Since the last time we posted, we have done this:

We last posted in Bikaner, Rajasthan.  We are now in Diu, Gujarat.  Here are the places we have spent nights in between:

Jaisalmer.  A fort town in the desert, with a huge, 800 year old fort (we stayed inside it).  Jaisalmer itself was great, the people were nice, and the food was quite good, some of which we cooked ourselves.   One evening we went on a sunset safari out to some Sahara-like dunes.  Jaisalmer is advertised as the Golden City, but it is, at best, a dusty brown.

Jodhpur.  The Blue City, they say, and it does a decent job of living up to its name, to the extent that the bright blue paint job of our hotel was no help when we were trying to find our way back to it through those narrow, winding streets…  The layout of Jodhpur is so convoluted I doubt if many of the streets themselves have any idea where they are going.  I believe the city planner may have based the design, from an aerial view, on a snapshot of an octopus brawl.  But that can’t be—the only city planners ever to contemplate Jodhpur were probably tourists.  There are two planned cities in India.  Two.  The rest…  They are, shall we say, creative.  Jodhpur had excellent saffron lassis—a yogurty, sweet drink.  Beyond the lassis, the city had little that moved us to stay.

Udaipur.  The most romantic city in India, some claim.  Very touristy.  The site of much filming in the James Bond film, Octopussy.  Not a very enjoyable place.  Too many tourists, too expensive, too hyped.  There is a palace in the middle of a lake, and, I admit, it looks pretty cool…  There is also a palace in the city itself, which Josh and I toured.  It was cool.

Junagadh.  Excellent.  No tourists.  Cheap living.  Cheap thalis (all you can eat Indian dishes—we were paying roughly 70 cents in Junagadh).  We climbed Girnar Hill, a 10,000 step staircase up a mountain, on the peaks of which (there are three) balance little temples.  We went to them all, and ate some free coconut.  We actually didn’t climb 10,000 stairs—I think it was closer 6,000 or 7,000.  Where all those other stairs went is anyone’s guess.  We may have started part way up.  In Junagadh, we also had a good time with a man named Kishn, and his family, which Josh writes about in his piece.

Sasan Gir.  The last remaining home of wild Asiatic Lions, and—Luke, this was for you—we went on a jeep safari, and we saw one.  There are 359 remaining lions (according to a 2005 census) living on this 1400 square kilometer preserve, so we were fortunate to get our glimpse. 

Diu.  We just arrived in Diu last night.  Diu is a small Island on the Arabian Sea that used to be a Portugese colony.  Today we plan on renting some scooters and riding around the Island in search of beaches that are not covered in trash and feces.  Wish us luck.

From Diu, we plan on taking a 24 hour bus to Mumbai.  That won’t be as bad as it sounds—they stop occasionally, and we will be riding sleeper class, so we will have beds.  

India is cruising along—we have almost reached the halfway point of our stay here (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)—and we are having a good time.  I hope everybody reading this, wherever they are, is well.  See you guys soon.

Chance