NO INTERNET CONNECTION!

Hi everyone - just in case you were concerned why Jo and Claire haven't posted for a while, the reason is that they have not been able to get internet connection for some time. They are both well and have had a great trip, and will be back in touch as soon as they can.

Udaipur

Today Miss Lane and Miss Chater have had a wonderful tour guide who took them to an amazing Hindu temple that worships Vishnu. The tour guide told them that in front of the god there is a large step. In front of the large step is a half moon. A Hindu is meant to live their lives fully and then go to worship the god to show they are ready for the next stage in their life. This completes the half moon into a full moon. Miss Lane and Miss Chater noticed all the people in the temple today were widows or women who have children living away. They are interested in this and will look into it when they get home. Perhaps Mrs Bhat, you could add your own thoughts about this. Next they went to The City Palace. The palace was beautiful and inside they had the most amazing art work from the C16 onwards. Miss Lane was particularly fascinated to discover that the most intricate pieces were painted using a single squirrel hair!!!!!!! She told the tour guide that her garden at home is full of them. She will never look at squirrels in the same way again. Miss Chater really liked the colourful glass all around the palace including a mosiac peacock. Unfortunately this computer doesn't want to load our wonderful photos, hopefully at our next stop we will be able to load them on to show you.

Flying to Udaipur

Miss Lane and Miss Chater left Mrs Bhat and took a cab to the airport. Here Miss Chater read her book, however Miss Lane spent the time catching up on writing her diary, as she is not very good at being a piglet, unlike Miss Chater! They flew with Kingfisher airline and had a comfortable flight despite the short run way for landing. Miss Lane kept gazing out the window but Miss Chater was not sure. They noticed the difference in heat as soon as they got off the plane. Udaipur is so different from Mumbai, it is just like desert with small roads and shops. There are hundreds of shops selling puppets just like the ones LKS2 have made! Miss Lane is still browsing to decide which one she wants to bring home to show you all. Here the sacred holy cows are very noticable in the street. Miss Lane is fascinated by them and has made a video to show you when we return. Miss Chater is busy checking the pavement!

Mumbai

Miss Lane and Miss Chater were very excited when they arrived at Fashion Street. They had their first go at bargaining. Miss Lane found this tricky unlike her class whereas Miss Chater wouldn't give up until she felt she had a good price. They also went to FabIndia where they bought some traditional Indian clothes to help them when they fly up North. They saw Flora Fountain which is named after the Greek Goddess. They also saw a small shrine attached to a tree. This was very similar to Barbados' Class. Miss Lane read Hattie's guide book to help her to phone Mrs Bhat. Snitch, Mrs Bhat's dog, was very sneaky as he managed to unzip Miss Lane's bag and eat all her lovely sweets and biscuits! Snitch then didn't want to eat his proper dinner. They paused in the shade for a rest and as they were sitting they saw some ladies carrying heavy loads of soil on their heads. They were amazed at how they could carry it. Mrs Bhat has also introduced Miss Chater and Miss Lane to safed-ilachi'' (Small yellow banana). It had skin like cardamon. They found out this is one of Mrs Biggs favourite treats when she is in India.

Guide books

Mrs Bhat and Miss Chater enjoyed reading Mack and Georgia's guide books. Mrs Bhat was very impressed with Georgia's knowledge. Miss Chater was eagerly reading Mack's section on Udaipur ready for their flight there tomorrow.

Drive back to Mumbai

Miss Lane and Miss Chater travelled back to Mumbai from Pune with Mrs Bhat. They got to see the wonderful Western Ghats, what a contrast! The traffic was rather busy so it took quite a long time. They are now going to fit in some shopping before flying up North.

More sites around Pune

Miss Chater and Miss Lane feel much more rested after staying at Mrs Bhat's house. They visited a supermarket and bought some yummy biscuits. They also saw an amazing vegetable in the middle of a road. The smell was lovely. They also went into a Ganesha shrine where they were waking the gods with the bell. They also passed some large bulls in a field.