It's the end of our first full day in India. We left Delhi, passing thru a new area (Gurgaon) with very large, very contemporary buildings, which is a new business center, with most international companies represented. Our bus is large and quite comfortable and throughout the trip, our guide, Amar, gives us information about the area we are passing through, history, and the life of the locals. Along the main road going through Gurgaon, it was a shock to see such congestion, wart hogs with babies, cows, and the every type of transport (rickshaw, tuk tuk, buses, etc.) but then, this contrast is India. We were on the way to Rajasthan, and eventually started seeing fields of mustard with yellow flowers, corn, wheat, chick peas and the typical Khejra tree which is a sacred tree for the Hindus as it survives the worst droughts, it feeds the animals with its leaves, the people with its bark ( ground into flour) and beans from this tree were served as a vegetable tonight. The day was long, the road very bumpy and difficult, we crossed lots of villages busy with market and crowds of people and after, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant and the finally arrived early evening in Nawaljarh in the province of Shekhawati. We are staying in a lovely hotel that was once the home of a rich mcerchant in the 19th century. The house is called a Haveli. It's lovely, impressive, kitch, mirrors, colors, paintings, engravings and planned like a riad. Two courtyards with rooms and all sides. I'll include some photos. Tomorrow is another early start to visit more of the houses and important buildings in the village. Needless to say, Elizabeth and I are tired but enjoying the trip very much.

Flying to Delhi

Very excited about making my first trip to India. I leave very early Monday morning, February 27th, flying from Marseille to Brussels, connecting to a flight to Delhi. I am going with my dearest friend, Elizabeth Lambert, because happily, her husband Philippe did not want to go! We are with a small group of 20. I've never traveled with a "group" before, so it will probably be a good experience/lesson for me in patience, which I often have a lack of.
We start in Delhi, then Shekhawati, Bikaner, Manver, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jojawar, Jaipur, Agra and then back to Delhi. We leave March 12th to return to Marseille and reality.

Once we arrived in Delhi, my first priority was to get a local SIM card for my iPhone and my iPad.  I assumed that I would be able to download pictures from the iPad to the blog.  I did manage to get the SIM cards in the airport, but I was the last one to get on the bus.  Unfortunately, it was not the last time I was the last.

Location:Chandralok Society Rd,Gurgaon,India