Road to Jaipur

I am writing to you from a hotel in the countryside, about a half hour outside of Jaipur in India.
In a few minutes I?ll be leaving for our daytrip to Jaipur ? the Pink City.

We've only been here 3 days and I feel like I have been here a week.
Having traveled extensively throughout Asia, and having spent a month in Sri Lanka in 1987, I had an idea of what two weeks in India would be like? but?

There is no amount of logical foresight that can prepare one for the
experiences of a tour across India.
Yesterday we made the 6 hour roadtrip cross-country from Delhi to the
Jaipur area, and by the time we arrived at our country hotel we were all
completely exhausted! There was so much to see on the road? With all the photos we took,
we still could never capture the depth and breadth of what we
experienced on the highways and villages.
The sacred cows chewing garbage in the road medians, the monkeys
chattering and bouncing in the trees, the camel convoys driven by
white-turbaned farmers, the homeless children selling water and flowers
at the toll stops, the ladies in billowing saris sitting side-saddle on
the backs of scooters, the painted lorries (trucks) parked along the
roadsides (waiting to roll at 9 pm), the endless stream of buildings
that are half-built or half-destroyed, the fields of barley and the
distant huge factories, the trucks overloaded with workers spilling out
the windows and clinging to the back bumper and roof?I've seen photos of
these things but it always strikes one as an incredible snapshot in time when you take that picture?

Our trip has not been without surprises.
Last night as we turned off the highway, we ended up taking a long drive
down a twisting dirt road filled with cows and goats, dips and rocks,
mudholes and the occasional human.
A half hour from when we had turned off the main road, I finally entered
my private villa and realized what was so special about this remote
hotel.
I had to do a 180 degree turn in my expectations, but as I settled into
embracing a countryside spa experience (when I was expecting a plush
city hotel close to the sights of Jaipur) I was able to shift into a
place of peaceful surrender.
Which of course was exactly what I needed!

This morning on the way down the rock path to breakfast, I almost
stepped on a big green slug on the pathway.
?Hello!? I said.
?What message are you bringing me today?? I find that Nature always
brings me messages of wisdom, when I can slow down enough to understand
the message.
?Slow down? enjoy the peaceful quiet of Nature? the slug seemed to
whisper with each bob of his antennae.

I will continue to post photos every day or two, as I am able.
(with the help of the internet gods.) This photo was taken at Jama Masjid ? a mosque in Delhi.
This beautiful mother had 5 small children, and she was very happy to have their photo taken.
She had a grace and quiet wisdom about her that we will always remember.