Traveling with the staff is a lovely young Indian woman named Nirmika, who is interning as a videographer. Her family owns a resort near the Ellora Caves, and on our first night there we were all invited to the resort for a visit and a wonderful meal. When we arrived, they had snacks waiting for us by the pool (Nirmika told them we'd be hungry!), then we adjourned to a pretty patio area for dinner. We were served chicken, fish, mushrooms, cauliflower all grilled kebab-style over hot coals, along with other delicious dishes. It was a wonderful evening, in a beautiful setting, hosted by Nirmika's gracious parents. So much fun!
On our evening in Ajanta, we went to a restaurant on the street that was open-air - it had a grill and gas burners by the street, and they were making their own chapatti's (rolled dough that is grilled - very good!). Everything was cooked right there, and although the ambience was non-existent (think monkeys running across the road, pigs roaming around, corrugated steel on 3 sides and the roof, honking cars and trucks), the food was great.
On an earlier evening, we wandered across the street to a family-run "restaurant", where we were served their specialty of corn bread patties grilled on a fire, rice and dal, and some potatoes in turmeric, along with chapatti's. Very simple, but filling and fun. When we arrived a pretty fire was burning, which we quickly realized was a cow dung fire. When that burned down to coals, the corn bread patties, with a large leaf on the top and bottom, were put on the fire, and turned and tended until they were crispy brown and delicious. They were eaten by breaking them up and covering them with dal. (Dal is lentils in a thick soupy sauce.) The family goats lived next to the private kitchen (not the restaurant kitchen), and everybody helped cook: 2 aunts, assorted cousins/children, husbands, and grandma. So much fun!
At one of our lunch stops, the couple who lived next to the stopping place came over with their young son and welcomed us to India and gave us flowers. This is so typical of the warm welcome we find everywhere we go.
At another lunch stop, there was some road construction across the road. They were building a concrete crossing over what appears to be an oil pipeline (this was close to the coast). Women were doing back-breaking work - digging rocks or sand out of a pile, loading the material into baskets, lifting the basked onto their head, and then dumping the contents into a cement mixer. And, it was around 100 degrees. I don't think I could even have lifted a basket, let alone do that kind of work all day. Once again we are reminded how fortunate we are! And, after I took a picture, the women all smiled at me as I thanked them for the picture, and one stood up and waved!
One day we had a wonderful, smooth, 20 km descent first thing in the morning with beautiful views along way. Such a fun way to start our day. It almost made up for the crappy roads we had later in the day!
One of our riding days we rode through an area where lots of sugar cane was being harvested. There were lots of trucks on the road piled high with sugar cane, but the harvesting was all being done by hand, and the carting to the trucks was done by ox cart! We passed one truck being loaded sky high, guys on top pounding away on the loaded sugar cane to pack it down, guys hanging off the side to toss bundles up in stages, and patient ox carts lined up in the field waiting to be unloaded. Again in 100 degree heat.
Our arrival in Mumbai was by ferry, and our hotel was a 5 minute walk from the ferry dock. So, it was a very easy and peaceful way to enter this huge, busy city. We are staying in an older part of Mumbai, where there is clear evidence of English colonization in many of the buildings and thoroughfares. Very pretty! We'll be leaving tomorrow morning the same way, thankfully!
Bob Schmidt
2019-03-01
More excellent photos. Also i think i saw a bandanna being used for a dust mask....
Patty
2019-03-09
Lovely photos! Not sure I'd want to visit that temple under the netted rock. The food preparation was intriguing and I'm sure delicious. And those views! Spectacular!