I have escaped from processing photos to put a few words down :)

Wow, it's been some time since I got you up to date on our travels...A has been stealing my facts, but I have plenty more :)

While I remember....one thing I totally spaced about our Amhedabad walk was about the water. Remember that I told you how intelligently designed the Pols were? Overhanging at the top, wide at the bottom to help the cool air flow and keep it all the same temperature, there were also windows near the front door into each haveli to help the air flow into the houses. They also had realized that they were displacing the wildlife (birds, mostly) so they had bird feeders and they built birdhouses into the walls. Then there was the central gate where there is a chalk board so that everyone gets the news. The main (rich person's) haveli had a place for visitors to stay. They had secret escape passages into neighboring Pols so that they were not trapped, too. The passages ways were narrow and twisting so attackers would be confused and horsemen were forced to dismount and walk the horse through. All very well thought out. They also had a plan for water. Each Pol had several storage wells under the houses - I seem to remember them saying that there were 100,000 of these and that they each hold thousands of liters of water - that is a lot of water! They have a rainwater reclamation facility built into the house incorporating a gutter system. They let the first few minutes of water run off and then they start funneling the rain into the tank. The tank is also protected from contamination by limiting access and keeping it covered. I was very impressed...however, only some of the tanks are still in use...and the gates into the Pols are all gone...oh well, all in the name of progress, I guess.

Ok, on to our travels! We left Udaipur for Chittor and it was an easy ride and we arrived about 1pm. We got into town, decided that we didn't want to stay in town (just a gut feeling) and then I remembered that there was a note in the Lonely Planet that said there was a place on the hill that had been recommended so we headed up to the fort to find it. We got up to the top and did not see it at all...so we asked someone at the fort entrance and were told that it wasn't in business any longer, but there was another place we could stay in the fort...easy to find, no problem, just around the corner :). So off we went in search of it. We rode right by it not realizing what it was - no English signage :) That's when I sent A in to find out (it was the only possible option)...I'm the navigator and she is the universal communicator :) Score! It was exactly what we were looking for! We could have gone for the cheap room with shared bath for 50 rupees but we splurged for the luxury suite (including 3 geckos to share the space with :) for 200 rupees (our cheapest night so far!). We could see the shared bathrooms out the back from our window....we were very glad of our choice. As we headed out to tour the ruins A arranged dinner with the manager - there is no food up in the fort area and we did not want to head down unless it was necessary. He said thali (the magic word to my ears :) at 6:30 for 50 rupees and it was a done deal :) I have already told you that we ate exactly what the manager's family ate, and it was delicious! But back to the fort!

The fort is huge, lots of open space! It's approx 3 kms by 9 kms, so we decided to take one bike so we could get around it all in good time. One end of it is a deer reserve (we didn't see any as we rode by, though). We decided to go clockwise so we headed out to the first palace. It was in great shape for a place that was abandoned in the mid 1500s. We explored it like a Tomb Raider game, making sure we covered all the various rooms and passageways :) There were several women washing clothes in the tank and one guy that was washing himself so vigorously that I thought he was preparing for a date that night :) We then hopped on the bike and rode around the very desolate end, stopped to walk over to the wall and have a look of the far side and then continued to the Jain temple and victory tower.

We met another tourist at the Jain temple - she was on her own and she was travelling with a driver. Since A and I are now vastly experienced with Jainism (yeah, right...but we have learned a lot these past few weeks :) we educated her a little. It must be strange for someone to walk in to a temple and see pictures of naked men on the walls! (not pornographic! they have just given up everything, so they have, literally, nothing :) and have the caretaker put a liquid mark on your forehead (we are very use to this from many temple visits, but for Jains it is more important - theirs is a deodorant, so you don't smell up the space :) Back on the bike we went onward to a tank, passing several shrines.

The tank is the one from the photo, with the interesting rock walls. I walked down and around, looking for good textures for my photos :) There was one guy having a wash at one end and there was an older woman having a wash at the other. I also spotted some small bamboo rafts on the rocks that must be from some past celebration (I assume). We then continued to the deer park and looped around to the main buildings remaining in the fort.

We explored another palace that has not survived very well and checked out another tank and then it was on to the Shiva temple and the BIG tower of victory. We came in the back way, past the ladies selling nuts for the monkeys...and then past the monkeys (I love monkeys and these ones were nice and very clean :) There were lots of monkey babies!!! They are very cute, but we kept our distance so as not to upset mother monkey. There were a couple of young ones chasing each other up and down the facade of the main gateway - leaping around and trying to push each other off. Hilarious :)

Then it was down to the water area - the bull spout where the spring comes out and a big tank. On the way down we watched a monkey eat some food...this was a bit different as the monkey was missing one hand, some toes and his tail, but he was defending his dinner from some other monkeys. It was interesting to watch. It was also interesting to watch the fish feeding frenzy when someone threw some of the monkey food into the water - there are some decent sized fish in that tank! Then we had some guys try to be very friendly with us...and after about 2 minutes they were so bold to ask for kisses!!!! We departed rapidly...and they followed and asked us AGAIN!!! So I got a bit harsh with them and told them we were NICE girls, NICE girls don't give kisses to boys they don't know, so if some girls have given them kisses after meeting them for a couple of minutes those girls were not NICE girls :) I do like to educate people....most of the time they don't get it, but I still try :)

Then it was onto the Shiva temple...we are quite familiar with Shiva temples and the smell as we walked in was familiar - it was really nice. It must be a specific incense but I don't know which one. A got chatting with the caretaker (and it looked like the caretaker was living in the temple - his bed and washing was in evidence!) and he told her that she could go into place where the linga usually is in a Shiva temple, but there was a huge trio of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu all decorated in bright colors. I was checking out the architecture and it was very easy to see where the temple had been reinforced in the 1400s. The exterior is very interesting, too - very decorative. A spent a few minutes eavesdropping on a small group with a guide and found out about what the different levels of decoration meant. This is pretty standard for the time period - we saw the same layers on the second Jain temple we went to just down the road from this temple :) That Jain temple was next on our trail and it was very similar to the Delwara temples we saw at Mt Abu - in construction, not in finely carved decoration.

By the time we had visited the second Jain temple it was getting on in time and things were closing. We took decided to ride down and check out the gates that we had ridden up through and to look for the 2 markers for the leaders that had died in the last jauhar - when they defended the fort to the death. they were quite a ways down the hill, nearly out of the fort and one of them had already been mortally wounded and was carried out by the other guy! They take their chivalry very seriously. It was also just about time for dinner :):):)

The next morning we headed out at 7 and it was CHILLY! We were both really cold on the ride and we stopped about 10kms into the ride to put wind blockers inside our jackets - A used my waterproof tank bag cover and I had a bin liner :) That was the hard ride on the road under construction when we only made it to Jalawar. After that night in Jalawar we had a great ride into Bhopal. Bhopal is a beautiful city - a city of lakes it says on their welcome signs. The lake was lovely...not as lovely as Udaipur, but when we were thinking that this was the hottest and driest part of India...we were pleasantly surprised. We got a bit lost finding the hotel, but this is normal when you have rudimentary maps and no street signs (not even ones we can't read :) I have been very glad to have my very cool and very functional Nike watch - it has a compass!

The next morning it was off to Sanchi - the whole reason for our visit. It's about 50kms away and we found the road and it was sweet :) Most of it was freshly paved, only a few sections were still under construction and it was *not* boring and straight :) I did the driving with A on the back (it was early and A is a bit useless when she hasn't had her coffee, remember? And I love mornings :) It was also quite chilly....it's quite chilly up in the north! We are so used to the warm south :) We arrived in good time and went right to a cafe for some coffee and stuffed parathas :) Then we headed up the hill to the ruins....and it was WOW!

They have done a beautiful job restoring the stupas, the other ruins and the whole area. It was not crowded, it was so peaceful. We both commented on how happy and at peace we felt. Very strange. It was hot work, though and by midday we were both suffering and I went down to the small shop and got lots of liquids and some potato chips (so we could get some salt into our systems, not because we were hungry). What a change from the cold ride in the morning! You have seen the photos. It's just amazing. I would tell you more about it, but I have more to tell you :) You can find more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanchi

On our way back, since it wasn't all that late, we decided to see if we could find the Union Carbide factory - no, we were not being morbid! :) We knew that it was only about 10kms out near the Sanchi road, so we had a go. We don't know for sure if we spotted it (there are no signs that say HERE IT IS :) but we think we saw it. We saw lots of other cool stuff though so it was well worth it for us to take the scenic route (with A on the back as chief photographer :)

So, another early departure...this time we REALLY froze! We were more prepared though and we had lots of layers on and our buffs and we were all zipped up....we were as warm as we could have been with the kit we have with us. About 100kms into the 400km ride we stopped at the A1 rest stop and depleted their stocks of 6 cups of coffee and 2 stuffed parathas (with pickle and curd, my favorite way to have them :). While we were warming up, the sun was also warming up the great outdoors and when we headed out we were just fine, temperature-wise :). A has already told you about the rest of the ride - the rain, the cops...that it was about 65kms farther then what my map said it was going to be :) That was not the end of the horrors, though...we could NOT find the hotel...we couldn't even find the train station!!!! We asked quite a few people, and apparently we were on the right road but we were just not finding it. Lucky for us 2 nice young men on a motorbike decided to ask us if we were lost :) We told them we were looking for MLB Road and they told us we were on it. Good...we thought we had followed directions :) Then we asked for the train station and they did one of those over there sort of wavy movements and then they asked us what hotel we were looking for (do we look like we are looking for a hotel??? plenty of people ask us :) so we told them and they said they would take us there (do we have great luck or what?!?!?! These guys saved my butt - I was just about at the end of my patience and I was starving! They led us right to the hotel, which was about 2kms away and not on the road we were on....crap maps!!!! But we got checked in and it was a nice room with a clean bathroom :)

The hotel didn't have a restaurant but they said they serve food in the rooms so we placed our order...we ordered one more dish than regular because we were really starving! They called up a few minutes later to say it would arrive at 8 (an hour later) we were starved, so we said ok and we went about entertaining ourselves by reading the Lonely Planet and finding out what was on television - Lethal Weapon 2! :) Just before 8 they called to say it was going to be another 45 minutes...A told them when she answered the call that it wasn't alright...and hung up (she knows what I am like when I am hungry :). Not a minute later the guy was at our door apologizing and asking us to be patient....I did lose my temper a bit and I told him we had been on the road since 7 this morning, riding from Bhopal and that I was starving....could they at least get us a packet of biscuits??? So we handed over 10 rupees and they appeared in about 5 minutes with the water we had ordered and the biscuits. The biscuits did not last more than about 2 minutes :)

The first set of dishes arrived and we tucked in! The food was good and it has to be said, it was worth the wait. We finished the dal, veg curry and rice before round 2 arrived and then we made the aloo gobi and 5 chapatis disappear as well :) Then it was malaria tabs and under the mosi net for us! In the morning we chased up the Indian Coffee House for some coffee and one of their famous dosas and then rode up to the fort (the reason to come to Gwalior :). A is posting the photos right now.

We needed to get to Agra, so we we only spent a couple of hours nosing around. On the way up to the fort are some pretty amazing Jain sculptures carved into the rock, they were carved in the 1400s and defaced about 75 years later (heads and genitals knocked off). We did a bit of climbing on the rocks and then it was on to the fort! The fort is much smaller than Chittor - it covers the top of a hill 3 kms long and not even 1km in most places. There were definite signs of British presence as well! We explored the palace, walking down dark stairways where the architecture provided a small bathing pool and passages to facilitate cold air movement and also speaking tubes! We also saw some more bats :) Then we walked on the walls, checked out some more ruins and the tank where nearby the women killed themselves when jauhar was committed at this fort. Then we checked out the museum and then went to have a look at our first Sikh temple.

That was a new experience! You have to cover your head, wash your hands, remove shoes and walk through a pool of water (very clean!). Inside they gave us some sweet mushy stuff to eat as well. There was a board outside that explained about the temple and it's purpose at this particular spot and it also gave some Sikh history. The temple is called Gurudwara Data Bandhi Chod and it was built in the memory of Guru Hargobind Sahib, who was imprisoned in the fort for two years by Jehangir. There is a bit of a story about how he came to be released and when he did he asked that any prisoners that could touch his shawl also be released and it was agreed. He then had a special shawl made and it had lots of tassles on it and more than 50 other prisoners were also released with him :) More about Gwalior can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwalior

We headed down from the fort, got packed up and then got underway to Agra. Finding the hotel was fine...made harder by the fact that the hotel does not have a sign :) Then we found and internet cafe and A told you we were here :)

That's about all I have in my fingers today, you will have to wait for my report on the Taj Mahal. Catch you later!!!!