Happy Trails by venitha

We've settled into a routine in Rajasthan, alternating days of cross-country driving with days of city sightseeing. Jim and I, always happy road-trippers, are actually enjoying the long days in the car; we appreciate the time to read up on our next destination, the time to stop in small villages where my bare white legs and our digital cameras always draw a crowd, and the time to soak up the rural sights - today, a camel festival!

And, too, we like the time to compete in the Rajasthani Olympic event at which we excel: Car Games.

• Sans Sari. How many women can you count before you spot one wearing something other than a sari? The Jaipur to Udaipur leg of the trip kicked our butts in this game: we lost count.
  
• The ABC's of India. Go through the English alphabet, spotting something that starts with each letter. Hindi words work, too.
  
  • A is for... Ambassador! These elegant blast-from-the-past cars are common tourist vehicles.
    
  • B is for... Bindi! This forehead mark decorates both men and women.
    
  • C is for... Camel Cart! Woo hoo! Double score!
  
  
• Highway Haiku. Our compositions of note:
  

  Jittu's great advice:
  "Lassi every morning ma'am
  Whole day no angry"

  
  

  Bring your own paper
  Filthy squat roadside toilet
  Don't touch anything

  
  

Jittu, obviously, thinks we're nuts. Happy, but nuts.
venitha