Grauntie in India.

[Grauntie Mag]

We are now surfacing after our holiday to India. I will tell you a little about it, hopefully with pics.
First stop, day 2, New Delhi. Busy, busy place, but fascinating. The traffic is manic and has to be seen to be believed. Everybody honks their horns all the time and every mode of road transport is there, cars, trucks, camels, bikes etc.If you think you are heading in the wrong direction in a one way system, just turn around and go the other way against the traffic, nobody cares!
Days 3 & 4. A trip around old Delhi in a 'rickshaw' (bike with a seat for two attached, as in London) That was incredible. We went to the old streets where all the electric cables are overhead and very precarious. So many shop fronts selling beautiful fabrics, food, everything! All so colourful and noisy. On to see Masjid mosque and the Raj Chat cremation site of Mahatma Gandhi.
Next day to Jaipur.Elephant ride to the hilltop fort of Amber.On to City Palace Complex and Palace of the winds.
Day 5, on to Ranthambore National Park. A visit to another fort on day 1, with a talk about the Tiger conservation project in the evening.
Day 6, Tiger safaris morning and afternoon. We were lucky enough to see 3 tigers.
Day 7, on to the village of Abhaneri where we visited the step wells, fascinating,) and the Harshat Mata Temple. On to Geejarh, a rural village, a camel ride to visit a farm with a demo of cooking the family meal outside over a fire of twigs and dried manure pats! We had a display of Indian dancing and a puppet show in the evening.
Day 8, onward to Agra and the Taj Mahal at sunset. Beautiful.
Day 9, up at silly o clock to see the sun rise over the Taj mahal, even more beautiful! Back to Delhi for the last night where OH succumbed to Delhi Belly!!
There were many hours of coach travel but everything was so interesting, it didn't matter at all. Travelling companions (we were 37) were all, without exception, nice people.Our guide was the best. His knowledge was vast.
There were many, many laughs and we had a 50th, a 60th, and 2 more birthdays and an engagement.All in all a fabulous holiday.

[Gemini]

GM, that sounds a lovely, unusual holiday, with a lot packed in. Poor OH succumbing to the tummy thing, but it sounds as though you at least escaped it!

My ex husband has been to India 3 times, and loves it.
Thanks for sharing your holiday with us

[Plantaholic]

I believe from friends who have been that is a manic colourful place. They go there to buy material and crafts. Sounds like a good experience

[Nana]

Grauntie, what a super holiday. The fotos are really interesting a sum up your surroundings/ the different lifestyle. It sounds as all the fellow passengers were lovely people too. It does make a difference to your holiday. Really pleased you had a great time.

[Nanto2girls]

Reading about your holiday was very interesting.lovely photo's.

[Oma]

Sounds and looks amazing 😊

[Daisy]

GM - welcome back. What an action-packed time you've had, and it all sounds, and looks, totally fascinating. I'd love to hear more details when you've got time. What did you like best? What surprised you the most? Were there any parts that you didn't like or wouldn't want to experience again?

[Grauntie Mag]

Will do Daisy but not today. We had to send our beloved Molly Collie to Dog Dignitas today and as you know it makes a great hole in a very sad house. 😢

[Nana]

Awww, Grauntie how very sad. I can understand the hurt you are feeling. Once you have a dog & loose it you know exactly the hole it leaves in your heart & home. There will be lots of others on here, that when they see this will offer words of comfort & support. As they say....try to remember the good times. Love to you all.x

[Gemini]

Oh GM, how sad. Many of us know how that feels. Just know you did the very best thing for her, and gave her a lovely life. Big (Hugs) to you xxx

[Plantaholic]

Very sad for you, we recently lost a cat and we have a much loved Golden Retriever hanging by a thread.

[Teragram]

What a lovely holiday it is very interesting to read about it. India is a place I have always wanted to go to.
So sorry to read of your sad loss of your lovely dog. We lost our lovely poodle Cleo on 3rd March this year. We still miss her so very much as I'm sure you do.

[Daisy]

GM - I'm so sorry to hear about Molly Collie. I know you had been worried about her for a while, and understand how hard it is. They leave such a great big hole in our hearts and lives, but I'm so glad you were back home with her when the time came. Big hug. xx

Someone sent this to me - it made me smile and cry at the same time - after we said goodbye to Clyde a few months ago:
"Some of you, particularly those who think they have recently lost a dog to 'death', don’t really understand this. I’ve had no desire to explain, but won’t be around forever and must.

Dogs never die. They don’t know how to. They get tired, and very old, and their bones hurt. Of course they don’t die. If they did they would not want to always go for a walk, even long after their old bones say: 'No, no, not a good idea. Let's not go for a walk.' Nope, dogs always want to go for a walk. They might get one step before their aging tendons collapse them into a heap on the floor, but that's what dogs are. They walk.

It’s not that they dislike your company. On the contrary, a walk with you is all there is. Their boss, and the cacaphonic symphony of odor that the world is. Cat poop, another dog’s mark, a rotting chicken bone (exultation), and you. That’s what makes their world perfect, and in a perfect world death has no place.

However, dogs get very very sleepy. That’s the thing, you see. They don't teach you that at the fancy university where they explain about quarks, gluons, and Keynesian economics. They know so much they forget that dogs never die. It’s a shame, really. Dogs have so much to offer and people just talk a lot.

When you think your dog has died, it has just fallen asleep in your heart. And by the way, it is wagging its tail madly, you see, and that’s why your chest hurts so much and you cry all the time. Who would not cry with a happy dog wagging its tail in their chest. Ouch! Wap wap wap wap wap, that hurts. But they only wag when they wake up. That’s when they say: 'Thanks Boss! Thanks for a warm place to sleep and always next to your heart, the best place.'

When they first fall asleep, they wake up all the time, and that’s why, of course, you cry all the time. Wap, wap, wap. After a while they sleep more. (remember, a dog while is not a human while. You take your dog for walk, it’s a day full of adventure in an hour. Then you come home and it's a week, well one of your days, but a week, really, before the dog gets another walk. No WONDER they love walks.)

Anyway, like I was saying, they fall asleep in your heart, and when they wake up, they wag their tail. After a few dog years, they sleep for longer naps, and you would too. They were a GOOD DOG all their life, and you both know it. It gets tiring being a good dog all the time, particularly when you get old and your bones hurt and you fall on your face and don’t want to go outside to pee when it is raining but do anyway, because you are a good dog. So understand, after they have been sleeping in your heart, they will sleep longer and longer.

But don’t get fooled. They are not 'dead.' There’s no such thing, really. They are sleeping in your heart, and they will wake up, usually when you’re not expecting it. It’s just who they are.

I feel sorry for people who don’t have dogs sleeping in their heart. You’ve missed so much. Excuse me, I have to go cry now." (by Ernest Montague, DogHeirs)

[Grauntie Mag]

Thanks Daisy, that is lovely. I will pass it on to DD1 who is bereft. I can't tell you how many times I have 'stepped over' Molly beside my dining chair or glanced at the garden to see if she is ready to come in.
Thanks everyone for your kind words.
Back to the India thing tomorrow. 👳🏽

[Shemadee]

So sorry you had such a sad experience so soon after your amazing holiday. Looking forward to hearing more when you feel up to it.