December 7, 2014. Market trip in Hyderabad

We went to the local market with Nagu, Meredith's father-in-law.  First, we looked at flowers she might use in her hair at the wedding.  She will take samples to the beauty shop for ideas on styling.

Most of the flowers are marigolds and roses.  So colorful!

Then, we walked through the fruits and vegetable section.  Gorgeous produce!

We bought salad ingredients.

 

They sell lots of fresh herbs, including these curry leaves.

December 5 and 6, 2014. Home in Hyderabad

Meredith's parents-in-law kindly rented a flat for us on the top of their apartment complex.  

We are sleeping there, and Alexis will join us when she comes.  Some of the wedding celebrations will also take place here. 

We spent a day shopping for the wedding.  Meredith had to get measured for alterations on her wedding dress.  (Sorry, no photos as the dress has to remain a secret until the big day).  We also made beauty shop appointments for the morning of the wedding.  They will do her hair, makeup, and help her put on her dress correctly.  We explored the neighborhood on foot.  There is a gym where Meredith will work out.  Bala and I went with her to watch a Zumba demo class.

The in-laws have a cook who makes us delicious meals.  He will have a day off on Sunday, and Meredith will prepare all the meals.  We went shopping for ingredients.  We had heard that there is an emu farm nearby.  We found a shop that sells unusual meats and poultry.  We bought some emu, then selected four quail for another meal.

The chap butchered the quail in front of us.....we certainly know they are fresh!  

Gautham arrived from the USA.  He and Meredith went shopping for his wedding outfit.  

December 4, 2014. Back in Hyderabad

We flew from Jaipur to Hyderabad on IndiGo Airlines, landing at 8:00 AM.  Meredith's father-in-law met us and drove us home.  We relaxed during the day.  

Here is George with morning coffee in their dining room.

We were happy to get laundry done.  Here is George relaxing on patio with laundry drying.

December 3, 2014. Road scenes

Bikaner has a lot of camels.  This is a typical sight on the highway...

Along the highway we saw a few dead pigs, dogs, goats, and cows that had been hit by cars.  It is amazing how the cows generally move aside for cars and trucks.  Most cars travel at about 50 mph, then come to a screeching halt when a cow or goat crosses the road. 

We stopped at a train crossing to wait for a train to cross.  Hawkers came up to all the parked vehicles selling their wares, including a guy showing off his cobra.

For those who saw the movie " Slum Dog Millionaire", there is a scene in a restaurant kitchen where the boy is filling up water bottles with tap water and selling them to the foreigners who think they are drinking pure, bottled water.  At this train crossing, there was a guy doing just that.

We arrived back in Jaipur in the late afternoon.   We had a drink by the pool.  The weather is great.... 70s in the day, and low 60s at night.  We found another very modest restaurant (not for tourists), and had a delicious dinner there.

There were 2 vegetable dishes, a lentil dish, and plenty of naan.  All for  $1 each.  We went to bed early, as we have to get up at 3:00 AM to catch an early flight back to Hyderabad.

December 3, 2014. Bikaner to Jaipur

We learned that Gautham (Meredith's husband) went to school in this city, and that Bala (Meredith's mother-in-law) was a teacher here, so we went off to visit the school.  This is Gautham's boys' school that he attended in the 80s...

 It is a private Catholic school.  The principal, a priest, gave us a tour.

The girls' school where Gautham's sister studied, is adjacent.

Cute kids

After the visit, we drove about 7 hours back to Jaipur. 

See next post for more pictures.

December 2, 2014. To Bikaner

We traveled north and east, making a circle back toward Jaipur where we will end this leg of the trip.  We drove about 6 hours through the desert.  

1.  Hyderabad

2. Mumbai

3. Jabalpur

4. Khajuraho

5. Agra

6. Jaipur

7. Jodhpur

8. Jaisalmer

9. Bikaner

Bikaner is famous for its camel and wool.  We learned that this desert is the 7th largest in the world, and is the largest living desert (with people and animals living it) in the world.

We toured the fort.  It was interesting as it still has the beds, carpets, etc from when the royalty lived there.

Then we visited the Camel Research Center where we tasted camel milk and camel ice cream.

On to our hotel.  We were welcomed by this sign....see our name on the bottom.

We are the only guests here, other than a local wedding party. We rested by the pool, enjoyed free internet, then ate some regional specialties for dinner in the hotel dining room, its only customers.

December 1, 2014. Desert safari and camel ride

We drove about 30 miles west into the desert.  We were only a few miles from Pakistan.  Lots of military presence.  We got off the main road and took a sand road a few miles.  At the end was a desert camp with camels, jeeps and tents.  

We climbed up onto our camels for a ride.

I was a bit timid.  It was hard to hold on, and we were pretty high up. It was especially frightening when the camel stood up, and then later, when he squatted down again. 

We rode through the dunes, then stopped to watch the sunset.

It was dusty.

Then, back to the camp, where we watched regional dancing and listened to their typical music.  

These tents are actually hotel rooms.  We went inside one to use the bathroom.  Quite nice.  We had a dinner with regional foods, and returned to our hotel.