Seeing the World by Rail – Rajasthan

Some of you remember that after I came back from my bike trip in Tuscany, I declared that I wanted to see the whole world by bicycle. Changed my mind. I have decided the train is the thing—I must take a train to see the rest of this amazing world. After two crazy 6 am to 10 pm days of touring every mega palace, fort and temple of the maharajas and maharanis in Jaipur and Udaipur, we got to come back to the train in mid afternoon and rest in our cabins. Can I tell you how right I feel with the world as I sit up in my bed, listening to music on my iPod and look out the window at the Rajasthan countryside? I can see, cows, goats, tiny farms and lots of make-shift homes with tarps held up by bamboo or old stone structures and fields dotted with orange and purple and red and yellow, the colorful saris that women working hard in the fields wear . Rajasthan is sort of a desert and to offset the arid look of the land, the women wear the brightest colors. Many of the men also wear colorful turbans (as fashion, rather than as a part of their religion like the Sikhs). The Palace Train also must be very special here, cause people stare and wave at us in every station and by the side of the roads. I love waiving especially to the little kids and the old men who seem like still life- like they have been sitting in that same spot on the road for years. The whole thing reminds me of Slumdog Millionaire.

Wish I could snap a good picture of it all. This whole picture thing though is getting to be a bit of an obsession. After a while you realize that you have documented your whole trip very well but maybe you have missed actually seeing and feeling it. So I am trying to be present and take it all in, praying it will get etched in mind forever.