Getting to Rajasthan

We made it back to Delhi for the purpose of taking a train to Rajasthan. Got here on an overnight sleeper bus, taking 12 hours---that arrived this morning at 8:30AM. On the way the first bus, a special "sleeper" bus with berths that we paid alot of rupees to be on, got pulled over and prohibited access to the roads by the transportation police because its operators hadn't paid for their license to be up to date. So, in the middle of the night 50 people got on a new bus after waiting in the street for an hour with the guys operating the illegal bus ploying us with lies about how it would only be 5 more minutes...then keeping our money. Thankfully the new bus was much safer, better suspension, less suspense! It was probably a blessing in disguise. The first bus was like taking an English double-decker around the worst part of the mountain roads to Yosemite, loaded to the hilt above and below with weight around the curves. Urp. New bus had good brakes too but still it wrecked my peace of mind to be woken up by the driver slamming on his brakes several times as we almost collided with oncoming buses and trucks sharing our lane for anxious seconds. After 2 weeks in relaxing Tibetan mountain zone of McLeod Ganj, Delhi is just too much! It is still around 90 with 90 percent humidity. Tom and I are getting on a train for Rajasthan this afternoon. We are sharing a hotel today with a friend from Belgium who is of African descent and is my age, she is working with a diplomacy and development organization called the Open Commission. They help developing countries improve their access to funds availed for education, technology, environmental clean-up, the arts. Basically awesome. Maybe life will put me back on that path someday. It certainly doesn't feel like enough to just make observations about the crisises I see here. That last blog was on the heavy side, but as a Phoenix I see both Beauty and Beast in it all.
Anyhow, trains are the best way to go in India--straightforward, fast, and now very easy to get by yourself online from any station. Deciphering the logic of the Railways website to find your train is another issue!