Our chapter in India has come to an end and we couldn’t have been more grateful to have experienced this country and the beauty that it offers. Naturally, the time spent in Rajasthan with the children from the Havala and Badgaon villages will be kept in a special corner of our hearts and memories. When… Continue reading “Namaste & Dhanyavaad” India
Category: India
Rishikesh, IN
Upon our arrival in Rishikesh, Dan was approached by a man in a white lungi and whose face was painted maroon. He tried to place a mark on Dan’s forehead and when Dan refused, the guy blew out a few words in hindi (which we didn’t understand, but took it as not good) as we… Continue reading Rishikesh, IN
Delhi, IN… Again
By this time we were vetran bus wranglers, so knew exactly what to do when we reached the Shimla bus station. We found our bus without much difficulty, since it stood out quite prominently as the only deluxe bus among many ratty looking regular and ‘semi-deluxe’ buses. We loaded our baggage and boarded without difficulty.… Continue reading Delhi, IN… Again
Shimla, IN
In continuation of my earlier ‘Manali’ post, our arrival in Shimla was welcoming destination after the twists and turns of the bus ride. We had read that we would be harassed by porters, so we put on our packs before disembarking the bus, which made it very easy to dodge the crowd that greeted us.… Continue reading Shimla, IN
Manali, IN
As we drove through the Himalayas, I witnessed a beautiful sunrise casting large silhouettes of the mountains. After a 14 hour bus ride from Delhi, we arrived safe and sound in Manali, where the altitude is at 2050 metres. My initial impression of this little mountain town was that it was similar to Banff, with… Continue reading Manali, IN
New Delhi, IN
Our train ride to New Delhi was probably exactly as good as it could have been. The privacy of our berth meant that we could make ourselves as comfortable as possible – which was pretty comfortable. We had nice pillows and bedding, a hot meal, and more room than we needed. In such luxury we… Continue reading New Delhi, IN
Udaipur, IN (week 4)
Last Saturday, Dan and I took a tuk tuk and rickshaw to the Udaipur ropeway. We were hoping to get to the top for some sunset shots, but our plans were thwarted by an hour long queue in boarding the gondola cars. But this was no surprise, since only 2 cars were available for each… Continue reading Udaipur, IN (week 4)
Udaipur, IN (week 3)
Our third week volunteering in India has been very productive! Both Sarah and Sharon left us on Saturday, and in the evening Samvit took us to Bay Leaf, another hidden gem where we enjoyed another round of lassi and gulab jamun. We spent a fair portion of Saturday and Sunday’s hot, daytime hours working on… Continue reading Udaipur, IN (week 3)
Udaipur, IN (week 2)
Our work with the DAAN Foundation continues… Last weekend, we went to the center in Havala Village to hold a Carrom Competition with the kids. The attendance skyrocketed from half a dozen kids to over 20 children, which was extremely encouraging for Dan and I, since we weren’t sure if our efforts in outreaching in… Continue reading Udaipur, IN (week 2)
Udaipur, IN (week 1)
Our first week in Udaipur had us in the city for one day, before heading over to our homestay so that we could start our work term with the DAAN (Development Action Awareness Nationwide) Foundation. A little background on the name of the foundation, we learned that Samvit had chosen DAAN, because the meaning or… Continue reading Udaipur, IN (week 1)