India

These are excerpts taken from Sarah's newsletters while she and Sara was in India, June 2005. I thought they'd be much more true (and funnier) than any report given afterwards.

Day 1: (First Impressions)
Today we spent the day touring Delhi. it's a unique city and i'm sure that with some green grass, being free of litter, depleted buildings torn down and those that are functional restored, lines on the road so people know where to drive, etc it could be a charming city. we spent the day touring every site i think there was to see and we're leaving tomorrow.

i really like india. our guide is fantastic. he speaks great english and he and i have spoken all day and tomorrow i start hindi lessons with him. :) i'm so glad that he's our guide as he's really kind and very protective of us. he's a great resource for information about the life and i look forward to the next few days with him. i have a feeling that this trip will be like the one steph and i did across vietnam - how rewarding was that!

i've decided that it doesn't matter what you wear here, because we're light skinned, people stare! and it's not even that stare like in taiwan, y'know, the one that stares out of curiousity but when you catch their eye they smile shyly. this stare is one of "yeah i'm staring, you got a problem?!" the foreign picture taking has begun again, i don't think i'll ever go anywhere in asia where i'm not asked to have my picture taken with someone's kid or a family!

i saw some fantastic temples today and i think that when you and i return, i want to spend a bit more time studying the religious side of the people here. they're very devout and the hindi temples were definately the prettiest i've seen. we also went to the mosque (the name slips me now) but it's india's largest one - wow! it was pretty impressive in size and i would love to go during a prayer session to see it actually full. it's a very diverse country and i really like that.

well i feel extremely dirty as this city is polluted! oh my gosh, i thought hk and taichung were bad...
Day 2:
well, today we found ourselves onward bound to japiur, the "shopping meca" which apparently is closed on sundays. :( lol.... we drove 5 hrs through this desert and let me tell you, there was a point about hr mark 2.5 where i thought i died and went to hell, it was so freakin' hot! at first it reminded me of texas: large, open space, dusty and dry and the longer we drove the more desert like it became until there was nothing left except some squat mud "houses" and some camels. at one point i think i was hallucinating because i was dreaming of a thai beach and could have sworn it was in front of me. ;p i wonder if nazareth was like this during jesus' time and if so, it's been made even more apparent to me how god made his son to become fully man so he could experience the same hardships, trials, and joys we as humans face. i couldn't imagine a harder life than that of a desert!

...japiur is different than delhi. it's located outside the desert we drove through (although personally i think it's still a desert) and it's smaller than the capital. it's a "pink city" meaning that over 100 yrs ago the ruler painted it pink and that's it, it's not changed since...

i find that it's a little hard to really experience india in the way that i could experience thailand and the rest of se asia. it's very "closed" to women and sara and i are truly the only females usually on the streets. i have seen no girls out playing (unlike the boys) and sanji says it's the way of india - women stay at home and men go out. therefore, needless to say, we get many looks by men and women. at least the men smile, we've only seen 3 women smile and the rest look very suspicious of us...

i'm excited about the shopping as i've seen some beautiful things. they're very expensive though so i guess we're going to either bargain hard or just walk away. it does get very tiring walking down the street with people trailing after you shouting and pulling you to their shops, not to mention the heat, stares, and general dirt. i love the cows! they're hysterical - they roam nonstop where-ever they please and i watched one pee all over some guy's car! oh marco, this is a meca for pictures. :) (if i wasn't so darn shy about the camera!) i think though, i'm now adjusted to everything and am eager to really "get into things". i like the hustle and bustle... the constant unknown, it makes life exciting.

Day 4:
well, i'm on sensory overload at the moment and sara and i found a cool net cafe to dunk into to escape for a wee bit. we found ourselves touring some fort/ castle thing this am with a guide sanji hired for us...

we've got the afternoon free and we're trying to shop. however, i don't know if it's because i'm used to living in asia so i find it expensive or perhaps it's the sales technique. all i know is that i really detest shopping here. i hate the way they jump out at you and shove their wares or how they follow you for blocks on end. i don't understand, sara has NO touts, beggers, rickshaw drivers, etc approach her at all! i seem to get accosted by them every time i raise my head (needless to say, i'm getting very aquainted with the jutted road and trash here!) i've got to figure out how to have that standoffish air that she gives off that make people leave her alone without even attempting to ask her for anything. :)

admist all that we say today, one cool thing i thought you'd like was the observatory. it had the world's largest sundial and a variety of other instruments that had to do with the heavenly bodies. there were some for time, astrological signs, determining the position of the sun, longitude/ latitude, etc. we did finally figure out why we've been running 30 min behind.... we set our clocks back 3 hrs which is the time zome difference. however, in delhi, jaipur, and 3 other cities that have an observatory, they have their own city time running about 26-30 minutes behind greater india time. how's that for mass confusion? your time depends on what city you're in. :)

Some time later:
we're finally back in delhi and are here until tomorrow am. yesterday found us doing nothing but sleeping as i was sick from the heat, something i ate from mcd's, and to boot, car sick. so, needless to say yesterday was pretty miserable as we drove 6.5 hrs through the desert again! i'm so not made for desert/ nomadic life...

things i've learned so far....
~ "revolving" restaurant means that it's circular and it revolves by you walking in a circle
~ trash, with the right imagination can smell like sour vanilla yogurt but *&#%* will always smell like *%#&*, no matter what the imagination
~ no day is complete without a minimum of 5 power outages
~ hot water is only a literary term used to lure backpackers to their abodes
~ one can really "shower" using only a spicket of water that trickles water when it feels like it - you should see the way i can bend!
~ cleanliness is not next to godliness - it's a sign of being $300 poorer!
~ if you can't sleep, count the number of horns you hear, they're more numerous than sheep and with luck, it'll become a symphony to lull you to your slumber!

...oh my gosh, jaipur was awful! the best thing about it was this hindi movie we went to. it was like going to disney and seeing cinderella's castle. it was painted pink, i'm talking cotton candy pink with silver icing lining the walls. it was flippin huge. we stood in line forever to see "batti and bubbly" and purchased for a whole $2 diamond seats. i know, you're asking yourself "what are diamond seats?" well, they're box seats, yep, opera style and all! it was hysterical - the movie was one that went far beyond the imagination from extreme costumes, wild plot, to dance scenes that came only because they had fast, fun music. 3hrs later, i walked out not knowing what i had really seen but knowing that it was something that would definately stick with me for a lifetime.

...today we saw the taj mahal. it was beautiful and for the first time i actually saw green grass. okay, there were the usual 3-4 water bottles laying around but no cows!...

we're in delhi flying to bombay tomorrow. we're desperate to find "civilization" and it's got to be here somewhere! i'm just tired of slumming it and would really like to see something that's not decrepted, wasting away, fruit that doesn't have maggots crawling all over it. y'know, a little luxery would be nice. i'll even settle for a bed that doesn't have bedbugs! :) (i've never been so grateful for that silk sleeping bag i bought in vietnam!)

Bombay
... is fabulous compared to Delhi. It's a different feel than what we've encountered so far. It's more "cosmopolitian" (can I use that word and india in the same sentence?) and we don't stand out at all here. the city has a british feel to it and the hotel we're staying at is so awesome. we're attempting to "budget" this city since we won't be here that long. however, after seeing several rooms with either no doors, no bathroom, one with walls that only went half way up and the personal favorite, the rickety four story depleted building with no ceiling.... $36 split didn't sound so bad after all! all i can say is this place reminds me of something from the 20's and 30's complete with the vintage elevator! i love it!! it's this huge room with marble flooring, hot water with REAL! towels that actually soak up water instead of repelling it... a bed with sheets that have never smelt so refreshing... i honestly feel like i've died and am in heaven...

.... i hate the bloody train station! i have never been so frickin' pissed in my life! noone in this country can give a straight answer without taking hours to decide what's in it for them... let's not even get me started on the ordeal it took for us to find tickets to Goa... let's just say it went something like this... no, no train...well, for you, special train.. no, no train but special price i find you seat... okay, special train, no not for you all full, come back in a few weeks... well, for you a special price a special seat... aughhhh!!!!! and that's the shortened, g rated version....

train ride
... 12 hrs haha haha... one thing i've learned about india is that time is relative. this was proven when we sat on the tracks for approximately 2 hrs just chillin', not moving, just sitting. details about the ride will be saved for when i get home, just let it be known that it was another memory to be made in a land that seems to be full of those types....

35kph and 17hrs later...

.... i swear if i have to deal with one more personal behind a train counter it will not be pretty!
today's favorite was after arriving 5 hrs behind schedule i dash through this crowded platform leaving sara to watch over our bags as i push my way to the front of the line for 2 tickets for the train that we are told is departing in 20 minutes.... i hurridly throw my ruppees and exclaim i need 2 tickets please because we've got to get on that train to make our bus! i have never seen anyone move so slow in my life and once again i'm charged double price (tickets being 12 rupees a piece and i have to pay 24 rupees a piece) i ask the guy, if we miss the train is there another one? yes, yes, later you can go... well, since our train is about to leave i don't dare argue about the rupees because i just desperately want to be on a beach in goa and i'll do anything at this point to get there!

as i frantically run back to sara i see this train leaving and i'm praying desperately, oh lord, please don't let that be ours but of course, as luck would have it, it is. forlornly, i return to the ticket counter and approach the man behind the bars. sir, you just sold me these tickets but the train has left? when will the next train be leaving? "no, no train. you miss train, oh well." what!?! sir, there must be some mistake. i specifically asked about a second train and could we use these tickets... "no, no train. one train today. you buy another ticket tomorrow for train." mm, so that's what "later" means.

..... i won't bore you with details about how we got to the bus station eventually but let's just say that it involved some walking, an irish temper venting, a steady downpour of rain, and in the end a foreigner rate for a freakin' tuk-tuk...

Goa
one word - monsoon. this trip is getting hysterical and i'm to the point where all i can do is just laugh. maybe sara was right, we should have just gone to thailand. okay so picture this, monsoon rain, 2 girls trudging up the beach with backpacks looking for shelter taking solice in a hut that was constructed by gilligan and the captain...
our hut is so adorable. it's right on the beach so we hear the waves pounding all night (way cool!) it is lashed together with palm fronds and a tarp to keep the rain out... due to the weather, we have no electricity but a quick trip to mass found us buying candles for our evening light. our "shower" is a small rubber tube and beach bucket... this hut rocks! it's so awesome but i know you would hate it.
.... we counted 23 power outages today. we found a box of old magazines and books left by fellow travelers and are making our way through them as we sit and stare at the beach.... so much for my great tan...