7C BROWN. BUST IT BIG: HOLI. TAJ. ELEPHANT.adventures!

26-28 MARCH 2013 Jaipur, Rajasthan India

ELEPHANT FESTIVAL AND HOLI 2013

We decided to take a detour and go to the deserts of Rajasthan for the Elephant Festival. Sounds really neat, painted elephants parading around the streets, playing tug o war and polo. This year they switched things up a bit and let the elephants out of the festival? Thank you animal rights in India? We did not find this out until we were at the arena waiting for the elephants. We did see a lot of dancers there.

Next day was Holi. India’s festival of colors to celebrate and welcome spring. You pretty much just through color on each other and dance around. Everybody is COVERED in different colors.

29 March-30 March

Jaipur- Agra, Uttar Pradesh India 230 km

Arrived in Agra, Home of the Taj Mahal and it was closed! Every Friday. So that gave us the chance to see the Taj by sun rise the next day. It was beautiful. We have been to India many times and Paul has never been to visit the Taj. We went first thing in the morning and after waiting in line we walked right in while all the other tourists were outside still taking photos. WE got the whole place to ourselves. It really is a beautiful tomb. It attracts a lot of people a day.

We wanted to make some miles after that, pack up and headed east. Not much on the road as far as restaurants and hotels so we gathered some veggies and water and prepared to camp for the night. We stopped a little too early for India (you should set up camp late or else you get a lot of visitors) A lot of visitor we had. at least 20 men and children, workers of the fields around, watched us set up camp, make dinner, eat dinner and go to bed. At about 11pm a motorcycle pulled up followed by a truck. We did not know what was going on, villagers wanting to check us out? Nope. COPS. and all the villagers telling us to pack up and move to the school. We could not sleep there even though we asked all the villagers before. No way were we going to follow them to the school, Cops can not be trusted anymore then anybody else here. WE rode down the road at midnight in India, no hotels anywhere. so 20 minutes later we pulled off and set up camp with nobody around until 6:15am. What a long day.

31 March 2013 Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh India 168km

After last night we wanted to relax a bit. We found a hotel with a pool at the right price and a circus around the corner with a evening show. Sounds like a good time.