Holidays.

During the last week of school, before the winter holidays I and a music teacher organized an Arts Festival. It was set-up like a coffee house, with an art gallery, musicans and singers. The event went over well, and we will plan another one in the spring time. Casey and I also were on "going down duty" which involves chaperoning students to Delhi and then to the airport to catch their flights. We were pretty busy with everything going on at school so this winter holiday was looked forward to with much anticapation. As I write this blog, we have just returned from a 2 week trip to Rajasthan...hope that you enjoy the many pictures.


Before we left for Christmas we had a little gift exchange, in case you are wondering that's our version of a Christmas tree, it even has a star.


Here is a picture of Casey and his prize he found in one of the crazy markets, he thinks it may be the biggest sesame snack ever!


We stayed at a wonderful guest house in the outskirts of Delhi in a Tibetan Colony, the banana pancakes on the rooftop were the best!


We then made a 20 hour journey by train to Jaisalmer, a small town on the edge of the Thar desert. I was overwhelmed by the beautiful fabrics and clothes that were being sold and I had a hard time not spending money.


Greg and Casey decided to visit one of the local barber shop for a shave with a straight blade razor. Greg got alot of comments on his moustache from Indian men in the streets.


In Jaislamer there is a fort that rises out of the desert. Some people still live in the fort, and there are lots of shops and restaurants on the rooftops, our favourite was an italian resturant with the best pizza and pasta. As we were eating, there were kites flying in the sky and the sun setting....beautiful!


This is the view from our guest house of the fort.


Next was a trip into the Thar desert for 3 days on a camel safari. We spent Christmas day on camels, just like the 3 wisemen. It was good to get away from the crowds and see some of the villages.



The 3 wise people...


Our camel guides would always be on the look out for goat herds in search of milk for chai. Lots of the desert is grazed by animals, so it is not uncommon to see shepherds wandering the desolate sand plains. I was very close to taking a little goat with me.


3 days on a camel was enough and we were glad say good-bye and then made our way by bus to Jodphur, the blue city.


The fort was amazing and the view is even better.


The market in Jodphur was fascinating and busy. The market was set up with different areas, all the spices together, cloths, vegetables...I don't think the store owners mind the competetion.


The busy market, oxen, motorbikes, scooters and rickshaws, watch out!


After Jodphur we headed off to Pushkar and celebrated New Years there. It is a small desert town that surrounds a holy lake. It was very touristy, but had the best and cheapest shopping...I had to buy another bag to hold everything. We made friends with these kids at a tea stall, they were very excited to talk and show off to us.


The holy lake, the town of lots of hippy tourists, pilgrims and sadhus. (holy men)


We had to get out of the busyness of the streets, so we decided to rent bikes for the afternoon. I only got 2 flat tires...really good quality, but it only costed us 50 cents a bike.


And now we are back in the beautiful hills of Mussoorie, travelling around sure makes you appreciate home.