Gattina's Saturday Photo Hunting - Vehicles - October 19, 2013

45 Days Left in India!

Gattina chose "vehicles" as her Saturday Photo Hunting topic for today. 
India has all sorts of "interesting" vehicles, some of the four legged
variety so I have, also, enclosed photos of those.

In Jaipur, tourists enjoy riding camels and elephants, although both 

creatures are also work animals, pulling carts, and heavy loads, in addition

to giving visitors an "Indian" experience at transportation.

Of course, auto rickshaws are everywhere, weaving in and out of traffic and

sounding their horns.

These are the Mumbai variety.  Those in Jaipur are often larger and more 

colorful.

The main vehicle for transportation is the motorcycle.  Jaipur, at least, has a

helmet law which seems to be followed much better than in Mumbai.  Often,

however, second passengers and children are not helmeted.   There are quite a

few cars on the road as well but you don't often see vans or large SUVs such 

as we have in the U. S.

Some people still get around via bicycle rickshaws, quite a lot of work,

especially if the poor fellows are transporting someone my size.

I always get a kick out of seeing these little trucks on the road.  Of course,

there are regular semis transporting goods from one part of India to another,

some of them very colorful.

It is amazing that the ladies of India can ride pinion ( side saddle ), in their

long, flowing colorful saris, especially since many of the roads are in disrepair 

and potholes are plentiful.

India's trains are often filled to overflowing with passengers bulging out the 

doors.  While, of course, there are luxury trains like the Orient Express but 

those that transport regular passengers are far from deluxe.

India's vehicles and modes of transportation are as diverse as the country

itself.  With over 1.2 billion people, you can imagine the traffic jams in major

cities!

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Saturday Photo Hunting - Books - September 21, 1013

There were many traumas associated with San Franciso's massive cuts to
the Department of Public Health in early 2009.  My 21-year forensic nursing
position came to a crashing halt and, at 64, I retired.  My pension and 
social security weren't nearly adequate enough to stay in my home of 14
years.  I finally thought, "I'll live part of my time in India so I can see old friends
and live less expensively than in the Bay area.  It killed me, though, to part 
with so many belongings ( my boys always called my treasures "junk" but
they were precious to me.  I had hundreds of books - and 500 cookbooks.
I had to go through everything before I sent it off to Goodwill or gave it
away, hence, twice I rebooked my India flight, with a penalty.

Here are just some of the books that are no longer in my possession.
Hardest of all was discarding all my forensic books, conference notes,
and the like.  I just couldn't ( and still don't ) accept that my, profession of
almost fifty years, was over.

These boxes are merely a fraction to which I bade farewell.  The few I kept have

been in a foggy storage unit and are probably not worth keeping now.  

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Saturday Photo Hunting: Books

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Saturday's Photo Hunting - Something Outdoors - West Coast Cities - September 14, 2013

Our Pacific West Coast is home to many beautiful cities and spectacular scenery.  
Here are just three of those cities:  San Francisco, California - Seattle, 
Washington - and Vancouver, British Columbia.

San Francisco, California

Seattle, Washington

Vancouver, British Columbia

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