Picture Book Time........

Okay, so I've finally been able to upload some images.  I will leave writing to a minimum, giving you captions for the images instead of some horrible ass breaking mind crushing bus journey tale; enjoy :-)

Just relaxing at the Little Buddha Cafe in Rishikesh after a big fat breakfast. This whole "sit down on pillows while you eat thing" is awesome.

  

 The sun setting in Rishikesh, from the view of the roof of my hotel, Sonu Guesthouse.

Free Education School?

I went down to play with the kids and take a couple pictures. So far this is one of the best things I've done. The school was founded in 2004 and has been invaluable to the community ever since.

 

 Took this just as the boy crashed into me with the excitement of having a picture taken.

 

 Every one of these kids has a different look on their face.

The fresh start of a recycling pile at the Aarohan School. Every 15 days or so the kids collect enough recyclable goods that a bus comes from Haridwar to Rishikesh (about 20km) to pick up and recycle these goods.

ps- there is trash EVERYWHERE, so this is a really big deal; a very progressive and necessary service.

Mukesh Vashistha, Principal of Aarohan School, shows me the grading board of the students' finals. He points out that those with stars by their names have gotten higher than 70 percen on their end of the year testing.

 

Waaaaay too close to this hungry, aggro monkey. I shit myself as I slammed the door before he went "Congo" on my western ass. It really was much to close; my adrenaline was pumping after I slammed that door. 

They may look small but when they show their fangs, hiss at you, and move so quickly, trust me you are ready to run.  They are vicious bastards.

Some sort of Beetle buzzing around some sort of plant. Too bad I don't know more about either of these things.

 

 

The "Best Ear Cleaner!"
Apparently part of the secret is to stuff the cleaning swabs under your beanie-cap in 100+ degree weather; perhaps the sweat activates some alkaline cleaning substance emitted from the pores?

 

I'll let this one speak for itself.......

Frying my Paneer (cheese) for Kadhai Paneer, a fried cheese topped with tomato sauce with Capsicum (bell pepper), onions, and an array of seasonings.

Reducing a home-made garlic/curry paste to then toss the already sauteed veggies into before then topping off the fried cheese with said vegetable saute and yogurt.

The seasonings of an Indian cook.  Among them we have Coriander powder, Chilli powder, Salt, Pepper, Masala spice, Cumin, and some sugar; though I was informed that they don't ever actually use the sugar for any of the menu items. 

Also for the saute, there is white wine vinegar, olive oil, and red wine.

Plating the sauce over the fried cheese.......

......and garnish with Indian Yogurt, plate the rice beside it, let it cool a bit, and enjoy.

My new traveling girlfriend: Lucille

The bus stops, bags are being removed. What the F? Oh, no big deal just loading a motorcycle full of gas into the trunk under my seat.
"Heeeaaave! Hoooooeeeee! Heeeeaaave! Hooooeeeee!"

Success! Good work boys. Now let's hope it doesn't blow up underneath me.....

Paparazzi'd the Dalai Lama! That's right, look closely.....

Okay, and now we'll end things on a lighter note.  Now, look at them and think really hard about what they say.......