11:00

Well, you can always rely on the Husseys to try to travel at busy times: as if the wedding season was not a sufficient complication, this weekend was Holi, Easter, ?Eid, and on Monday, the celebration of the birthday of Shivaji Maharaj, a Maratha king...... of course, there was not a train to be had - again! So booked an a/c ( a first!!) bus for Monday afternoon and spent the few days looking around the bazaars, photographing lots of local colour there and around the ghats. Nashik is a delightful town, and while there are no exciting anecdotes, we enjoyed our time there.

Mumbai too was a great few days: stayed in Colaba just down from Leopold's and explored the areas of British architecture, did some shopping, enjoyed the variety of food from another state - so different from the previous months. The local paper featured an article about a particular restaurant where Madona ate on a recent visit - it seems the owner is a peresonal friend of Gregory David Roberts of Shantaram fame, so we are almost moving in the circles of the rich and famous!

Loved the visit to the dhobi ghats - we agree, Mike, the vista of endless rows of washing, people slapping and pounding clothes is absolutely incredible; yet somehow the washing I put in this morning was returned absolutely correctly tonight.

Yes, we are sad to be leaving but it is certainly time to be home again. The journey to the airport in this city where a population equal to Australia's total live seems to take almost as long as the flight! An uneventful flight (only about half full), an idle few hours in Sydney and then the transfer to Melbourne where Kevin's sister, Kris pickd us up.

Off to spend this week with the Elders of the Tribe in Point Lonsdale, then back to Hobart about April 5 - still all well, and very enriched by the people and experiences of the last four months. Thank you for sharing our travels - I wish I was as inspiring in the telling as the Australians we met in Bundi, a little younger than we are and travelling for four years on a motor bike (and you thought we were daring!!). If you have time, do look at Dianne and Haydn's website: they have beautiful pictures and write so inspiringly! (India part 2 is particularly relevant to the areas we covered.)

Nashik

2008-03-28T13:30:00.000+11:00

Nashik was a great few days,as the city is large (1+million) but as yet unspoiled by tourists. We spent our time in the old part of the city, and to add to the pleasure, we found a really nice but inexpensive business hotel within walking distance of the bazaars we enjoy so much.

We felt a little disappointed to not be participating in Holi as the newspaper pictures looked heaps of fun, but my small experience with the coloured powder in Jaipur told me Holi powders and asthma d no mix terribly well, so avoidance was best for lungs as well as clothes. The next day when we went walking about, there were the remnants of what had been large community fires that had been lit the night before Holi to drive away the bad spirits - we had seen the smoke haze from our windows.

We visited the Buddhist caves outside of the city. These date from about the first century and were really interesting. Geographically, the hills around Nashik appear to be quite ancient dolerite capped, and rise about 60 -100 metres above the plain. These 24 caves were dug back into a solid stone band, strung out like a string of beads around the contour of the hill. A few were massive, with ornately carved pillars fronting their rock "terrace", and as many as 18 monastic caves opening off the huge chamber inside. Additionally, many of them had large deeply carved Buddha figures which extended floor to ceiling inside. I found some of the early "rock art" quite fascinating, even to the extent of a Parcheesi board carved on the floor of one cave - I guess monks need some leisure activity during the monsoon months!

Equally fascinating was the intricate system for water catchment and storage high up on this parched hill, again all dug out of solid rock, which is in itself a considerable feat. You will just have to imagine the panorama across the plains through large twisted and obviously very old flowering frangipani trees, about 50 feet tall.

Exploring the Dangs

2008-03-21T21:04:00.000+11:00

After seeing the sights of Jaipur that I included websites for last posting, we headed off on an 18 hour train journey to Southern Gujarat, a place called Navsari where we were due to arrive at 3.30am. Great scenery as always, but being in a railway sleeper compartment with four noisy Indian women, their five young children and no shared language meant the experience quickly palled.

Our intention was to head for The Dangs, an adavarsi tribal region on the border of Gujarat and Maharastra where a festival called the Dang Darbar was due to be held March 21, so we carefully organised our timing to arrive March 19, a day early. This tribal area is ruled by five titular kings or dangs, hence the name "The Dangs" is given to the region. These tribal people who are similar to those we saw in Baneshwar share a mixture of Hindu and Christian faith, and there are Moslems living in the area also. The Dang Darbar is the ceremonial annual handing over of money by the government to the kings, accompanied by much ceremony and celebration, something which was begun by the British when the kings actually had power. The Indian government continued the ceremony after partition, with considerable less money involved.

We checked into a hotel off the train, and then left mid morning on a series of buses for the Dangs. We left the brilliant green coastal strip all too quickly, and as we went further inland, the forest dried and we were soon back in light monsoon mixed forest (teak predominating), with nearly all of the trees boldly deciduous ready for the rapidly approaching summer, and most of the fields harvested and bare.

Reached Ahwa in the centre of the Dangs late afternoon on March 19 to find there were no beds available, and the festival we had carefully researched to be one day long on March 21, was actually a three day festival, and the day we arrived was the final day. Day one was when all the parade, dancing and music took place, and days 2 and 3 were simply a very commercial fair. Well, I guess one thing not going to plan in the four months is not a bad average! We did manage to get a bed in a very very basic Government Rest House, thanks to the intervention of some locals which was typical of Gujerati kindness. Additionally, we were not able to go on the planned forest stay in the Dak bungalow because the Government bigwhigs had wound up their field trip (jolly) to the Dangs by booking the whole place out.

Disappointing, but we made the best of it (after all, each day is an adventure!) by going on a village tour the next morning. The young Brethren missionary, Vinay, who had found us the room for the night took us in a hired four wheel drive to some local villages to see the people. We found it very interesting to see how these people are making the transition from a forest existence to modern society with the help of people like Vinay, improving their standard of living, education and health in the process, but fiercely holding onto their sense of identity. These missionaries had come by bullock cart into this animist region as early as 1904, and by the mid Twentieth century after partition, left those of the tribes who had converted to continue on their work. There is some (at times considerable) tension between Hindu and Christian groups, both of whom try to convert those villages who remain animist in practice.

We also called in to look at the hill station, Saputara, at the highest point in the Dangs, and decided then and there to delete the third planned component from our Dangs experience - a few hotels, slightly cooler air, a titchy "lake", and not a lot more; we had planned a further two nights there! So today, very early in the morning when the air is cool and the mosquitoes still dare to fly, we got a direct bus to Nashik in Maharastra; this was further great advice from locals, instead of a three stage journey. Nashik is a large town of 1+ million about 4 hours by train north east of Mumbai. Here we will hole up to avoid getting our very limited supply of clothes dyed the colours of Holi, the festival which begins tonight, India-wide. Monday morning we will train to Mumbai for a further couple of nights.

Still all well, and making each day an adventure! Have a great Easter with all of your families.

Ten Days in Shekhawati

2008-03-14T02:31:00.000+11:00

Well, we are glad to be back in the land of broadband in Jaipur when it comes to using computers - one hour to send three e mails was a bit of a chore last week!

Shekhawati is an area about 100 kms by 100 kms with a character all of its own west of the Aravelli Hills in north western Rajasthan. It is technically a desert region, but the density of population never ceased to amaze us; as we journeyed around each day, it seemed no village was more than 20 minutes from the last one, and many of these places have populations greater than 10,000. Right now, it is sandy and dry, but we are told in July and August the area turns green after the monsoon arrives, and the single crops of spices and wheat are planted.

We came here via Alwar from Siliserh Castle on a series of local buses which took all day but which gave us wonderful views of the region. The Aravelli Hills remain spectacular and as we drove westwards after climbing to 1000m to cross through a narrow pass, we saw yet another fort about every half hour or so, testament to the history of the region. In addition, it was interesting to see the nomads moving camp, one group of which had their goat herd loaded in bags, one each side of each camel's hump! We stayed five days in Nawalgarh in a family guest house which was more like a homestay, three days in Mahansar in the Naryan Niwas Castle and three days in a Haveli in Mandawar. From each of these places we took local buses on day trips to many of the surrounding towns and villages to view the painted architecture of the region, which is the characteristic that sets it aside from the rest of Rajasthan.

The Seventeenth Century was still a time of Mughal supremacy here, but the following century saw their decline as the British entered the scene as traders, setting up new seaports, Madras, Bombay and Calcutta. The British were also on good terms with the Rajput thakurs (barons) who had forced the Muslims westwards, and so urban life in the region boomed, supported by the burgeoning caravan trade in spices, opium, brocades, silk. The local Shekhawati merchants became very wealthy and one of the ways they displayed this was by building forts, palaces, havelis (mansions), dharmashalas (caravan sarai), chhatris, wells, joharas and shops, then employing artists to paint these buildings in a distinctive style. In this desert land, the buildings were made of either stone, brick or irregular lumps of hardpan which form under the surface of the ground. The surfaces were then plastered and burnished in preparation for painting.

The artists were either itinerant originating from Persia having initially been invited by Akbar, or later on, the local stonemasons diversified and developed painting skills as well. Naturally, when looking around the area, it is easy to tell which era in which each town was painted according to certain unique features and styles of paintings. Some of the havelis were painted as late as the 1930s, but I found the most interesting painting to be done in the 1800s. The initial painting was executed in ground stone pigments until the 1870s when chemical colours were imported from Germany. Today, there are new buildings which are being painted by twenty-first century artists as well!

You have to imagine buildings which are sometimes multi-storeyed, and which have fine coloured murals across the whole expanse of their walls. Others have wonderful domes, which, when you look up ( or lie on the floor to relieve your neck!) have whole worlds of painting on the inside of the dome, as bright as the day they were done because they are shaded from the sun and sheltered from the monsoon rain. Other buildings have extraordinary rooms in them, such as the "gold painted shop" in Mahansar. This was simply the office for a merchant, but its walls and vaulted ceilings are covered with figures and detail, most of which are highlighted in gold. It is in wonderful condition.

Subject matter across the region includes animals, religious stories, folk mythology, historical events and personages, decorative designs, erotica as well as the British and their contraptions (early twentieth century aircraft, trains, telescopes, cars all seen through the eye of a rural Indian artist and therefore each rather quaint in appearance). Later paintings became more complex, and lost (in my opinion) a lot of the freshness and simplicity of the earliest examples. Later designs capture the British with wonderful humour! The latest examples of the art used what I called 'chocolate box' art where artists copied any picture that fell into their hands in the twenties and thirties, and some buildings have lots and lots of these pictures of European places, Gandhi, Nehru and British and European politicians and royalty.

Not all of the art remains in such good condition. The reasons include

the nature of the original building material, with brickwork allowing for incredible erosion by rising salt/damp
fading of sun and rain exposed walls, as well as the flaking off of some of the plaster surfaces which had been painted
censorship of erotics
over exuberant cleanups (ie whitewashing) prior to Diwali
poor maintenance which has allowed bats and pigeons unlimited access and permission to foul and destroy what were beautiful painted interiors
slack owners who now live in Calcutta, Mumbai etc and who never return to check on their property
A general lack of community care, so election posters and graffiti now cover some priceless art
And in one town in particular, wholesale demolition seemed to be in progress in the name of 'development'.

Well, those of you who are interested can explore the websites included.... suffice it to say we had a restful time exploring each of the towns, and generally chuntering across the landscape in village buses - two hours to go 20kms via six villages was not uncommon. Being invited into homes in many of the towns for a very pleasant few hours was also quite common. We really enjoyed our stay at Naryan Niwas Castle as our room had 20 feet high ceilings, with small tibaris high up on three sides (these are like triple arched mezzanine areas). The whole room was painted in Shekhawati style, so it was rather a pleasurable indulgence! Oh yes, and we were on the fifth floor, and could look out in the early morning light to see the profile of the peacocks as they walked across the tops of the walls beyond our open wooden shutters. (The website opposite has many other photos if you click on the up arrow underneath the panorama after viewing, you can select the appropriate menu - suggest To Shekhawati and Shekhawati.) The other thing that contributed to the atmosphere here was the drumming and singing by men at night as India nears Holi, although this has followed us all along and was not restricted to this town.

I shall leave it at that for now - we are in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan and have explored the City Palace and two nearby forts, one with the world's largest wheeled cannon (that is for the boys!!). We are still both well, and leave on the train Tuesday morning for a long train journey to the south of Gujarat, where we will stay in Saputara (in from Surat) for the Dang Durbar festival the day before Holi. Our flight is due to leave Mumbai March 26, arriving Melbourne late March 27. We are then going to spend a week with Kevin's mum and dad. Chances are I will put more up on the blog, but in case I don't at least you know where we are at.

The World's Most Beautiful Building

2008-03-01T23:55:00.000+11:00

We will not bore you with details, but suffice it to say the unfortunate fog we had woken up to after our 16 hour night-bus journey from Udaipur lifted the next day, and we had a beautiful sunny day to record our visit to the Taj on camera. And yes, Mike C, we went to the other side of the Yamuna River the next day for the early morning photo - nice mysterious light! Of course, visited all the sights - the Red Fort in Agra, the Baby Taj, Fatehpur Sikri etc.

Then off to Siliserh Castle for a few days' rest in a most picturesque place - the lake is surrounded by the Araveli Hills and the sky was an intense blue all the time. In nearby Alwar today - the City Palace and museum here were fabulous to visit for the grand sum of three rupees each! Compare that with 500 rupees each for the Taj! One doesn't mind paying for the upkeep and restoration of these beautiful monuments, but it rather grates that Indian citizens only pay 20 rupees entry to the Taj.

Tomorrow we are leaving for the region of Shekawati in the north west of Rajasthan, stopping at Nawalgarh first for about five days to view lots and lots of frescoed havelis and other buildings in the semi desert. Not sure about internet there, but we are due in Jaipur March13. Still both well and not tiring of it yet! We hope you all are not tiring of reading about it - if you are, let me know, and I'll stop!!

Baneshwar Mela

2008-03-01T22:47:00.000+11:00

Sorry, I have forgotten what week we are up to, so will label by place/event! We have been so busy out sightseeing, cyber cafe time comes a poor second, so I am running a bit behind.

After Poshina, we went to Baneshwar, near Dungarpur in South Eastern Rajasthan for those of you following a map. Once again we disregarded the travel advice which said to stay a 2 hour bus ride away, and we took our packs and just arrived in Baneshwar on Feb17, the first of 5 days of what was billed as a tribal fair, or Mela. Again, we found simple accommodation (underline 'simple'!) in the dharmashala right next to the temple in this village which usually has only 50 permanent residents. We were told there would be about 300,000 attending over the time. This was the ideal place to stay, as we could see anything we wanted, from the very early morning to performances that did not even begin until midnight.

The Baneshwar Mela is celebrated by the Bihl people of the area, and it is essentially a religious fair, but with vast amounts of all that fairs entail - great stalls, lots of food and snacks, and entertainment on the side - ferris wheels, two circuses, sideshows, concerts,and tribal sports such as archery and giridot (hockey).

Baneshwar is a holy place for these people because here three rivers converge; the village of Baneshwar is on the 'island' in the middle. Of course the three Hindu gods, Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma are brought to mind by the three rivers, and there is a temple to each on the island. The Bihl tribespeople keep the ashes of anyone cremated since the Mela in the previous February and they bring them in small clay pots to scatter at the ghats at Baneshwar especially on the full moon day of the Mela. It is very difficult to explain concisely, but the Vishnu temple is the centre of a sect of a local offshoot of Hinduism begun by a guru or 'saint' 300 years ago. He wrote a series of treatises illustrated with naive art, basically exhorting the people to worship Krishna and his consort, Radha (Krishna is an incarnation of Vishnu). The "miraculous" aspect of these treatises is mostly that they foretell in the paintings, things like space travel, computers, the internal structure of the earth and other modern discoveries and developments. Kevin says maybe he is naive, but to him one of the drawings is a perfect representation of an Atlas rocket on a launching pad with gantry and complete with two suited astronauts! The first saint was followed by eight other "saints"; the ninth and present "saint" is a personable, intelligent and gentle young man in his twenties and married. We enjoyed conversation and lunch on a number of occasions.

Gradually over the 17th to 20th, the fair picked up momentum and became more and more crowded as busload after truckload after jeepload after camel caravanload, all with villagers travelling topdeck arrived to camp on the island and facing river banks. (Look at the Baneshwar link I have given to the right - only the photos the journalist uploaded on Feb 22 apply, but it will give you some idea of the vast scale of this event.) As numbers built up, so did the colour and excitement; the noise was incredible with all three temples competing over loudspeakers, CD sellers broadcasting their music, the circuses, sideshows and Bollywood movie parlours all broadcasting at full Indian volume over the roar of the crowd's voices. For the last two nights the noise went on all night, punctuated with the melodic voices of groups of young Bihl girls singing in unison as they charged through the crowd with linked arms - the strongest demonstration of female pride we have seen in India to date.

The first few days we explored, watching the people every day and enjoying the stalls of tribal made wares including marble chapatti mixing platters, bows and arrows, swords, knives, scissors, sickles, pots and pans, drums and other musical instruments. We were fascinated watching tattoo artists and dental mechanics all working on site, squatting by the side of the through ways in the dust! We patronised a food stall run by two ladies' self-help groups from two local villages - slow service and a dirt floor but nice food, especially the maize chapatti soaked in ghee. Please note: we left on Feb 22nd and we had not fallen ill at all.

We attended concerts put on at night, and at midnight on the night of the full moon, we watched a performance in the Temple courtyard portraying events in the life of Krishna and Radha. The parts were played by men, in very sumptuous costumes, accompanied by drums and cymbals, but preceded by a very long session of music and chanting by older Bihl men. Once again, it was a privilege to be part of this unique event.

The culmination of the Mela was on Feb 21 when the "saint"was carried in procession by palanquin 5kms from the sect headquarters at the temple in the village of Sabla to take his "holy dip" in the river (refer to Baneshwar photos). Thousands of others followed suit, and the three roads leading to the island were all one massive stream of Bihl people.

As happened at Modhera, being two of very few tourists, we were paid a lot of attention, and once again, interviewed about our feelings about the Mela and generally feted. The leader of the Bihl people in the whole region was brought especially to meet us to answer our questions about the tribes! On the 22nd, after a farewell blessing at the Temple, our friend the saint organised an air conditioned four wheel drive vehicle for us to be driven to Sabla, where we came back to earth and caught the local bus to Udaipur! Ironically, while waiting at the bus stop in Sabla, Kevin went to buy that day's Hindi newspaper which we had been shown at the Temple, because we featured on page 2 playing hockey at the tribal sports! He ran into the young journalist who took all of the photos you can see in the accompanying link. As you can imagine, it was a trifle bizarre to be so far from everything, and to be shown our photo on the screen of a laptop!

Poshina Palace

2008-02-24T23:29:00.000+11:00

Well, here we are, back at a keyboard in Agra after a 16 hour overnight bus trip from Udaipur. Wedding season has meant that even when we try to book trains two or three weeks ahead, we are not always successful!

Poshina Palace was a great experience. It is located in the very north of Gujarat, and our hosts, Huna and his wife Honey, are the descendants of the Singhs who overtook the original building in 1642. It is a small Palace, with some lovely rooms, some very desirable art, a glorious setting in the tribal area of the Gujarat/Rajasthan border. (There are lots of pictures in the Poshina website in the Links to Explore List.) The Palace is definitely a work in progress, a little tired in , but absolutely beautifully developed in others. Two elderly ladies in England (quite independently of each other) have "bought" a suite each - they pay money, Huna develops the suite, and it is available for them whenever they want a holiday in Gujarat, but he uses it at other times for guests. These ladies even decorate the suite with lots of personal art, which gets packed in a trunk and stored until their next visit!

I can see why they love it - we walked and walked and walked and teh scenery was captivating - green wheat fields, Castor oil plants, crops of spices, harvested cotton fields, and then, as always in this region, drier expanses where usually goats dominate. Some of the herders looked to be as young as three! And walking along these country roads, we met group after group of local adivasi people (Bihl, Rabari and Garasia) on their way to Poshina village which clings around the outer wall of the Palace. They are very colourful, and there is no English. The village is from another time, complete with blacksmith, many tailors, and of course, no private cars, but lots of jeeps. We also did a day trip to a nearby village, Ambaji, where we revelled in a colourful market full of Garasia people resplendent in costumes I had never seen before. Their menfolk were truly amazing, wild, very small and dark in appearance, and wearing totally unique combinations of clothes: boots (cowboy style on some), dhoti, a military style, colourful shirt, lots of jewellery, and colourful tie dyed scarves. The only shame is that being so little exposed to tourism, photography was extraordinarily difficult.

Another wonderful thing we saw at Poshina was the terracotta horses, 7000 of them mostly 30cms high, but some were 80cms tall, all standing in a huge group under a Banyan tree by the river, together with small altars where jaggery, coconut and incense were also offered to the gods. These horses are votive objects that are part of animist practice in the area, and as far as I can tell, are offerings accompanying prayer for a wish to be fulfilled. (pictures on the Poshina Palace website)

This place is so popular, a group of British artists all come here for a residential fortnight each year.

The night after we arrived one of the Australian textile tours coincidentally also arrived - 13 women and two men, led by Dana. This opened up a most wonderful opportunity for us, being now in a larger group, to view the installation of new images of a god in a local village temple, so the third night most of us (including Kevin and me of course) piled into two jeeps and we drove along the deserted dusty roads for several kilometres under an almost full moon, into the hills behind the Palace. Do look at the photo of Huna on the Poshina webpage - that is exactly how he looked as he drove the jeep I was in, complete with turban and Rajput bearing. I later found out the jeeps shared one headlight between them, and that wasn't in Hanu's jeep, which needed jump starting!

As we got out, the most extraordinary drumming and chanting met our ears, getting louder and louder - strong men's voices resonating across the valley in a melodic chant, answered by hundreds of women and men in unison. At the top of the hill, we could see their temple, and hear the soft footfalls of those eight hundreds of people, dancing in concentric circles, forward, and then a little back, forward, and then a little back. We were mesmerised by the melody, the setting, the sheer power of it all. Inside the temple, there were three priests, men with bunches of peacock feathers, a man with a metal mace like item, and two men in a trance, holding chain whips. The new images of their idols were made of terracotta, measured about 2' by 1' and were liberally daubed with red and yellow colour. Over recent weeks they had been purchased from a distant town and brought with great ceremony, ready for this night. They were arrayed across the back wall. After a while the two men in a trance with the chains went into a frenzy, and self flagellated. The atmosphere was incredible, being lit only with a small fire and butter lamps, and so the air was thick with smoke, and all the while the singing and dancing continued, gradually picking up volume.

When we left, each foreigner knelt in front of the priest for a blessing (i.e. give money!), were "beaten" over the head with the peacock feathers and touched on the head with a silver object, a bit like a leaf. Torchless, we padded carefully down the slope in the moonlight. It had certainly been a privilege to witness part of the night - they would dance all night and on into the next day.

The next day, driving to our next destination over this border area, we saw several smaller collections of horses along the way, and evidence that many village groups were holding the same ceremony, introducing new imnages to thier temples. In Dungapur that night, we heard the same drumming and singing, but this time we knew what we were hearing.

What an experience!

Pushkar and Marble

2008-02-11T22:13:00.000+11:00

We are now in Pushkar where we have been a few days. It is a city of temples surrounding lake, but fortunately we have a guest house back from the lake where the hassle is far less.

Yesterday we did quite a unique trip into the hills to the north west, where we visited a marble mine - the scenery was dramatic - huge white waste heaps, trees, shades of grey because their leaves were covered in marble dust, and we even went into the bowels of the open cut mine to see the process. The overburden is dug out, and then the blocks of marble deep down are cut into blocks about 1.5metres cubed before they are brought to the surface by crane. For doing this, the men are paid just over $100Au per month. One day while travelling north of here on a train, we passed a huge gash in the land extending about 2kms into the distance and 300+m deep. Along each side were lined up great cranes, like prehistoric monsters leaning over into the depths. There were three of these great gashes one after the other. Obviously we could not visit mines of this scale, but it was terrific to see it on the smaller scale, along with the attendant cutting and polishing processes nearby.

Of course this is in great contrast to Pushkar (15,000), the village of spirituality which has a visual feast of all types of people, many of them staying here for months and months. There are hundreds of temples, all sorts of people trying to make money in creative ways, great bookshops, and shops with every kind of product you can imagine, some lovely, some very undesirable nice to wander round the markets for a few days.

Our plans for the next ten days mean we may not be near a computer. We are travelling back south to Abu Road and then over the border into Gujarat to stay at a small place called Poshina where we will stay in a old palace. From there we will travel east on about 16th to stay near Dungarpur (back in Rajasthan) to try to see as much as we can of the Baneshwar festival which lasts 5 days. After that, back to Udaipur and north to Agra. We are still both well.

Ranthambore National Park: Tigers and Forts

2008-02-11T21:15:00.000+11:00

We took a bus by the back way to Ranthambore, and we drew crowds in most of the towns the bus stopped in. It would have been interesting to explore some of them, but there is a limit to how many towns one can stop in long enough to explore, and there are the logistics of what to do with the large packs we carry. We find when we do get down from a bus journey to stretch our legs, we are quickly surrounded by 30 or 40 people, mostly men, both young lads as well as older men, some even standing on things so they can glimpse the "foreigners"! Some who are more enterprising try to practise their very limited English.

This journey led us into an area that was quite exciting visually - great lines of steep, flat topped mountains flanked by cliffs 300m high came into view as we neared the Park. The area is covered by tropical deciduous forest as well as tree savanna, which means the trees are bare even now, as the monsoon was short and the season cold. This gives some parts a red hue, and others a lilac hue, depending on the species. The link to the right give lots more detail; essentially this Park was declared a sanctuary in 1955, but hunting was still allowed until 1970 (patrons included the Queen and Prince Philip). In 1980 it was designated a National Park, and its area has been expanded. This does not mean conflict between traditional users (villagers) and authorities does not still exist. This is the Park in India where efforts at saving the tiger have become most successful, and the latest tiger count has been 40, although there are stories still of poaching, largely for the Chinese medicine trade.

Of course, we wanted to see a tiger, so we took a safari; chances of seeing one are so variable - one couple booked on 3 safaris and saw a tiger each time; a man on our safari took another safari, but didn't see one either time; and while we have a photo of a pug mark to prove we almost saw one, we didn't see one either. The experience was excellent though (despite being so cold in an open vehicle), as the scenery is so dramatic, birds abound, there were lots of samba and spotted deer and peacocks were in most places we seemed to visit.

In the afternoon we decided to explore the Tenth Century Fort, because it was certain we would see something for our efforts! High up (as always) this fort seemed to me to be the most medieval in appearance of all the forts we have visited, but is much smaller - a wall length of only seven kms, but still with seven large imposing gates to pass through. There has been little restoration, and the little that has been done has been carried out using the stone from the site, so as you walk up the steps, for example, there are pieces from ruined Jain and Hindu temples forming the pathway. The views from the Palace of the Clouds was panoramic, and later in the afternoon, its lawns were covered in peacocks grazing. We have found conflicting stories about the fort's history, but it does seem as though both Hindus and Moslems have occupied the area. There are currently living Hindu temples and a Moslem mosque in the fort area of 4.5 sq kms.

One of the most interesting temples is the Ganesh Temple. Ganesh (the elephant god) is believed to bring good fortune to weddings, and so an invitation is always sent to this Ganesh temple to invite him to the wedding, as this is a particularly auspicious temple. These letters often include money to cover his travel expenses! Not only are invitations sent from all over India to this Ganesh Temple, when families visit this temple prior to the wedding, they can post the invitation in the special red letterbox situated here!

The views from the ramparts behind the temple were quite breathtaking and not for the squeamish - gorges, hundreds of feet deep, but the moneys were fearless!

Another eye catching thing we saw were small piles of rocks lining the long walk to the temple. Finally when we met someone with a little English, he was able to tell us that they represent the prayers of homeless people to Ganesh: would he please help them find a house? They were quite beautiful; some were carefully piled so there was a doorway, and we also saw one with two storeys!

More Bundi

2008-02-11T19:19:00.000+11:00

We are now in Pushkar.... fragmented travel does not allow easy internet access, and in Kota, a city of 700,000 we wasted half a day trying to find a bank to cash travellers' cheques, only to find not one bank would do so. Indian logic: last year there was a large crime of counterfeit currency being passed, so now we will only cash currency, not travellers' cheques!!

Bundi was delightful, as I intimated last time, with gentle people and traditional medieval streets, people doing ordinary everyday things unhurriedly , and quite happy just to let you wander at your leisure, and look without buying - a great change from places like Jaisalmer! Our guest house was not special, but it was a haveli and it was lakeside, so we breakfasted with all of our clothes and coats and scarves on, watching the sun rise, and the monkeys planning their next escapade or kitchen raid - they were masters of the art.

The art at the palace was wonderful, and I especially liked this particular school of miniature art, with its commonly used azure blue and turquoise. There were whole rooms in the Palace with every part of the walls and ceilings painted in the miniature style, and others were totally mirrored, hundreds of years old - a feast for the senses. Bundi also attracts artists - an Australian girl had stayed in our guest house for 3 months while she studied under a Master of miniature painting, and an English artist was staying for 10 days, painting wonderful streetscapes. He told us he had an annual exhibition from his travels, and this helped fund the next trip, one month each year - pity I hadn't learned a bit more this last year!! We spent many lovely hours watching the artists at work painting for th tourist market.

Outside of Bundi was most picturesque, with vast expanses of agricultural land, green as green and the odd hill. The Palace where Kipling wrote the first chapter of "Kim" was delightful, with an amazing lake view. We also visited many other monuments scattered over the area, including cenotaphs, and step wells.

Week 9: Bundi

2008-02-04T00:55:00.000+11:00

We are certainly back in dial up land, so I am just letting you all know we are in a very untouristed part of south eastern Rajasthan, famous for wonderful scenery, gentle people, more great food, and especially miniature art, whcich we are soaking up in spades. ("Bundi" is pronounced "Boondi" as in "foot.)

I am not confident the links I have added to the right will work, as picture download is not permitted, so I cannot check what I have put up to share with you, but being wonderfully competent computer people, I am confident you will do some smart Google searches if dial up has let me down!

Watched monkeys romping in a grove of eucalypt trees today - a little surreal!

I hope this finds you all well, the same as it leaves us here!

Week 8.1 Highlight: Kumbalgarh Fort

2008-02-04T00:20:00.000+11:00

We have done lots of wonderful things this week in Udaipur, including taking in yet another vintage car collection - imagine buying a Rolls just to have it cut down to make a safari jeep!

But the highlight of all had to be Kumbalgarh Fort, a most majestic large statement on the hilltops 2.5 hours north of Udaipur. We travelled through fabulous scenery of the Aravelli Hills on the way, which was fiercely rugged, interspersed with flat valley bottoms green with winter wheat and mustard crops, being watered by quite mesmerising bullock driven water wheels. The road was difficult, as the goveernment is literally slicing through these ancient, ancient hills to make a 4 lane east west corridor, which is badly needed.

This is the land where water = wealth: if you don't have water, you have dry, barren fields and hill slopes, and even if you do have water, the country is still marginal. A less than ideal monsoon may mean you lose your crops before they are mature and ready for harvest. The hills are currently bare and winter hasn't yet ended; imagine what they will look like by July after a summer of 45 degrees! Nonetheless, it is really picturesque, with stone walls everywhere; these people are masters of this craft, superbly structured walls with not a chink in between, and there are so many of them, dividing each and every compartment of crops/grazing/ownership. Of course, mechanisation hasn't hit this part of the world yet, and so once it does, the stone walls that have terraced and fenced areas for hundreds of years will undoubtedly go.

Kumbalgarh: an amazing fortress 1000+ metres asl, approached steeply on all sides and so in a perfect location - it was only ever taken once in its history. The fort walls extend 36kms around its perimeter, and are wide enough to gallop 8 horses abreast, which should make very male heart flutter just a little! There are 360 temples within its grounds as well as the palace, gardens, baoris and cannon bunkers - like a small city really, which is still happening, as there are some villages visible within the walls.

Climbing up was fun - gun slots in the walls as well as places for the archers and what looked like great chutes for hot oil pouring. It was a reall steep climb, and Kevin was glad of his high tech walking poles. Only part of the multi level palace is open to the public, but it had certainly been a great building - we even saw the queen's wash basin and 'toilet' - a long drop in the stone floor with a fall of 70 feet which has to be some sort of record! I loved the murals of the elephants that were still clearly visible, but best of all were the stupendous views out over the monsoon scrubland of the Aravellis. Surrounding Kumbalgarh is a wildlife sanctuary and the usual scattering of topend resorts/hotels. Monkeys abounded.

An inspiring day!

Week 8: Udaipur

2008-01-25T22:32:00.000+11:00

And where are we staying?

Udaipur is reputed to be Asia's second most beautiful city after Bangkok, and at least before the dry season sets in, deserves its title of "venice of the East". It is large, (400, 000) with a vast modern city stretching eastwards from the walls of the old city which hugs Lake Pichola. The city within the old wall still has its narrow medieval lanes, full of temples, shops and character, tumbling down to the ghats where women thwak clothes and many men and women still bathe in their respective areas. All of this, mostly white and yellow buildings, some of which reflect a regal history, is reflected in the lake and this is our view from "the penthouse" - the top room above the restaurant in Dream heaven GuestHouse. The window above our bed looks south along the lake past the Lake Palace Hotel where Madonna stayed recently.

Then we have a two person balcony with chairs and table where we can look south and east, watching people cross the pedestrian bridge to the Lal Ghat Area. Our side is called Hanuman Ghat, which is very appropriate, as we can watch the monkeys below us. There is a family of about 20 who romp through the trees and along the fences, look in on activities in the Sanskrit School, chomp on carefully tended plants in the hotel garden next door, and then dash upstairs here in the hopes of successfully raiding the vegetable store in the kitchen! At sunset, they are scattered into the distance westwards along every vertical wall of the rooftop enclosures catching the last sun.

Looking eastwards in our room we have a 3+ metre long window seat, 1.5metre deep with mirrored bolsters and cushions under fake stained glass multi paned windows in yellow, blue and green, The room is decorated around with a hand painted frieze, and there are other hand painted frames around the mirrors and windows, plus a marble floor.

Hanuman Ghat is a much nicer side to stay on - less tourist hype and noise but just 5 minutes' walk away.

Eat your hearts out! Think we'll be here about a week. Love to all. We're having a ball, and still well.

Week 7.5: Village Festival

2008-01-25T22:23:00.000+11:00

Then there was the day when we took a bus from where we were staying to visit a large town, Patan, about an hour away for a sightseeing daytrip. But, we didn't reach Patan.

Kevin saw a festival in full swing, so we jumped off the bus, much to the concern of the conductor who was worried about our "losing" the rest of our fare! What followed has been the highlight of our journey, and vindicates not having bookings and plans set in concrete as we could simply shift everything back a day.

What we saw initially were hundreds and hundreds of people simply vibrating with celebration: dozens and dozens of women dancing rhythmically and clapping as they danced, circle within circle within circle; everyone in his/her absolute best embroidered and ultra glittering traditional attire; a truck with a sound system as well as a DJ and an electronic keyboard; a brass band, complete with uniforms, trombone, trumpets and drum; hundreds of over excited children all in their best dress; fancy dressed gopas with fabulous papier mache heads, all smilingly happy and cavorting around; peacock men, all in black with head dresses of peacock feathers; and the men especially, breaking into folk dance spontaneously as the wave of people moved along the road, stopping to celebrate more every ten metres or so.

What had we stumbled upon? A festival at Ruppur Village who were installing a new statue of their goddess Shikotar Mata in their new temple at the village. The procession was moving from the old temple, along the main highway (the traffic just had to stop!), and then down the road to their village of 5000 people. Every time someone felt like dancing, the dancing began, the rhythm stepped up, the emotion reverberated through the crowd, the music got louder, and no more traffic got through for a while.

We were the only Europeans and people were totally welcoming, treating us as honoured guests - they inferred it was a privilege to have us in their midst, which was very humbling. A long dance took place in the village square, fuelled by the DJ and his keyboard, and of course, we had to be included. Understand these people had the steps and rhythm imprinted in their brains since childhood, and we were rather klutz like, but they were very tolerant and encouraging, and had small arguments among themselves about who had 'had' us for too long, who was next and so on.... It was great fun! Then an aircraft buzzed over the top several times and dropped loads of cut up ticker tape, greeted by cheers, and I forgot: fireworks, whenever and wherever someone felt like it.

This was incredibly difficult to do justice to with a still camera, but we tried! I cannot begin to tell you how many of the men and women were wearing traditionally handcrafted outfits, splendid examples.

Finally the image was installed and it was lunch, back down the road to the old temple: thali, all of these dishes were presented on a stainless steel pizza size tray - delicious Gujarati food, two curries, rice, puris, dhal and sweets - lush! It had been cooked by the men and served by the women but eaten in separate male/female areas. (We were granted spoons and chairs!) I felt sorry for the women: as a foreign woman I am always granted honorary male status, and I could see they really wanted to spend time with me, but I kept being whisked away with Kevin into male territory, and with 5000 people around, it wasn't a great idea to separate.

Then a tour of the village: the newly renovated dam/tank, partly government money, partly bequest. It has a filter system, and is fed by the distant, controversial Narmada Dam. Ironically, a lot of the village water used still comes from the bores which go down more than 1500 feet.....one worries whether there will be any more ground water left soon. After this, the potters, the fields, the school, back to the temple, and finished off with a chai. They desperately wanted us to remain for the evening, but this was the final evening of the music festival, so we had to decline.

It had been a splendid day, and we were exhausted; so much for 'wasting' our ticket to Patan! The conductor recognised us when we got back on, and wondered what we had done all day!

Week 7.4: Modhera Dance Festival

2008-01-25T20:13:00.000+11:00

One of the few things we had set in concrete in our non planning was the Modhera Dance Festival, in the north of Gujarat.

Modhera is the site of one of the oldest Sun Temples in all of India, and it is in remarkably good condition, although there has been some refurbishment. It was built in 1026, and stands above a kund (large pool that has bricked sides, steps down at various angles for access as the pool dries with the progression of the dry season). There is a Pavilion as well as the Temple, and the remains of two enormous torans. All the surfaces of the buildings and the torans are covered with carving and there are 108 shrines on the upper sides of the kund. Not only is the temple wonderful; the whole context is an extensive neatly manicured lawned area with trees and gardens and hedges, in vast contrast to the nearby village.

The Classic Dance Festival is held over three evenings on a stage in front of the kund, with the artificially lit temple behind the kund as the backdrop - totally spectacular by night!!! As foreign visitors, we were feted: front row seats in a special area all to ourselves ( as there were no other foreigners), presented with flowers on the second night, and I was interviewed twice, the second time on television by the Gujerati Tourism department. (Kevin nominated me as family spokesperson! Hmmmm).

The only downside was it was jolly cold - the days are in the mid to low twenties, but nights are about 6 to 9 degrees C and there is a gently persistent movement of cold air towards the south, no doubt chilled by Himalayan snow. It was a bit like going to an outdoor concert in Hobart on a less than desirable spring or autumn evening! we wore thermals, coats, scarves, and Kevin has even bought a woollen shawl, the height of male fashion in Gujarat, but golly, it is warm!!!

It is difficult to explain what we saw, except to say the concerts ranged in length from one to two hours and we enjoyed them all tremendously. The first night had pre recorded music and lots of flamboyant dance, all classical, with the women wearing absolutely stunning traditional costumes..... pure performance, and excellent. The next two nights were both accompanied by live orchestra on traditional instruments with male and female dancers, and with unbelievably complex rhythm emphasised by rows and rows of bells around the dancers' ankles as well as strategically placed microphones. We will have to try to get some CDs along the way, I think, as it was a wonderful experience, as well as a real adventure, as we got on a bus, and didn't even know if there was anywhere to stay when we got to the village of Modhera. We ended up staying in the local Dharmashala, where we were well cared for.

Week 7.3 Baoli Dayat Adelaj

2008-01-25T19:57:00.000+11:00

Stepwells are another of our architectural themes, and this well at Adalaj, outside of Ahmadabad, and built in 1499 is the most superb example seen to date. The well's top is at ground level, and used to be covered by a dome. The construction then descends 5 storeys underground from a courtyard which can be entered from three directions, and of course the bottom level is deliciously cool.

This well has been maintained and renovated, and you can explore absolutely every nook and cranny, unlike some others where you are limited in where you can go. The carving covers most surfaces, and is a mixture of Hindu and Moslem design styles, but some of it is naturally enough, beginning to be weather worn. The link to the right has some excellent photos, with the most interesting one on page 3 of the site. This is indeed a beautiful well, quite palatial, but there are otheres on a grander scale which we are yet to visit.

People are consistently telling us that the stepwells gather much less water in the wet season than they used to, and we can see the evidence of this. The reason given is a decreasing monsoon, but I personally believe that increasing tapping of groundwater would have to have some influence as well - we have seen some wells that are 1500 feet deep.

Week 7.2: The Calico Museum

2008-01-25T19:40:00.000+11:00

"The Calico Museum" is a simple title which belies what magnificent and precious displays this museum holds; we were both left with our heads buzzing.

Numbers to see the museum are strictly limited to 30 per day, and you are taken on a strictly guided tour, with no cameras or mobile phones allowed. The textiles are housed in world class facilities.

The building itself dates from the 1930s, is four or five storeys high and has a fantastic, large, exquisitely designed garden - shady, full of mature trees, beautiful ponds and fountains, and with squirrels, peacocks and green parrots in abundance. The Museum is funded by the Sarabhai foundation set up by the family who donated the property, and I would suggest all items in the Museum are priceless. I cannot describe what it is like to see so many textiles up to 500 years old, nor what it is like to see each item and know it is undeniably the best of its kind, the finest detail, perfect stitching, inspired colour choices. The guide was obviously incredibly knowledgeable, and was a most skilled and professional presenter.

It was interesting to see the evidence that, for example, paisley began in India, moved to England and returned in embellished form to India, and that the ikat weaving we so often associate with Indonesia seems to have begun in Gujarat.

Time and time again, she reiterated a truth most of us know: the toll that such handwork took on the practitioners, and the fact the price paid by a buyer always undervalues the work.

In the afternoon we returned as a privileged group of six to see "The Invisible Presence: Images and Abodes of Indian deities" focussing on religions of India via textiles, bronzes and art, and left with our heads spinning.

Week 7.1 Uttarayan - The Kite Festival in Ahmedabad

2008-01-25T15:10:00.000+11:00

We have to admit, arriving by train at 1.30am in a city is quite an exhausting way to travel, but we had (for once) booked an arrival hotel and recovered ok, given time! A lot of travel in India is done at night - we think it is for two reasons: to help spread the traffic across 24 hours, and people also think they save a night's accommodation, which they do if the journey is across a whole night and they take sleeper class on the train.

We spent the Sunday afternoon exploring the Gandhi Ashram which was a wonderfully leafy spot in this hectic urban centre, with a terrifically laid out museum; we were fortunate enough to be there for a very well conducted tour as well. What really came home to us both was how Ghandi's early awareness was possibly influenced by the years he spent practising as a lawyer in South Africa, a part of his life story I had forgotten. There are people who organise their whole tour of India following Gandhi's pathways, which would undoubtedly be fascinating, and yet another way to approach your time in this large and complex country.

We are growing to enjoy and even like Ahmedabad. Found a terrific restaurant where all the locals dine, and it is so popular, there are always 20 or more people sitting waiting in plastic chairs on the pavement outside if you arrive after 7pm. Everyone dines late in India, except travellers, of course, and that is sometimes to our advantage, but often the places aren't open or the tandoor ovens aren't on yet when we front up!!

In our wanderings this day we saw lots of frantic preparation for the festival - whole streets selling strings and kites - most of them just beautifully coloured paper, but the strings are the important part. In other streets, skilled people with clever long winding mechanisms take over the footpaths, and dye the strings and augment them with finely cut glass to make them lethal weapons in the flying battle. We saw these about the place 3 weeks before and they were still working hard at this at 2 am as we reached the hotel.

January 14 is Uttarayan (the Kite Festival) in many parts of India, but it especially wonderful to be in Ahmedabad, as there are so many tall buildings with rooftop terraces in the old part of the city, it is quite spectacular.

Uttarayan has an ancient history, and was brought to India by the Mohammedans. It was combined with a ritual of the astrologers predicting monsoon patterns for farmers, and it marked the entry of the Sun God into the northern hemisphere, when the sun begins its journey towards the northern hemisphere and (theoretically) the days began to get warmer. It is now a predominantly Hindu festival and people who have been huddled indoors in their shawls come out into the sun on their terraces, fly kites socially and competitively, and eat lots of warming undihiyu for lunch, then fly more kites.

We missed the International Kite festival on Sunday, thanks to the God of India Information(!) which never knows anything quite accurately, but we were later assured by the actual international people themselves that we hadn't missed a lot. Took ourselves to the centre, Manek Chouk, where we had read the festival would be at its height. Things looked worryingly quiet on the ground at about 10 am ..... Hindu temples we passed were jam packed, with queues winding down the street, and in places devout Hindus were paying to have cows fed, or bringing them trays of cooked grain. Others were feeding pigeons, and the people who were usually scattered about begging were sitting in a crowd, where people brought them food.

Then we saw them: a whole group of people with Heritage Walk labels on their jackets (it is really cold overnight!) and a lot of them had Kite Festival labels on as well. We have never before gate crashed in all our lives, but there is a first time for everything, because if anyone would know where the action was, these people would! This was clearly a group of the international people being taken on a history walk of the old part of the city. So: we just melted casually into the group and soon found ourselves part of a third of the group on the roof ("Terrace") of a Pol House about six storeys above street level.

And what did the skies look like? Imagine swarms and swarms of brightly coloured larks flying everywhere, some low over rooftops, some so high they were barely visible - wonderful to see but impossible to photograph. The best images are reflected in the faces of the people as they fly their kites. The whole idea of the process, as those of you who have read "The Kite Runner" would know, is to be the person with the final kite in the sky at nightfall, having cut the strings of everyone else's kite. The next day, the power lines and the trees were all decorated with hundreds of trapped kites.

So: we socialised with all of the international kite flyers from Europe, Taiwan and Malaysia, and then were served a tasty Gujarati thali of undihiyu with puris and jalebi - the classic lunch, soooo nice! The atmosphere was wonderful - music, dancing, laughing, challenges, and generally an air of jubilation and fun. By 1 pm we could see it was time for the international people to go and eat more food together at a restaurant and the family to celebrate uttarayan with others in the pol, so we discretely made our exit! We smile quietly, as this was the rooftop chosen to be televised, and we were filmed and filmed again and interviewed - it seemed no one minded the couple of 'extras', and this has always been the way throughout Gujarat.

There were causalties to the day - birds, and unwittingly people died or were injured by falling off unfenced terraces, or by riding into a string that had drifted across the road, or running into a train while following a kite drifitng to ground......

A wonderful day!

Week 7: Along the Edge of the Thar Desert

2008-01-14T00:42:00.000+11:00

Quite glad to leave the tourist frenzy of Jaisalmer and we headed off to Bikaner. The scenery in this part of the world does not vary a lot - vast stretches of bare ground, the odd dune, some parts with grass, and some with the original xerophytic collection of shrubs. Unfortunately, a plan by the Gujarat Forestry Dept is reputed to have gone wrong, and a dune stabilising plant they introduced (nicknamed "crazy weed") has taken over vast tracts of Gujarat, spread into Rajasthan and is reported to be headed into Pakistan, with dire environmental consequences. So far the driest areas appear to be relatively untouched by this weed. Isolated herds of goats and sheep seem to manage well enough on the original ecosystem.

Bikaner is a most enjoyable town, with a fort and several palaces still in very good condition. We enjoyed the two in town very much but the one we spent a special day at was Gajner, originally a shooting Lodge for the Maharajah of Bikaner - he even used to arrive on his own special train line, and many famous people (eg the British royal family) have had holidays here. You only need $250US per night to stay here, but tea and delightful sweet pistacchio biscuits on the terrace restaurant on the edge of the lake and a small safari in the attached wildlife sanctuary was just terrific.

Another interesting visit was to the camel stud farm where research is being done to improve the breeds in use. It was most interesting, as we have enjoyed very much seeing all the camel carts trundle by with loads of 2 tonnes and more pulled by just one camel. The carts run on very large round tyres which are used aeroplane tyres! We were offered treats like camel milk ice cream and camel capuccino! The herds were wonderful to watch, and the centre stage of course was stolen by the one day old camel, very spindly but definitely walking. Poor camel mothers are pregnant for 13 months and then feed for as long as another 16 months. I have always understood camels to be an Asian animal, but apparently research has shown they entered Asia from North America during the early Pleistocene era, 4.4 million years ago.

By the way, the owner of our Bikaner Guest House is a retired Brigadier from the Border Security Forces Camel Corps which was "decamelised" in 1974 after the introduction of sand tyres for the military vehicles. We spent lots of time chatting with him, as he was a most interseting man - one of the benefits of staying in family run guest houses rather than business hotels.

En route to Nagaur to catch the train back into Ahmedabad, Gujarat, we got down off the bus at Deshnok to visit the Karnimata Temple, about 600 years old. Apparently this goddess is reputed to have restored a child back to life, and she announced that no one from her tribe would die - they would all temporarily inhabit the body of a rat before being reborn into the tribe. So: there are thousands of rats inhabiting what is actually quite an interesting temple building. They are being pampered, fed on vast bowls of milk, with large vats of food cooked up for them daily. We were not twice blessed as we did not see the white rats! And yes, as is the practice, you do have to take your shoes off in the temple, but you can leave your socks on!

Just one night in Nagaur to visit Ahhichatragarh Fort being restored by the Paul Getty Foundation - we met two young English Art Conservators (Masters graduates) and their Indian colleague who were restoring the Shish Mahal, the mirror hall of the palace inside the Fort. The mirrorwork was especially splendid, reaching upwards from floor level for almost a metre, but covered over in layers of limewash which the girls were patiently removing to reveal the most beautiful and delicate floral patterns in mirror work we have seen to date.

Now back in Ahmedabad for tomorrow's Kite Festival. Still both well and generally having a great time.

Jaisalmer

2008-01-06T23:46:00.000+11:00

Out in the desert, back in the land of dial up! The golden fort was magnificent, rising up out of the desert as we approached in the train. The whole town is golden, as most buildings are made of the golden sandstone here, so you can imagine, sunset is very beautiful in that special light. We have explored Jain temples, havelis and markets.

Havelis are the very spectacular houses of merchants from two centuries ago, multi-storeyed, golden sandstone and absolutely covered in fine carving. The fort was not as spectacular inside as the one in Jodphur, but its visual dominance is terrific. Sadly it is under threat from tourism - all the extra water now used by tourists in hotels and restaurants inside the fort walls is beginning to undermine the structure. The drainage is clearly inadequate and you can see it seeping out of the battlement walls - after all, what happens when you pour a bucket of water on a sandcastle? People conscious of this problem stay in hotels outside the Fort ( a whole 500m walk away!), and it is good to see Lonely Planet encouraging the move very strongly. Tourism accounts for 60% of employment in the town and there is a lot of pressure to buy every conceivable trinket as you walk the streets. Nonetheless, we have enjoyed our days here, and plan to bus on to Bikaner on Tues 8th.

Jaisalmer and Demoiselle Cranes

2008-01-05T01:04:00.000+11:00

Stopped off at Phalodi en route to Jaisalmer to see the Demoiselle Cranes. They migrate from parts of Europe and China across the Himalayas to overwinter at a small town, Kichen, outside Phalodi.

Up in zero degrees at 6.30 am, open three wheeler drive to Kichen to watch the spectacle. In the pink dawn, a few lines of cranes began to appear, then circle away. Soon some landed on the dunes 500m away, until there were crowds. By now we could hear them, and they began to walk closer and closer, until finally the lead crane flew into the large compound where local people put down kilograms of wheat daily to feed them. By 9.30 the compound was full of these gorgeous birds and we reluctantly left the roof of the house where we had watched with a local family... a train to catch!

Now in Jaisalmer for about 4 or 5 days, still all going well.

Mehrangarh Fort, Jodphur

2008-01-03T00:15:00.000+11:00

We spent a fabulous day on January 1 2008 exploring this amazing Fort. To add to our pleasure, our Guest House (The Hill View) is just at the foot of the ramparts, so New Year's Eve we spent watching the fireworks over this beautiful blue painted city. I have added the link for the Fort and invite you to explore at your leisure - it takes you over views of and from the Fort, as well as tours through the galleries. It is reputed to be the best Fort in all of India, so I hope our future fort visits do not disappoint us!

Off to Jaisalmer and the Thar Desert tomorrow (3rd) and all is well with us.

Week 5: Safari in the Little Rann

2007-12-30T15:23:00.000+11:00

The Rann of Kutchh Wildlife Sanctuary of Gujarat is the only abode of the Asiatic Wild Ass in India. The chestnut-brown animal is the last survivor of wild horse family of the Indian subcontinent and is found nowhere in the country except the Rann of Gujarat.

This safari provided us with a really different experience from those so far on our trip. When we arrived in Dhrangadhra, we changed our plans slightly and decided to go and stay in the Kooba out at the eco camp rather than in Dhrangadhra itself, so we could share a Safari jeep with Anand and Manjunath, two young Indian IT professionals from Bangalore. I must say, we really enjoyed their company, conversation, and tips and knowledge about life in India over the few days.

The personable Devjibhai who began this venture began his life as the son of a saltworker, one of the hardest lifestyles one can have in the Rann. From here grew his knowledge of the beauty and wildlife of the Rann, and so he gradually began to take interested people on tours. Since his "retirement", his son, Aijai, takes most groups on Safari. "Retirement" is not a true description, as Devjibhai has continued to work tirelessly for the protection of the Little Rann as a sanctuary for the Wild Ass whose numbers have increased more than ten fold since the declaration of sanctuary status. We spent some inspirational hours learning more about the Rann after our Safari. The most difficult thing Devjibhai faces is funding, as the Sasson Gir Lion Sanctuary receives most funding of this kind in Gujarat, possibly because lions are more romanticised than wild ass. I think when you look at the links, you will see how truly beautiful these wild ass are.

Out to the Eco lodge in the dark in a 'desert jeep' to our Kooba on the fringe of the Little Rann (5000sq kms), hardly empty, as more than 50,000 people live here in 150 villages! But it is quiet and gentle, with few sounds after dark, and a squillion trillion stars in the sky, thanks to no light pollution. We have never slept in a round room before, so that was a new experience and it was delightful to be surrounded by a toran painted room.

Up early on Safari day to see a spectacular desert sunrise with just a hint of cloud to add to this beauty. Breakfast, and then into our desert jeep with Aijai and a most skilled driver to see animals in the morning, principally wild ass, wild boar and . The word 'sanctuary' is quite flexible really, as other activities go on in the Rann, and that is why Devjibhai continues to work: to achieve a balance between the environment, the animals, the saltworkers, the herders, and the agriculturalists.

The life of the saltworkers is phenomenally difficult and provides very small financial return. It is essentially a process whereby salt pans are built, flooded, seeded with small salt crystals and then raked daily for 6 months to create enormous crystals by the end of the hot season when the salt is harvested and sold. There are so many intricacies that rely on generations of knowledge;eg, even after the fresh water that floods into the area to 1 metre depth has receded/evaporated by January, diesel pumps continue to pump sea water from hand dug deep wells. These wells are gathering the sea water that continues to inundate the Rann deep down from the Arabian Sea. The Little Rann has more fresh water then the Greater Rann, and so prawn farming is an important activity for the two wet season months. It also means that on the fringes, the Wild Ass can survive, along with more than 300 species of grasses and other vegetation, together with mammals and thousands of birds.

The early afternoon while animals were resting in the shade of the "crazy weed" trees (a feral introduced species), we went birdwatching. The Little Rann is a vital wetlands area of world significance, as flamingos come here to breed, but scientists are not completely certain whether they return to Africa, Europe, or other parts of Asia. We saw thousands and thousands of them, pink adults with grey babies - almost as good as my dream of seeing this sea of pink in the Rift Valley in Africa! They were so beautiful, and shared the space with dozens of other varieties of birds, including the majestic pelicans and enormous common herons.

I think what made this day even more inspiring is that Anand and Manjunath are keen amateur photographers who belong to a most specialised group of nature photography enthusiasts in Bangalore, so joining in the chase for that perfect photograph was quite exciting! Other than Wild Ass we saw Nilgai and Blue Bull in quite large herds. An exciting moment was witnessing battles between male Blue Bulls. In the evening we followed flocks of tawny eagles who were hunting thousands of little larks; when the larks rose up from the grasses, they looked like clouds and clouds of silver paper fluttering across our vision. As the sun sank, a glorious deep golden light lit up the sky, and the light fell on just one side of each cracked piece of the desrt floor stretching into the distance.

Do look up the Wild Ass Sanctuary link on the right so you can see the picturesque place where we stayed. I have also added a link to a photo journal from a Dutch couple - in the absence of our own photos, this gives you a very accurate idea of exactly what I am describing. The photos could have been taken on the day we explored and they have included all relevant facts and figures as well, so I have not repeated them.

Right now we are in Ahmedabad and will leave tomorrow (31st) for Jodphur to begin a 2 week loop through Phalodi to Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Nagaur, returning to Ahmedabad Jan 12.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone! We continue to be well and enjoying each new place.

Just Textiles

2007-12-27T03:28:00.001+11:00

I have had some amazing textile experiences here which do not involve the exchange of money.

On a number of occasions generous collectors here in Bhuj have shared some of their priceless items with me, allowing me to touch and to look closely at work which is so expertly executed, it is overwhelming. Some of the pieces are over 200 years old, and are gossamer like, ethereal in their beauty, woven with golden threads, tye died with miraculous fineness, embroidered tambour work exquisitely fine and jewel coloured, functional quilts, quirkily expressing the creator's personality, as well as a special quilt that has come from a lower class family. (Most come from upper classes.)

This is a dry, dusty place that experienced an horrendous earthquake in 2001, from which it is still recovering. I endorse the wish of so many that the embroidery traditions of Kutch will be housed in an appropriate museum soon in Bhuj.

(to be continued!)

Some People We Have Met in Bhuj

2007-12-27T02:59:00.000+11:00

The enjoyment of our travel is a combination of the places we see, the things we learn, but especially the people we meet. Our last ten days based in Bhuj and visiting outlying villages has been a most memorable experience.

Firstly, our host, Mr Rajesh Jethi at Hotel Gangaram. His hotel has become a real home to all of us who stay here, and we have found he has made our time here exceptionally enjoyable. He is always helpful, always gracious, an endless fund of knowledge, no matter how bizarre your request, and above all, nothing is too much trouble for our Mr Jethi. The beautifully decorated, marble floored Hotel Gangaram is pleasant and airy, and so conveniently located near the bazaar, it is a simple matter to find a rickshaw, buy more textiles, or simply go and enjoy everything there is to see there very easily. If you don't feel like going out, you can sit on the balcony, enjoy marsala tea or some great food provided by his fabulous staff, and take in the view of the Aina Mahal. (hotelgangaram@yahoo.com)

Stimulating company: explore http://www.houseandhouse.com/hhs.html

Textile experts: We have visited so many textile practitioners and retailers here, but the family from whom we have learned the most has to be Mr Wazir and his sons, Khalid and Salim. They have an astonishing collection of quality textiles, both modern and antique, and give graciously of their knowledge and time. We have especially enjoyed learning more about local types of embroidery and the tribes who produce such dazzling pieces. (salimwazir@hotmail.com)

500 Plastic Bottles Saved!

2007-12-26T00:24:00.000+11:00

The consumption of plastic bottles while travelling in Asia has always concerned us, and now we have found a great solution! The thought of 3 or 4 plastic bottles left behind us daily for over 4 months was a great concern. We bought a steripen travelling kit from USA and each day we purify the 3 or 4 litres of tap water we need and decant into our spun aluminium drink containers. The steripen is powered by 4 AA batteries, and because we carry a quick recharger for my camera batteries, it is a simple matter to recharge when necessary. This first month's trial has been totally successful, so we recommend the steripen. (http://www.steripen.com/)

Weeks Three and Four: Indulgences

2007-12-22T21:47:00.000+11:00

Diu:
Diu was a lovely interlude. It is billed as an amazing experience on hoardings all around bus stations, with picture of sunny palm lined beaches and people windsurfing. Well, we didn't windsurf (surprise, surprise!) but we wandered the maze of streets in the old Portuguese town until we knew them by heart. They are very narrow, and many have really interesting architecture. In addition, they are cool all day, as the sun rarely reaches the ground via the two or three storeys above. I have so many photos of gorgeous doorways and surfaces.... I think if I live another 50 years, there will not be enough time to develop all the themes I am discovering, and only one month has passed! We stayed with a Goan Portuguese family at the Heranca Goesa Guesthouse, and enjoyed their hospitality very much. Within a few hundred metres in three directions, there were three large imposing, glaringly white churches - very stately. One has been transformed into a guesthouse, and we could see backpackers enjoying the setting sun on its roof. Diu is popular as alcohol is served here - we were greeted at the bus station by a seven year old selling pots of beer, definitely at a time when he should have been at school! We explored highways and byways - places like an enormous shell collection, gathered by a sea captain over his lifetime; Jane (and other science teachers), this would make an eminently suitable port of call for your first field trip of the year - 2 storeys of carefully catalogued shells and a few other sea creatures, together with large coloured, hand drawn posters of sea shell parts, inside and out. The Fort provided us with an afternoon of lazy wandering around and great views too. The local lads play cricket on the sand in the double moat when the tide is out! It's always an "in" to conversation to claim our home town and Ricky Ponting's are "same, same!

Somnath: Onto an auto-rickshaw (tuk-tuk/ Bajai 3 wheeler) to the bus station and then transfer to the bus to Somnath, a very, very ordinary town with a spectacular (rebuilt 5 times since C10) temple on the seashore. just for a night so we could watch their Light and Sound Show - could understand about 6 words of it, but being the IT country here, it was pretty spectacular and kept the very large audience enthralled for an hour. In addition, attending arti with over a thousand people gave us some interesting glimpses into the life of the people here. Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed. In the afternoon we found an ancient sun temple that had been operating since C10 and was still a living temple. We were thrilled to find our first village stepwell right beside it - a large cavity with steps hewn about 20m into the solid granite rock, and complete with water. We are looking forward to the well documented ones over the next weeks, but this was a bonus.

Gondal:
A small, small town with a medieval walled heart south of Junagadh where we saw palaces now set up as "heritage Hotels". The old retainer was delighted to give us a guided tour of every single room on offer, in addition to the Royal private rail car as well as the Royal classic and antique car collection (about 30 -40 of them!). The off to the museum housed in the Navlakha Palace built C17 - highly decorative stonework housing all sorts of memorabilia, including, Rex and Mike, collections of Dinky cars and clocks to die for! Easy to see where the collection of full size cars was born!

A unique experience was a tour through the ayurvedic manufacturing Pharmacy the next morning before we left. Kevin took lots of pictures to show his dad.

The Journey since Diu has been through country which is agriculturally amazingly productive where there is access to water, and amazingly stony and rough and desolate where there is no access. The southern part of Gujarat receives quite heavy rain during the wet monsoon, and the dams we see are massive.

Then we came to the Lesser Rann of Kutch - a vast expanse of shining salt with areas of water receding as the time from the last monsoon grows longer. The number of people living here is an eye opener - they harvest fish when there is water and salt when it is dry. As we drove out of the Rann into Kutch, vast windfarms appeared out of the haze, and we soon drove into about 1 1/2 hours of industry, belching even more particulate matter into the atmosphere. This was Gandidham, described on our fold out map as "a modern planned city"!! The Gujarat State Government has put a lot of energy into "development" in the District of Kutch and we have also seen the factory just outside Bujh where the wind farm turbine blades are being manufactured. Each is the length of a Jumbo wing.

Around Bhuj is basically thorn scrub - we are seeing it the end of its green season. We have travelled to the edge of the Greater Rann and seen even more vast areas of shining salt, beyond the Banni grasslands. Nowhere is empty... charcoal burners, using the thorn scrub as a resource, herders of all kinds, villages, and even a large factory on the edge of the Rann. Those of you who explore using Google Earth will discover some interesting things to see around Bujh airport if you look closely.

And we have learned an important geographical fact: in 1819 there was an earthquake far west of Gujarat which lifted a block of the earth up 18 feet, and blocked the large arm of the Indus River which up until then had flowed out of its Delta through the Rann - small wonder Kutch became a virtual island. In the wet monsoon time, usually July/August, Kutch does become an island, as fresh water floods the Ranns. It is linked to the "mainland" by several bridges, one of them a 10kms Causeway. Sept - Dec it dries slowly and replenishes the water table, then people have that long wait until the next rains.

Textiles: Well, here in Bhuj my senses are saturated with the glorious colours and decorative variations I have seen from the many tribal groups. As for torans...... some of the most exquisite ones I have seen are antique and very, very beautiful, but they range over all sizes, and materials. The one thing they have in common is they separate spaces, homes from outside, rooms from hallways, interiors of rickshaws from the dusty streets, interiors of temples from the dusty outside world.... We have visited villages as well as Kala Raksha, devoured markets, scoured haberdashery shops.... and generally had a ball. The sad thing about Bhuj is seeing the remaining damage from the 2001 earthquake which spoiled so many fine old buildings. We will visit Mandvi in a few days to see some fine wooden ships being built as well as the fine old palace.

We leave here Dec 27, to do a safari on the Lesser Rann in the Wild Ass Sanctuary and then make our way to Rajasthan for 2 weeks, to return to Gujarat for the Modhera Dance festival, held at the Ancient Sun Temple.

Week Two: Highlights and Achievements

2007-12-12T23:21:00.000+11:00

Bus travel is proving challenging, especially as we don't speak or read Gujarati, but that, and "flexible" timetables aside, we seem to manage perfect connections each time we travel, even when there are three buses to finish a journey! This time, when we put down our packs yet again at the station, the bus was full (the marriage season means every Indian travels!). The conductor came over to us after the bus was loaded, placed us in the two normally unused seats just behind the driver, and organised others in the bus to help by fitting our big packs in somewhere! We have found people to be helpful to an almost unbelievable degree. On several occasions we have even been given the mobile phone numbers of complete strangers we meet at the bus station with the request to call them any time, any day we have a problem!

This week the highlight was Palitana: a mountain covered with hundreds of Jain temples in clusters. Palitana exists to serve this holiest Jain pilgrimage site, and there are 120 dharmshalas (pilgrim rest houses) where only Jains can stay. We began our ascent in the dark, up a gently graded and well paved, wide pathway, along with hundreds of other people, almost all of whom were pilgrims. There is an enormous sense of reverence in the ascent and joy in the descent. There are 4000 steps, which we managed to climb all the way up and halfway down before we succumbed to being carried in one of the numerous dholis (palinquins) , each one carried by two very thin, wiry men.

The temple top itself was stunning - a vista of temples of various sizes the first of which were built in the Twelfth Century, in shades of ochre, grey and white, depending on the age. It is a monument in progress, as more temples are being built all the time. The high point was being there for midday puja, a totally colourful, reverential ceremony which we sat quietly by and watched, trying to absorb the ambience. The high point (which neither of us understood) was near the end when two silver carriages each carrying a person, perhaps with a special need, emerged pulled by model silver horses and a silver elephant. These were pushed around the courtyard surrounding the central temple.

Right now we are on the ex Portuguese island of Diu, and in two days time we will make our way slowly over 3 or 4 days via Somnath, Junagadh and Gondal to Bhuj in Kutch, where we will be for about a week. Still all fine and loving the tasty vegetarian food!

Week One Highlights

2007-12-07T19:22:00.000+11:00

We have just spent 4 days chilling out near Champaner in the Jambughoda Palace, now being run as an accommodation in a teak forest sanctuary. It is not an ancient palace, but was nice in a mouldering sort of way, and did have lots of attention by many staff. While there the Maharana and his wife visited. He was the Maharana of the whole area of Jambughoda until Indira Gandhi removed the legal title and privileges, but he is still the Maharana to his people and clearly revered by all around him.

Did lots of exploring in the adjacent roads and byways, spent a day looking at the ancient site of Champaner with some very beautiful stone sculpting from C15, but a site settled since the stone age (see link for images), and yesterday we hired a jeep for a tour around places we would never otherwise have known existed: a Hanuman temple deep in the forest over an absolutely terribly rough road, a village market, very colourful and of course interesting as authentic markets are - wonderfully colourful and aromatic spice displays. Of special interest were the colourful and bejewelled women from the local tribes. Visited a village of the Rathwa tribe to see their amazing ritually painted house interiors, called Pithora painting (http://www.ethnicpaintings.com/indian_painting_styles/pithora-paintings.html) and if you do a Google image search, you will imagine what a massive wall looked like covered in these colourful images. When I get my card downloaded, I'll add my images, but believe me, it is a mind blowing sight. Finished the night as guests for dinner with the Maharana and his wife in the original palace.... a pretty nice beginning to the next 15 weeks!

We arrived back in Baroda (Vadodara) today where we visited the Laxmi Vilas Palace (see links) and we are overnighting here. Tomorrow a 7.45 am start for the 8 hour bus journey to Palitana. There, we plan (!) to climb the 3000 steps to view the hilltop cluster of Jain temples.

Mumbai and Travelling On

2007-12-03T15:34:00.000+11:00

Going well, excellent flight with lots of in flight entertainment which was enjoyable. Spent 2 nights in Mumbai, visiting Elephanta Island and just ambled about, which was all we felt like doing after 24 hours on our feet the day before! Took a train yesterday to Baroda, which afforded us interesting glimpses of countryside and activity along the way, including the Narmada River, famous for all geographers!

Encouraging to see the pride this town (large city) takes in trying to be green despite high levels of industrialisation. Ambled round Baroda today and are about to bus on to an animal sanctuary near Champaner for 2 or 3 days r & r, with the hopes of glimpsing some wildlife as well while sojuorning in the estate! Life is tough!!

Anticipation

2007-10-29T17:54:00.000+11:00

Only a month to go before we leave for India - November 29. One wonders why we would leave sights like these in Hobart, but wanderlust is never easy to cure!