30June2008 India Palace in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Left Carlsbad early as it was going to be a long drive; since Mesa Verde National Park was in Colorado, we headed north across the length of New Mexico and stopped in Albuquerque for the night.

The crazy yen for Asian food acted up again! We started saying no to steak, no to whatever as various options were evaluated whilst our little Honda Civic ate up the miles on the freeway. Upon reaching Albuquerque mid afternoon, our solution appeared in the form of good net write-ups on India Palace. Wot? Indian food in Albuquerque? The food turned out to be really tasty: think onion bhajis, lamb kebabs, tandoori chicken, raitas, bryanis; and oh,(salivating, salivating), the breads – onion kulchas, garlic naans, parathas - all washed down with Taj Mahal beer and lassis; finally kulfis and masala tea brought on satiated burps. Laden down with ‘doggy bags’, we staggered from the table. One of our many bad habits is over ordering. But nothing is ever wasted. Sunday had been designated ‘Doggy Bag Day’ for decades – we try our darnest to polish up every scrap so the following week will commence with no leftovers! In this connection, I was known as the OGC (Official Garbage Can) as it was left to me to finish what the kids’ didn't. How could I say no when the wife and kids with beseeching eyes, chorused, “Daddy, purleese…"?


Distance traveled 291.3 miles




Passed little towns like Artesia with plenty of oil and gas from the ground.




Stopped briefly in Roswell but didn't go into the UFO Museum - did anybody think there would be real artifacts left by aliens on show?





What an eye-opener, like a stock exchange only for guns!




Everything is bigger in the US, what a fantastic first prize, can't even begin to comprehend the number!




Cruised along interminable stretches of desert like this, our dusty windscreen blurring an otherwise clear day, nothing much happening on either side of the freeway.




A comfort stop led us into a native American Indian trading post.





The Trail of Painted Ponies had over thirty equine members clad with beautifully painted designs.




This one was literally embellished head-to-toe (tail actually).




This one was my favorite - DOUBLE CLICK to FULL SCREEN - i saw three horses in one; was this just a clever trump d'oeil or was there a legend behind it?





This platter appeared, like a mirage in the desert; the fact that it was real sank in only when the 'tandoori smell' filled the air and we started chomping.





Indian breads are 'to die for'!

29June2008 The Chinese Buffet in Carlsbad, New Mexico

It being Sunday in Carlsbad, New Mexico, we gave ourselves a day off and a temporary moratorium with the gas pedal. Just lounged around and tried to decide on our destination for the next day.

Of immediate concern – what and where were we going to eat? Our craving for Chinese led us into Bamboo Garden. This was an all-you-can-eat buffet joint. As Chinese food is best eaten wok-fresh, we did not have great expectations for stuff which had been languishing on a buffet table. The place turned out to be nice and clean, with authentic imported Oriental décor, and it was packed. Since the streets always looked deserted, where did all the people come from? Hmm, everyone was dressed up – men with shirts, jackets and ties, and women in dresses or skirts - no tees or distressed jeans! Ah! It was Sunday and everybody had been to church in their 'Sunday best'. Families were studiously studying the buffet table or diligently piling food on their plates. Hey, there was even a section with salads and Western dishes in case people changed their minds midway through the Chinese food! We had a nice chat with the owner who hailed from Taiwan. She said every dish on the menu, included in the buffet, was freshly prepared. The locals loved it. They even complained about the restaurant being closed for two weeks when the owners made their annual vacation trip to Taiwan! “Just dig right in" - and we did. The food was OK, even if there was a preponderance of fried items.

Back to pouring over maps, we finally decided to do Mesa Verde National Park - a UN Heritage Site.


Distance traveled 2.2 miles








Hey, Chinese food in New Mexico - think water in a desert.



A lot of fried stuff



Saw these figures in a supermarket when walking off our lunch; were they for burning on 4th of July or for some Mexican festival?