Drive to Nanded March 11th

Our drive from the last 3 days will be with us for 3 more day and he drove us to Nanded today. The drive was 275km and it took us 5 ½ hours. We used secondary roads the whole way and we had 50km of construction near Nanded. I like this driver – he is the safest on the road so although we had exciting times, we never feared for our lives. We enjoyed the views of Indian life as we travelled. It is haying season and cotton picking seeason and the fields were full of workers. Because cotton is so light some trucks are way overloaded with their load. We also see women walking along the roadside the bowls and vases on their heads. Every where the women are dressed in saris which are clean and brightly coloured. India is a land of colour.

Haying Season

The Cow on the right won

Cows at rest in the main road

In the late afternoon we went for a walk. The sidewalks don't really exist – if they are there, scooters are parked all over. So we walked on the road edge like everybody else. I was on the ro

ad when a cow just about ran me over. She headed into a field and immediately started fighting with a bull. I beat a hasty retreat, she knocked the bull into a ditch and sent the piglets scurrying in alarm. There are animals everywhere in India.

In the evening we went to a laser show in a park, which tells the story of sikhism. The show was canceled for maintenance but we entered a sikh shrine which honours a saint from 3 centuries ago. There was a service going on so we sat down and listened. There were 3 musicians playing sitars and singing. The music was very easy to take and the ritual was fascinating. Lots of fire and dancing. At the end we were approached by a Sikh lady from Canada who gave us a bit of Sikh history, but they turned on the recorded music and I couldn't hear much after that.

Joan - The ambassador from Canada

Tim teasingly tells me that I have achieved “rock star status” on our travels. The reason is that I am very often(10-15 times a day) asked if I would let people have their photo taken with me. I think it must be my very gray ,very curly hair that is the attraction . People of all ages ask and I always say yes. It is a lot of fun to have the small personal interactions with people.