Thank you time.  It is now Friday morning (got home Wednesday night), and I am  rested enough to write my final post.

Yesterday, Thursday, I went grocery shopping.  I had to drive my own car!!! Lakhu, where are you?

I want to thank those that make it possible for me to go away, comfortable in the knowlede that things are being taken care of at home.

Thank you Kam for taking the major responsibility.  Thanks to Shirley and Aysel (neighbours) who keep a watchful eye on a day to day basis.  Thank you to the gentleman who kindly blew out my driveway after significant snowfalls (Kam is very thankful).

In India, many thanks to Tarun and Mr. Sharma of Adventure Holiday Tours. After telling them the places I wanted to visit, they set out a route which I was free to alter as we went along (and did several times).  Their choice of Lakhu as my driver was excellent.

Your driver can make or break your trip.  Lakhu made mine extraordinary.  Thank you so very much Lakhu. You are a true gem.

Thank you to the wonderful people of India I met along the way, in hotels and villages.  You truly made my journey all the more incredible.

A special thank you to Inder and Bira Kabli, Kabli Hotel, New Delhi, for giving me a home away from home.

Thank you to the many friends who shared my journey with me through this blog.  I truly appreciate your comments and emails.

Until next time........

I guess I have truly been accepted by the Afghan ladies here.  Right now Said's mom, another woman, her daughter and five month old granddaughter are in my room.

A son has just returned with food for Said's mom, and once again she wants to share with me.  It looks so good.  I love Afghan bread and the potatoes and pea veggies look and smell delicious.  I try to get her to understand that I am going out to eat shortly and thank her for her kindness.  Everyone is now back in his/her own place having lunch (2 p.m.).  It is 35C.....a little warm!!!!

How lucky am I?  I have now had three family village stays.  These have been special because not everyone has a chance to have one, much less three.  In addition, before I traded Lakhu for Tarun and he traded me for Lauren, we had breakfast at  Tarun's home.

A little bit of the real India that will remain in my heart forever.

It is my last day here and Lakhu called me earlier. We decided that he pick me up at 4 p.m. so that we can do some last minute errands (especially the elusive REAL Mysore Sandalwood Soap).  Little does he know, but I have planned to take him out to BBQ Nation for dinner.  I sure hope he has not been there before.  If so, I will change the venue. Will take some photos.

  He will then drop me back at Kabli where I will sleep until my wake up call.  Lakhu will take me to the airport about 3 a.m.



This is bittersweet.  I am sooo tired after seven weeks travelling, but very sad to be leaving.

Market in the town near the village.

One of these is going inside to the butcher.

Jyoti and Tarun preparing the fire (outdoors)

for the chicken curry Tarun is going to prepare.

Their mother, Tarun's aunt.  She is cleaning wheat.  We took a 10 kg bag back to Delhi where Tarun's family will have flour made.

Their father, Tarun's uncle.

Mani's older sister, Jyoti, on the left.

Tarun's cousin, Mani, on the left.  We brought him back to Delhi with us.

On this leg of our trip we first stopped at the village of Tarun's father.  It was wonderful. The family was so warm and inviting, but so were the mosquitoes.  I had difficulty getting to sleep and finally at about 3 a.m. went to the car to sleep and escape them.  The next day we headed to Rishikesh for two nights.  While we were away Tarun's uncle got a mosquito coil and a net for me.  I slept outdoors, under the net, and it was heavenly.

The Aarti in Rishikesh

As in Varanasi, there is a sunset aarti.  This one was much smaller and therefore more intimate.  We sat within feet of the "altar" and priests sat surrounding us.

Welcome to Glass House

The Ganges or Ganga

River terrace

Down at the river.

Lower garden path to the river terrace.

Going down to the lower garden.

Where we had lunch.

The Glass House

Named such because there is a huge wall of glass and a delightful large sitting room for viewing during the colder months.

This is a lovely hotel just outside of Rishikesh. The grounds are lush with trees and flowers etc.  The architecture and furnishings nod to British Colonial.  The food is very good and they make a perfect  sweet lime water/lime squash.

There are excellent views of the Ganges from everywhere, and even their own private terrace and walk to the river.

Although we didn't stay here, we did enjoy a lovely lunch on the porch.

Rafting on the Ganges is very popular.  There are many adventure companies offering everything from a few hours to overnight stays in tents.  This was on a stretch of the river between Rishikesh and the Vashishta Cave.