The roads of India

shops like this everywhere...they contain everyday goods such as soaps, cleaning products, snacks, etc. 

It's self explanatory .....

taken at around dusk during the elephant hunt....sorry no amazing sunsets

a herd of sheep, burros and goats

My first of many hundred of cows I saw....

We saw lots of rice fields. They are so beautiful ! The landscape reminded me of  Japan or Africa. 

ladies always had padding on their heads when balancing water, laundry or food

an example of a decorated truck and a brightly colored home..

I think one of the great shocks to me ...that when it comes to being in a car...anything goes. If you have a serious heart condition, I would recommend not going. If you do go, wear a sleeping mask in the car and sit in the back back seat.  It's not only amazing to see how many men they can fit on a motorcycle, but I was also amazed how many fit in the back of a truck or even the amount of passengers shoved into a bus. , Bangalore is in the process of building a metro system and I can't imagine how many people will fit into train cars like Sardines.
The roads have speed signs, the roads have dividers, the roads have lanes, and yet none of these signs mean a thing to anyone. There is no speed limit and there never appeared to be any police officers to enforce it. I am guessing there are just too many people who live there. Our driver passed every car in front of him. Our driver passed people on winding roads that had signs that talked about death occurring there.  I suppose men love their cars and they are proud of them. So, what ever risks they are taking ...its worth it. There is also the trust issue. You just trust that people will pull over and not hit you head on, etc. People honk all the time to say "Hey, I am here". Trucks are beautifully decorated in bright colors and sometimes have their own personalized horns. You'll find only dead dogs on the road. There are plenty of cows, sheep, bulls, goats and donkeys to avoid.
The roads also have a lot of speed bumps and many of the roads are not paved. The roads however brought us a good taste of life in India. It is where you drove by shops with men hanging out and chatting. I saw children playing, women filling up large containers of water on their heads, sweeping the front yard, men peeing on the street, children being bathed, cows being fed, goats being herded, and lots of temples. There might have been two temples on the same street. There was one temple in the center divide in one spot. .So, above are some not so great pictures of what I saw from the road. It is hard to take pictures when the driver was going fast. So you get what you get and you don't throw a fit !