September 21, 2007
We are finally back to some form of civilization, thus we can email. Many great adventures in the mountains, but we are happy to be down in the plains, dispite the heat.
Punjab province is very economically well off. It is the centre of production of over half of India's wheat, rice and millet that is grown. As a consequence the social life and society are well off. The shopping malls are quite spectacular in Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab.
We were in Amritsar yesterday and visited the Golden Temple. It is truly spectacular. The people are extremely devoted to their faith. They are very friendly and want to take our picture. They also want to talk with us and use their English, we feel quite special.
In Dalhousie we had a 3 day 2 night rest at a resort hanging on the side of the mountain. 3 km from the town centre. Again people are friendly. The city has a great number of walks around the hill tops.
On our travels we passed hundreds of water buffalo heading down from the mountains to forge in the plains for the winter. They are huge and slow, and will stand in the middle of the road which are not that wide to begin with, so us, buffalo, buses, trucks, motorcycles and small children all compete for their space on the road.
Leaving Amritsar the only traffic tie up was due to an elephant and rider on the main highway.
Food is delicious, Alan is in heaven. Susan is being coming addicted to lassies ( a yoghurt based drink)
In the town of Chamba we were the only white people. In fact the next day a store clerk commented that he saw a young lad approaching us and he wanted to know what he wanted. Of course the lad just wanted a coin from our country. So we stick out big time.
Our plans have changed, we will be going to Bhutan instead of Tibet, on the advise of fellow travellers, they say don't miss Bhutan. Tibet has changed since China has taken over.
Bye for now.
3 comments:
Glad to see that you are alive and doing well! heard that you phoned heather....
Wow, what great pictures and narratives! Shin left yesterday for Hawaii until November and we leave Monday for Greece (sadly for only 2-1/2 weeks). You sound like you are having the time of your lives. Maybe there will some different types of food at the Relay for Life (Susan's specials from India, ha, ha).
Safe travels!
Hi Susan and Alan,
We are so enjoying your blog and hearing about your adventures! It is inspiring us to look to a trip to India in the near future, although the driving and roads sound like an experience in itself!
Best wishes,
ken and Liza
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