We were walking along a dusty Jaisalmer alley-like street when Ellen suddenly felt faint. Then she gave me this peculiar look and said, "My name is Alice." The next thing I knew we were both sliding down a long grassy chute and wound up in wonderland.  Perched on a hill above the city with its warren of cobble, narrow sandstone streets sits the fairybook fort of Jaisalmer. Built in 1156 it has ninety-nine bastions. And just like a Queen and her King, we're ...

 The waiting area at Jodhpur train station is about the size of a hockey rink. Three quarters of it is filled with people covered in blankets, sleeping side-by-side, not an inch between them. The ramp leading to platform number two is far too steep and treacherous for cows to navigate, so we're alone with yet another mass of people. It's 5:45 am and the train to Jaisalmer is delayed two hours. Without a touch of bashfulness men walk up to us and simply s...

 After only five days I've come up with a solution to the economic woes of India. The populace should be issued methane collection devices. They could collect their farts then sell this abundant but wasted commodity to the government or private enterprise as a fuel source. Add the billion or more urban cows to the program and India could become a prosperous nation over night. The scrumptious, but potent food served here is that powerful. Indian poet Rabindra...