litter in india – Blessings Multiplied

Sometimes the only home and shelter people had was under a tarp with several other family members.

Earlier this year Jake was in India working for a few weeks and I had the opportunity of traveling over there to meet him. After his final week of work we went to spend some time with his cousin and took a road trip with them. Over the next few weeks I will sharing more snapshots of our time in India. India left a special mark on my heart. It was an amazing experience!

Sign in MySore, India showing the way to the local places – MySore Palace, Zoo, Chamundi Hills, Airport, and MySore City Corporation

Houses in a small village that we passed through, even those these are a step up from a tent shelter it still breaks my heart seeing these homes. Our driver stopped briefly to ask for directions. It was during this brief stop I realized that India has many different dialects even from town to town and even though we were only a short distance from where we were going it took awhile to find someone who knew which direction to point us.

I was really surprised at the amount of trash that littered the sides of the roads in India. Some times you would see piles of trash that with people and animals digging through it to find food, supplies, or items they could use or sell.

Fresh Pineapple anyone….only 5 rupees (approximately 9 cents in US currency). Some of the pineapples I saw were a little smaller then the ones we see in our grocery store but for 9 cents you could get quite a few for the price of one pineapple in the United States.

Can you see the bicycle underneath all the fresh coconuts?! Pretty sure he is going to push that bike because it would be impossible to ride with all the coconuts. Behind the bike you can see coconuts that he has cracked open and the shells laying on the ground. It is very fascinating to watch them break open a coconut, they basically take a huge mashedy knife and chop open the coconut. It’s hard to see with the window glare but the ground all around that area is covered with dry coconut pieces…wonder how expensive it would be to buy “coconut mulch” in the United States?

Guy carrying a mattress on his head. It amazes me the amount of stuff they carry on their heads. You would think their necks would be so stiff.

Cows walking along the side of the road. These are not your typical Kansas grass and corn fed beef cattle. In India there are not always large grassy areas for the cows to graze so it is common to see their ribs. You will often find cattle looking for small patches of grass and occasionally you will see them rummaging through the trash on the side of the road looking for food.

Families from the local village washing their laundry in the river.

After washing all the clothes in the river they lay them out to dry on the rocks.

It was fascinating to see a lot of the countryside of India. We passed through towns and small villages. There was always something interesting to see as we drove through the area. Their fresh fruit looked delicious but I am not sure how much I would like washing my clothes in the river and drying them on the rocks, the wash machine is more efficient. These pictures bring back a lot of memories. I am thankful for the opportunity to see India and already looking forward to the next visit.

The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!

At the top of Fort Golconda looking down on the front of the fort and the old city of Hyderabad

The highest point on Fort Golconda is approximately 394 feet and the exterior wall is 6.2 miles in circumference. There are four smaller forts within Fort Golconda.

Fort Golconda had a lot of huge boulders, these two were on the top of the temple area. The wall in front was a 10 to 15 foot wall and the trees were large.

Fort Golconda had cannons, drawbridges, royal chambers, temples, mosques, stables, markets, and many other things to see.

Large India coachroach was running along the wall beside me as I was going down the stairs…..ewww……

The bottom sole of someone’s shoe laying with some other trash along the path in Fort Golconda.

I am convinced that some people literally wear their shoes until the walk right out of them….all that is left laying on the side of the path (in several areas) are the bottoms of their shoes. Just shoes how random things can be!

Looking down onto the a section of the Fort Golconda, it was a huge fort!

Yes, I walked down several flights of those stairs. The stairs were steep and uneven but it was a neat experience. I cant count the number of times Jake and I were stopped inside the Fort to shake someone’s hand, talk with them, and let them take our pictures. Many of the people we met had never talked or seen with anyone from “The United States of America” and were super excited. It made me chuckle but also gave a lot of great opportunities to talk with people from the area!

Looking up to the area where the royalty chamber overlooks the rest of the city

The rock wall that you see next to the picture is full of many stones, several of them coming lose. On one of the stairways one of the stones broke lose when Jake was walking by and fell out.

These are a crazy set of stairs and these are just one set.

I cannot imagine all the soldiers during the old days running up and down these stairs in their full gear. I kept thinking if I fall….I am going to bust out all of my front teeth out.

The place where the women in the fort went to worship, beautiful!

It was pretty amazing to look at, I can only imagine how beautiful when it was full of people.

Ladies Mosque, the men and women had separate places to worship.

Most places we went you had to take off your shoes prior to going into a temple. I am assuming “chappals” must be sandals?

Men’s place of worship, it looks awesome even after many years!

Picture taken with ones of the guys we met in Fort Golconda.

This picture was after going through the part of the fort that had bats flying around and whispering through the channels in the walls. Several of the people we met showed some neat parts of the Fort (well….maybe not the bats)

Delivering the goods in the fort with a tractor

The clapping portico is a place in the fort that when you stand in a specific spot and clap your hands you can be heard throughout the entire fort.

If you stand on this tile and clap everyone in the entire fort can hear you.

The place this tile was put allowed noise to travel quickly and easily throughout the entire fort even all the way to the top where the royalty chambers were located. This was one of the ways the soldiers would communicate and alert the royalty of danger.

We were told that Golconda Fort now does an amazing “Light and Sound” show in the evenings. They use light, sounds, and narration to tell the history and stories of the Golconda Fort. Jake and I decided to not go after several friends recommended that we avoid it at night because mosquitoes and bugs were really bad during the evening event. It would have been neat to see but we figured staying healthy and not getting munched on by bugs was a better choice for us.

Travel & Vacation: Traveling through MySore, India (and a Couple Small Villages)

Travel & Vacation: Golconda Fort – Hyderabad, India (Part 2)