India… again and again

I know it’s been a while. I got going on the Egypt travelblog part 2 and it was 26 pages. (FYI – that is 42 on the blog page.) I got it down to 18 pages – still too many on the blog. Then I got distracted. I went back to it a couple of times but was not successful in getting it to a reasonable level. So I moved on. I have tons of picture to share at some point if any body is interested but for now, here’s a quick (and short) update of what’s been going on:

I’ve been busy this spring. At the invitation of my yoga instructor, I attended an intensive asana training course in south India (Mandrem, Goa) at the end of March. It was difficult. Pushed me past my comfort zone but by the end of the 8 days I felt really good. The beaches are beautiful in that area.  The sites you see are different. For example, it isn’t every day that you see a guy jogging through the sand with his brahma…

Or a family of pigs foraging along the beach.

 

The sunsets are fantastic even on a cloudy evening though!

The other thing I have been doing is painting. I have been doing some of the local 2-3 hour paint a picture and have a cocktail things, and enjoying them, but then decided to see what could happen if I took actual lessons. So I found a 13 class (2-3 hours per) course that had flexible scheduling available and signed up. These classes took precedence over the writing, and as a result I haven’t posted anything. At the bottom of the page are a couple of the things I have done. I finally broke down and bought myself some brushes and paint. I am not the greatest, but I really enjoy it. I find myself getting lost and spending hours…

So why am I writing now? I’m back in India, and didn’t bring my supplies with me…

The trip started out touring with my husband, son, and unofficial/sort of daughter touring the Golden Triangle. We saw the Taj Mahal…

the Red Fort,

    

The Amber Fort,

           

and spent time in Jaipur where we toured the King’s Palace in the Pink City, and a few textile shops. India is a country a little less than half the size of the lower 48 states, but with over 1.2 BILLION people. Yeah. It’s crowded. Especially obvious in the larger cities, like Delhi, and Jaipur. Family transportation is… interesting.      

It is not an overly wealthy country, and touring here is not everybody’s cup of tea. It can be extremely depressing. There is extreme in your face poverty, as well as ridiculous trash management issues. You cannot drink the water (but then you can’t in AD either) and plumbing facilities are often less than optimal to say the least. BUT they are working on it, and definitely trying hard to be better. Signs of that are everywhere. Still it has a way to go. The absolute best part of India to me is the people.

They seem to always be smiling, happy, upbeat, and grateful, regardless of their situation. I love the joy on the faces of these 2 little hitch hikers on the back of our pedicab in the Delhi market. They ran and jumped on. Instead of admonishing them the driver just laughed, as did we. It was all in good fun, and the guys got an after school ride.

After the crowded and hot big cities, Shanna headed back to Dubai and the rest of us came up to the mountains to cool off. It’s beautiful up here. If you haven’t seen the posts from September/October 2016 please scroll back and have a read. I am back in the same place to pursue more Ayurveda training. In addition, I start yoga teacher training today. I’ve been taking yoga classes on and off for 30+ years. Not steadily, but whenever I had the time, easy access and money to do so. That is, until we moved to Abu Dhabi. For the past couple of years my practice has been 4-7 days per week. My Yoga Instructor in AD combined with the experience in Goa convinced

me to add this to my book of knowledge, and I am looking forward to the challenge! Here is a photo of the primary location of the school.

My apartment is about 50 yards uphill in this building.

I have a great place with multiple windows in each direction that catch the breezes beautifully. I absolutely love this part of India. It is laid back, friendly, and most definitely beautiful. The Himalayas provide a jaw dropping background to the classrooms I will be spending much of my summer in.  

I put my son in touch with a friend and after a couple of days here he headed over to join a group that is hiking up to the source of the Ganges. He has been gone for 6 days and was just now back in touch to tell me they were down and back in cell range. He has photos and stories and had a great time. If he’ll let me I will post those on the next installment. I can’t wait to see them myself!

Here are a few of the things I have done in art class.

                

Until next time…