Go fly a kite

In Udaipur I just happen to be in town for the International Kite Festival. What luck! I'm mulling over whether to go south or north and it presents an entertaining diversion.








Although big in many Asian countries, I just don't see kite flying taking off as an international spectator sport. For one thing it is dependent on reliable winds, which there weren't that day so teams had launch their kites running the length of the field in unified groups. The crowd of spectators cheered as they took off and then hushed as they drifted back down.

Some boys showed me how fighting kites are made by coating the string in paste and rolling it through crushed glass. Then you try to cut your opponents line by either pulling down quickly or letting line play out as they come into contact. A few years ago on a ferry in Chile a fellow motorcycle rider explained that a stiff metal antennae looking device with a hook at the top was mounted to his handlebars for just this reason. Kids in Brazil play with these kites and lines sometimes get hung across roads where they garrote hapless motorists.

Rajasthan ramble

Well, it looks like I am going to continue my travels in Rajasthan. South India will have to wait until Cash leaves Delhi. And now I am thinking about trying to remain in India through Holi, a large Hindu celebration that involves tossing about heaps of colored powder. Pictures I have seen of it look amazing.

Now I am off to catch a late bus to Jodhpur. It will leave at 10 pm and arrive there at 6 in the morning. I am a little bit nervous about being on a 'tourist class sleeper' bus. The trains have been wonderful to travel on but the short bus trips I have done so far have been cramped and uncomfortable. And the driving is just plain scary.

Which way?

Today I am struggling with a decision to either continue my tour of Rajasthan as planned, or head for Goa in the south. The main factor is the weather. It's kind of cold up here in the north. Kind of like November in Colorado. Some days are warm and mild, and some a bit nippy. Nights can be quite cool and none of the hotels are heated- at least not the ones on my budget. The newspaper reported a particularly cold night here of 3 degrees (about 38 F). I heard from some other travelers that it is even colder in the deserts out west where I am headed.

I had intended to complete this circuit and then do Goa in February after Cash leaves but now I am thinking it will be warmer in Rajasthan then. What to do?

Monkeys, elephants, and camels- oh my!

My initial words waking up the first day of the new year were "Holy sh*!, did you see that camel?!?"

I was on the night train from Delhi to Jaipur and had just looked out the window from my bunk in the sleeper car. A girl from London in the berth next to mine smiled and said, "Yeah, there's heaps of 'em."

And there are. Camels, monkeys, and, of course, cows are everywhere here. Elephants are common but not as much as the others. I still gape at the elephants- you just can't help it.

Started the blog!

This is my first entry in what I hope will be an entertaining and informative record of my journeys.

My initial purpose for travel to India has been to bring my son to Delhi for stem cell treatments. More can be seen on that amazing story at changeforcash.blogspot.com.

I am traveling around the state of Rahjastan for a couple of weeks while my ex-wife, Stephanie, and her mother are with Cash. I left on the first day of the new year and already it has been an eventful trip.

More to follow very soon...