India and the Maldives 2018 | Getting oriented

We all know where India is, but the Maldives are a mystery to many. But, starting with India, on our northern tour through Rajasthan we will be making stops at most of the major cities in this part of India. It's lots of driving (NO, we aren't doing the driving!) in a roughly south-west direction. Our trip notes suggest forts and temples followed by driving, desert (more driving) and lakes, and more driving. We are curious about the history and religion, the landscape and architecture, and living without meat or  alcohol for 2 nights in Pushkar!  Jodhpur and Udaipur promise markets, markets and more markets. By then I expect to need some clean clothes, so we will either have to shop, or send out our laundry! Hmmm....

The trip in the south will be quite different, with some driving time into the mountains, a walk through a national wildlife reserve, tea plantations, and backwater boating. And heat. We are curious to see the differences in the food, and the culture, since these two parts of India have different languages, religions and histories.
Does this help? You can see the cities in the north starting with Delhi, and then Kochi in the south.

Then it's on to the Maldives. Where (or what) are the Maldives? Well here they are, positioned on  the equator in the Indian Ocean. Our home while in the Maldives is the Carpe Vita Explorer which you can check out by clicking on the link.


 My head is spinning as I  position myself in this part of the world, with Australia such a short distance away. I'm trying not to think about the trip home departing 10 pm from Male, going to Sri Lanka then on to Guangzhou in China, and Vancouver. I arrive in Edmonton 29 hrs later at 330 pm!