INDIA

Tomorrow, I will embark on a new adventure, but not with my usual travel buddy.  Steve just got home from the Falkland and South Georgia islands in Sub Antarctica.  He will stay home and keep the house clean. My daughter, Jill Kinyon and my daughter in law, Denise Kinyon and I are going on a Mystical tour of the Northern Triangle of India.  We will leave SEA-TAC and fly to Dubai and then land in Delhi, India where we will spend the first 3 days of our trip.  Along the way we will see the normal tourist sites and the not so normal.  We will travel by train, bus, and maybe jeep in some remote areas.
The first adventure after Delhi will be taking a train to Pushkar, India, where our timing will coincide with one of the biggest CAMEL fairs in the world. Yep!This 5 day fair is timed to coincide with the full moon and draws pilgrims from all over to the many temples surrounding the Lake. This fair symbolizes a period of joy and respite from everyday life for the many Hindus that worship at the lake with their camels.  I think we are going to see many colorful and interesting things going on.
We will tour historic and World Heritage sites and also venture into the Ranthambore National Park, where we will stay in eco lodges and hopefully see the elusive Bengal Tigers in one of India's largest natural preserves.
Yes, we'll see the Taj Majal, but we will also  get to go to villages of remote Indians , like the Meena Tribes who still live in mud huts and and the Mogya Tribes who used to hunt the Tigers but now get incomes from other avenues.
The big challenge right now is getting to the airport.  We are having a Big Intense storm that has canceled many ferry runs and closed the Hood Canal Bridge. We were leaving to spend the night at the airport and can't get off the Peninsula.  So the adventure has already started!