Just sending a quick message to let everyone know that I arrived safely in Delhi and had a good day seeing things here. I head to Agra tomorrow to see the taj mahal. Gotta run...the hotel manager let me use his computer for only a few minutes. I will talk of my days adventures and post pics when I get back to Chennai over the weekend or early next week...I hope.
until then...take care everyone!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Still going
Sorry I've missed a few days...I was traveling from Wed. night until Sat. morning and then had a shopping marathon weekend with my mom...so unlike me...but I had a great time with her. Now I must get ready to travel again...I leave in a few hours to fly to northern India to visit Delhi, Agra (taj mahal), and Jaipur. I will be gone for 5 days...so I won't be back until next weekend and then have another busy weekend planned with my mom...I will try to write again sometime next weekend or on Monday next week.
until then...take care...and i will write again in a week...
until then...take care...and i will write again in a week...
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
May 26...On the go...
Just a quick blog...
I finally got two trips booked to travel through India...Yahoo! :) I spent part of the day researching where I want to go when I visit the places. I will have a driver that meets me at the bus station/airport and will take me from place to place...a tour for one. I leave tonight on the overnight train headed to Bangalore. Will visit Mysore tomorrow and Bangalore the next and then take the overnight train back to Chennai. A short trip because I want to spend the weekend with my mom.
Will be back for the weekend and then fly to Delhi early Monday morning to see the "Golden Triangle" (Delhi, Agra [location of the taj mahal], and Jaipur) will be gone for 5 days (back late Friday night).
I am praying for safe, fun travels.
take care and tune in again soon for more adventures...
I finally got two trips booked to travel through India...Yahoo! :) I spent part of the day researching where I want to go when I visit the places. I will have a driver that meets me at the bus station/airport and will take me from place to place...a tour for one. I leave tonight on the overnight train headed to Bangalore. Will visit Mysore tomorrow and Bangalore the next and then take the overnight train back to Chennai. A short trip because I want to spend the weekend with my mom.
Will be back for the weekend and then fly to Delhi early Monday morning to see the "Golden Triangle" (Delhi, Agra [location of the taj mahal], and Jaipur) will be gone for 5 days (back late Friday night).
I am praying for safe, fun travels.
take care and tune in again soon for more adventures...
May 25...still waiting
Still waiting for the travel agent to get back with me about travel...it's hard to wait.
I visited two orphanages about volunteering today, since I haven't been able to travel yet. Unfortunately, the children here are on vacation until June so there are only a few children at the orphanges. Many of the children in the orphanges are orphans following the tsunami and they return to their villages for a short time to visit people in their villages, even though their parents are deceased. I might be able to volunteer during the last week I'm here...we'll see what happens.
After the school day ended, a representative from the travel agency picked me up. I didn't know until I got outside that I would be riding on a motorcycle and the trip was over 30 minutes...I thought for sure that I was going to die...this was not the type of adventure that I was hoping for while visiting India. The driving here is...well...I guess you could compare it to driving in New York, but it is worse than that, if you can imagine. I am thankful that we arrived safely!
My motorcycle driver...
I met the travel agent at his house and finalized the plans for two trips...yeah! :) He then took me on his motorcycle to visit a few tourist places in the area. We went to a Hindu temple (I didn't go in because I didn't want to take off my shoes...You must take off your shoes before you enter a Hindu temple, so I will remember to take socks with me next time to put on...I don't want to be barefoot).
The Hindu temple and pool...
Then we went to a christian (Catholic to be more specific) church (The International Shrine of St. Thomas Basilica).
Trivia...Did you know that there are only three churches in the world that are built over the tomb of an apostle of Christ...at least that's what it says on the wall in St. Thomas Basilica...Where are they and who are the apostles? Do you know? The answer...National Shrine of St. Thomas Basilica in Chennai India; St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy; and Santiago De Compostela (tomb of St. James) in Spain.
Finally, just a note about culture again...below is a picture of one of the custodians at my mom school...this is how they clean the carpet...
That's it for now...
I visited two orphanages about volunteering today, since I haven't been able to travel yet. Unfortunately, the children here are on vacation until June so there are only a few children at the orphanges. Many of the children in the orphanges are orphans following the tsunami and they return to their villages for a short time to visit people in their villages, even though their parents are deceased. I might be able to volunteer during the last week I'm here...we'll see what happens.
After the school day ended, a representative from the travel agency picked me up. I didn't know until I got outside that I would be riding on a motorcycle and the trip was over 30 minutes...I thought for sure that I was going to die...this was not the type of adventure that I was hoping for while visiting India. The driving here is...well...I guess you could compare it to driving in New York, but it is worse than that, if you can imagine. I am thankful that we arrived safely!
My motorcycle driver...
I met the travel agent at his house and finalized the plans for two trips...yeah! :) He then took me on his motorcycle to visit a few tourist places in the area. We went to a Hindu temple (I didn't go in because I didn't want to take off my shoes...You must take off your shoes before you enter a Hindu temple, so I will remember to take socks with me next time to put on...I don't want to be barefoot).
The Hindu temple and pool...
Then we went to a christian (Catholic to be more specific) church (The International Shrine of St. Thomas Basilica).
Trivia...Did you know that there are only three churches in the world that are built over the tomb of an apostle of Christ...at least that's what it says on the wall in St. Thomas Basilica...Where are they and who are the apostles? Do you know? The answer...National Shrine of St. Thomas Basilica in Chennai India; St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy; and Santiago De Compostela (tomb of St. James) in Spain.
Finally, just a note about culture again...below is a picture of one of the custodians at my mom school...this is how they clean the carpet...
That's it for now...
Monday, May 24, 2010
May 24...Waiting
I spent the day working on my blogs and waiting for the travel agent to get back with me about scheduling trips for me. I also helped with my mom's class. They are getting ready for kindergarten graduation...so cute! :)
I had thai food again for lunch today...I must search for a good thai restuarant when I return to Daytona...any suggestions?
It was nice to have a slower day to help recover from the sun yesterday.
That's all for now...hope everyone is well! :)
I had thai food again for lunch today...I must search for a good thai restuarant when I return to Daytona...any suggestions?
It was nice to have a slower day to help recover from the sun yesterday.
That's all for now...hope everyone is well! :)
May 23 continued...
Ready for more?...After seeing the stone carvings in the park, we headed to the Shore Temple. There are actually several temples (seven, I think) in total, but only one of them is visible on land. The other temples are on the floor of the ocean. I was told that during the tsunami in 2004 the other temples were exposed and the people rushed out to see them because they thought it was some type of calling. Sadly, the water soon pushed back towards the shore drowning thousands of people.
Restoration work is currently underway on the shore temple. I included the following picture to demonstrate one difference between our construction process and theirs. The Indian scaffolding is made of wood bound together with twine, while in the U.S. we use a steel frame...
While at the shore temple, I met a group of Indian tourists and I climbed this wall with them for a picture...
On to see the Pancha Rathas Shrines or Five Rathas dating from the late 7th century that were carved from rock and named after the Pandavas.
Bhima and Dharmaraja Rathas...
Lion sculpture...
Draupadi's Ratha...
Elephant sculpture...
Yudhishtir's Ratha...
Bull sculpture...
The Rathas were an incredible site to see, but somewhat of a walk from the shore temple. I started feeling a little dizzy while walking around this area and decided to leave. When I walked outside the gate to meet my mom (she hadn't gone in since she had seen it before) I told her that I didn't feel so good and needed some water...next thing I remember was hearing her call my name and being surrounded by the Indian people. I guess I had got dehydrated and had fainted. The Indian people told my mom to splash me with water, but at my request she did not. When I fainted, I hit my head on a wall that surronded the momument area...ouch...that left a nasty bump on the back of my head. We then decided to go back to my mom's apartment for the remainer of the day.
Lesson learned...Drink plenty of water AND...repeat lesson...Listen to mom...hmmm...I think I was supposed to learn this lesson yesterday....Hope the rest of my trip is injury free! :)
Sunday, May 23, 2010
May 23...A day to see the sights
It's Sunday and we're headed to Mamallapuram (மாமல்லபுரம்) also known as Mahabalipuram. It is about a 45 minute drive from my mom's house. We got the A/C bus...it is about three times the price as the open air bus, but still about $1.70 round trip (76 rupees) and well worth it when it was already in the 90s early in the morning. I am so thankful for A/C!
It was difficult to take photos from the bus window, but hopefully I can go back another time to see more places along the way. My mom has a car here, but she no longer has a driver and foreigners are strongly discouraged from driving here. It is far too dangerous. As we drive along, I see the bus driver drive on the opposite side of the road to pass people forcing the cars on the other side off the road. This was somewhat startling to me, but my mom told me that it is simply the way they do things here.
They do have barriers up at certain places along the road to force drivers to slow down. Below is a picture of one of the barriers which reduces the road to one lane and forces drivers to slow down and even stop if there is traffic coming from the opposite direction.
We also passed VGP Golden Beach (see below) and MGM Dizzee World (I think it is interesting that the name is just slightly different than Disney World...not sure if there is any affiliation.)
Many areas are deserted with only a wall left beside the main road. These are areas were villages existed before the Tsunami washed them away.
They are building many resorts in this area. Many Indians come to this area to vaction along the beach...I found myself living close to the ocean again, but this doesn't feel like Daytona Beach.
Along the way we had to stop to let a heard of cattle cross the road. There were no people with them...just the cattle roaming the land.
We're here!...
It is not wise to have someone take a picture for you because they may take your camera and run. Therefore, we took turns taking the pictures of each other. The landscaping is so beautiful and peaceful here. It is very hot, but not near as bad in the shade.
My mom next to Arjuna's Penance bas-relief, also known as the Descent of the Ganges...
One of the carved stone temples...
Krishna's Butterball...
Holding up Krishna's Butterball...this sure is heavy...
The goats rest in the shade of the rocks...
More stone carvings...
The view from on top the rocks...
Can you tell what is represented in the stone here?
Mahishamardini Cave...
Varaha Cave...
This Indian boy followed us around as we looked at the stone carvings. He comes from a family of stone carvers and is in training to become a carver. He has learned English from the tourists that come to Mamallapuram. He is holding a small twig from the tree that the people use to brush their tree. The sap from the tree has other purposes as well...
More sights...
Thirukadalmallai...an active Hindu temple...
Band marching down the street...followed by a car carrying a representation of Ganesha (the Hindu elephant headed god).
The ocean...
There is more to see for today, but I will continue with another posting since this one is getting so long. Stayed tuned for the Shore Temple and the Five Rathas...
It was difficult to take photos from the bus window, but hopefully I can go back another time to see more places along the way. My mom has a car here, but she no longer has a driver and foreigners are strongly discouraged from driving here. It is far too dangerous. As we drive along, I see the bus driver drive on the opposite side of the road to pass people forcing the cars on the other side off the road. This was somewhat startling to me, but my mom told me that it is simply the way they do things here.
They do have barriers up at certain places along the road to force drivers to slow down. Below is a picture of one of the barriers which reduces the road to one lane and forces drivers to slow down and even stop if there is traffic coming from the opposite direction.
We also passed VGP Golden Beach (see below) and MGM Dizzee World (I think it is interesting that the name is just slightly different than Disney World...not sure if there is any affiliation.)
Many areas are deserted with only a wall left beside the main road. These are areas were villages existed before the Tsunami washed them away.
They are building many resorts in this area. Many Indians come to this area to vaction along the beach...I found myself living close to the ocean again, but this doesn't feel like Daytona Beach.
Along the way we had to stop to let a heard of cattle cross the road. There were no people with them...just the cattle roaming the land.
We're here!...
It is not wise to have someone take a picture for you because they may take your camera and run. Therefore, we took turns taking the pictures of each other. The landscaping is so beautiful and peaceful here. It is very hot, but not near as bad in the shade.
My mom next to Arjuna's Penance bas-relief, also known as the Descent of the Ganges...
One of the carved stone temples...
Krishna's Butterball...
Holding up Krishna's Butterball...this sure is heavy...
The goats rest in the shade of the rocks...
More stone carvings...
The view from on top the rocks...
Can you tell what is represented in the stone here?
Mahishamardini Cave...
Varaha Cave...
This Indian boy followed us around as we looked at the stone carvings. He comes from a family of stone carvers and is in training to become a carver. He has learned English from the tourists that come to Mamallapuram. He is holding a small twig from the tree that the people use to brush their tree. The sap from the tree has other purposes as well...
More sights...
Thirukadalmallai...an active Hindu temple...
Band marching down the street...followed by a car carrying a representation of Ganesha (the Hindu elephant headed god).
The ocean...
There is more to see for today, but I will continue with another posting since this one is getting so long. Stayed tuned for the Shore Temple and the Five Rathas...
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