Joel Hoofing Around the World: 2012

What a country.

It has it all. The people of the country think of visitors as Kings and Queens due to the Hindu religion They are beyond words and so nice and helpful. So refreshing that it is not about money at all they simply care about you.

Started off in Mumbai after a ton of hours in an airplane The first few days is still a blur.

Near both the local and international airport are slums where thousands live and hope for work in the city

There are 29,000 people every 1/2 mile in the city and they say 1,000 folks a day moving into the city from the country side looking for work so you can guess how long it take to get around in a city that large

Had a wonderful experience staying with a lovely couple in Mumbai.They showed us around the town and took us to a Hindu wedding and then to the reception in the evening They invite thousands of friends and family to the wedding and reception.

The people of this country is hard to describe. They are a mix of different religions

The local family in Mumbai. They fixed dinner and they gave a lesson on how to eat with my hand and it was hard to do at first since I had always been told not to eat with my hands. You eat with only your right hand and pass dishes with the left hand but never pick up the food with that hand since it is associated with personal hygiene need I say more. I felt like a king and they shared their home It felt like family and that I had known them for years

Traveled to the northeast after leaving Mumbai to Aurangabad where monks had carved caves hundreds of years ago. Inside were paintings on the walls and very little light once inside the cave since they were protecting the paintings. Schools were bringing kids there to view some of the history of their country

Food was prepared in stainless steel containers and every thing is made fresh. Spices varied between the different locations in the country. It was all good no matter what location
The tea was a real hit with me and I must say being a coffee drinker most of the time I switched there. I think I had just 5 cups the whole time I was in India.
Their masala tea was the best and I must have drunk gallons of it.They use fresh spices in the food and I got to see the farms where it was grown. I had not seen black pepper before grown and dried in the sun

I was in Kumily and this is the part of the country that grows spices and is called Haven on Earth. The smells of spices permeates the air and lots of local shops selling all kinds of spices.

Black pepper being dried in the sun in Kumily the spice center of the country. The smells of fresh spices was in the air every where.

Also went into the hill country and a town by the name of Munar where years ago the British would stay in this area to beat the heat in the flat lands. They grow tea over all the place there. Looks like fields of shrubs

Fishing on the south coast at Kochi (Cochen)with chineese fishing nets. Four men working all day for just what is passing buy when they raise the net.

HOLI

Holi in Jaipur. The celebration of spring. They through powered ink and also put it in squrt guns and shoot it on every one. Very lucky to be able to stay with a family in Jaipur during this time and also went to an elephant festival the day before

Two young lads that just came out of a Hindu temple in the back ground .Everyone wants to have their picture taken