India - Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Mumbai, Goa

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India:

While I was waiting at the Indian Consulate in Nepal for my visa, a girl asked me how long I planned to be in India. I said, "two weeks." Her reply was: "oh wow - just enough to get scarred." I came to understand what she meant. India is slow and hot - insanely hot. Most days were around 110 degrees. On top of that there are tons of people in the streets trying to get by you or begging for food or water. This was one of the differences in other places I had been. Most beggars to this point only asked for money. In India a lot of the beggars asked for food or water. I gave multiple half drank bottles of water to kids who asked for it when they saw it. They'll come right up to you in the taxi, knock on the window, and motion towards their mouths. For all the growth you hear about in India there is still a lot of infrastructure that needs to be built to supply people with the basics.

Leaving Nepal was bumpy. The taxi to the airport was bouncing all over the place. Nepal had been a good resting spot on my way to India. The airport in Kathmandu was crowded and everyone was trying to cut in line to get through the initial security. The Nepalese seem to believe that making one go through more security than necessary makes one feel safer. I put my luggage through 2 screeners and was patted down four times before I got on the plane. Each time it felt like the security guard was just going through the motions. Some people would walk through metal detectors and no one would do anything when the alarm went off. I guess they just figured the next guy would deal with it.

The flight to New Delhi let me see some of the highest mountains in the world. Nepal has 8 of the 10 highest peaks. It's neat to fly and to look at mountains that are as high as you are. However, descending into New Delhi felt like going into an abyss. The air turned dusty and you couldn't see anything until the plane was a few hundred feet off the ground. It looked hot and dry outside. The temperature was about 110.

Delhi - I had finally made it to India. The new terminal at the New Delhi airport was amazingly modern. I felt like I had just been transported to the future, given what I had just been through in Nepal. That would soon change. My first impression on India was good. The roads to my hotel were all paved and it seemed like a modern country - at first!

I decided to book a Sheraton since I had just spent 8 days in Nepal at a guesthouse. Although the guesthouse was nice, it was time to upgrade for a day. I pulled up to the hotel and a guy in a giant turban greeted me and led me through security. After the Mumbai bombing in 2008 all the 5 star hotels make you go through security.

I really had no plans for my first day and thought I would just relax at the hotel before setting out to do some major sightseeing. I didn't want to be outside in the heat either - so I decided to go use the sauna instead (go figure). I did a quick workout and jumped between the sauna and swimming pool until happy hour in the lounge. I planned out my next few days and got some rest.

The next day I took a cab to my guesthouse in Old Delhi. The place I stayed was right across from the Red Fort, Delhi's most famous site. My driver dropped me off close to the fort and then I took a rickshaw to the guesthouse. The temperature was around 110 again. The place I stayed wasn't in the nicest section either. There were people everywhere walking around, trying to get free drinking water, sleeping in any shade they could find, or just shopping. It was such a unique array of people. At first glance it looked like a pretty shady area. Seeing the organized chaos taking place in front of me of street vendors, Muslims heading to the mosque, and the traffic jam full of cars and cows seemed incredible. I couldn’t get over the number of people trying to get around in this area. There were still a few hours of sunlight so I decided to check out the Red Fort. This huge structure served as a residence for the Mughal emperors. There were tons of people entering. Most were Muslims. The red walls seemed like something you would see in a movie.

After the Red Fort I decided to head to the train station to buy my tickets for Agra and Jaipur. I read in my Lonely Planet book that people would try to approach me and get me to buy tickets off them, instead of heading to the international tourist desk. After about 45 minutes I finally found it, only to be told I needed my passport to book a train ticket. Since I didn't have my passport on me, I took a rickshaw to Connaught Place. This was a modern market area and was supposed to have a lot of restaurants. I walked around a bit and found a bar with Mexican food. I thought I would try it out. I got a few tacos and a beer and some chips and salsa. An Indian guy came over and asked if he could sit with me because he didn't like drinking alone. I thought it was weird but let him sit down. Apparently he had just graduated from engineering school and wanted to do a master's in the US. I told him what I was planning to see in India and he gave me some advice. After dinner we headed to the India Gate and then agreed to meet when I was in Jaipur a few days later, since he was going to be there at the same time.

The next day I went to the oldest Catholic Church in Delhi. The Irish nuns had been there for decades. They were probably pre-Nehru. They asked me to read the second reading. At 7:30 in the morning this was probably the hottest mass I had ever been to. The heat has no mercy in Delhi. After mass I went back to the train station and booked my tickets for Agra and Jaipur and then headed to the National Museum.

Most of the exhibits seemed under renovation in the museum. I skimmed through it. I noticed that my 500 Rupee note had been rejected for the second time (the first being at the bar the night before). They claimed it was because it was ripped. I took it back, upset that no one wanted this bill. After the museum I asked a rickshaw driver to take me back to Connaught Place. He claimed that everything there was closed and kept trying to upsell me on going to multiple places. I agreed to one of the places and then to head to Connaught Place, where at least I could take the subway back to my hotel. The driver seemed upset that I didn't want to go to all the places he had suggested and dropped me off "5 minutes" from the subway. In reality it was about 20 minutes. I walked to Connaught Place and sure enough everything was open for business. I went to a multi-ethnic restaurant and ordered some Chinese. I was still upset with this rickshaw driver when I paid for lunch and walked out of the restaurant. About 50 ft. outside the restaurant the waiter ran after me and told me that the 500 Rupee note I used to pay was rejected by their machine. I went back to the restaurant and asked them to show me why they thought it was a fake. I could see the different security marks they pointed out. I don't know Indian currency well enough to contest it. 500 Rupees is about $9.10. I looked at this bill as being a thorn in my side and was causing a lot of frustration and was ruining my time. So, I ripped it up and put the pieces in the waiters hand and said, "well, now no one will have to worry about getting this fake note." He looked at me astonished, as if I could have passed it off on someone else and therefore it still had value. I know I got the note at the Red Fort when I got change for my ticket. I didn't go back to contest it because I knew it was a futile cause.

Feeling liberated from the fake banknote I headed to the Gandhi museum. Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most influential people of the 20th century. As the most prominent figure of the Indian independency movement, Gandhi inspired hundreds of millions to peacefully resist the British and to demand full independence. The museum chronicled his whole life. It was amazed at what a life he had. After studying law in England he went to South Africa. It was there in South Africa that the shy and timid Gandhi found his voice in defending Indians using his political philosophy of Satyagraha. The museum was moving and made me think a lot about how we as humans treat one another and how brutal that can be for those who don't conform. Though Gandhi's movement was technically peaceful, a lot of Indians were brutalized or killed in the process.

The next day I was off to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. The train ride was about 5 hours, but at least I got an air-conditioned coach.

Agra - The Taj Mahal had been one of my top sites to see in the world. I was as excited to see this as I was to see the Great Wall of China. I got to Agra in the late afternoon and headed to the ITC hotel in Agra. I could see the Taj's dome from my room. I planned my only full day in Agra to see the Taj in the morning and the Old Fort afterwards. The Taj is the greatest monument to love - the mausoleum for the third wife of Shah Jahan (apparently wives 1 and 2 weren't that great).

The Taj was everything I expected and more. Entering the grounds is breathtaking. It's amazing how the Taj comes out as you're walking through an archway in front of the reflecting pool. Though it was early in the morning, the place was packed. All I could say was, "oh wow!, oh wow!". This truly made all the frustrations of India worth it. I also met a Greek Orthodox seminarian from Boston, Sam, who was doing mission work in Calcutta. After talking a bit we went through the grounds and took pictures. The Taj is truly one of the best places I've been and I would encourage anyone who goes to India to make it a priority to see.

After the Taj we headed to the Agra Fort. The fort boasted some great architecture and a great view of the Taj up the river. It was basically a walled city. I was really impressed with the condition, given it was built about 500 years before the Taj Mahal. I would have loved to have spent more time there, but the heat was taking it's toll. Sam and I ended up going to Pizza Hut to try it out, but most importantly to find some air conditioning.

Jaipur - Jaipur is a city I had read about when I was about 15. I vividly remember seeing a picture of a fort and wanting to go there if I ever was to head to India. Jaipur is the third city in the Golden Triangle and was about another 5 hours away by train. This train left considerably early (5:00 am), so I had to check out early. I was able to sleep most of the way. It's hard to believe that there was only one air-conditioned car in this whole line of train cars. The trains in India in general are run down. There is human waste all over the tracks. The windows have bars on them and all you can see are arms sticking out to get some air. It made me wonder if they had got a deal on the Nazi train cars after WWII. These things did not look fun to ride. Definitely a lot different than the MagLev I took in Shanghai.

When I got to Jaipur a rickshaw driver named Kahn lobbied to take me to my hotel. After refusing about 5 times I gave in - since it was all pre-paid taxis anyway. Kahn was really nice and showed me his book of other tourists who wrote good things about him and the tours he gives on the side. I had seen a lot of taxi drivers do this. I decided to take him up on his offer and have him take me around the main points of Jaipur later that day.

Kahn showed up with his brother and we headed to the old part of Jaipur. I had booked another Starwood property and it ended up being about 10 km outside of the city center. Jaipur is famous for all the pink buildings in its old town. One of my main objectives for the day was to find a book called, "Freedom at Midnight". It's considered the authoritative account of India's independence from Britain and views it from the British, Indian, and Pakistani side. It's really amazing how it all came about and to see it continue to play out. We stopped at a few bookstores but no one had it. I noticed that most of the bookstores in the city center were selling used textbooks, most of them in math and science. You can see how much education is being pushed in India just seeing bookstore after bookstore just selling text books in things like “Theoretical Astrophysics - Part 4” - or - the “Mathematics of Quantum Mechanics”. The stores had a lot of buyers inquiring as well.

My personal tour then headed to a lookout tower that gave a good view of the city. After taking in the view I headed to the City Palace get a sense of what royalty in India was like. The best part was that the bookstore had the book I was looking for, "Freedom at Midnight". After the palace I headed to Jantar Mantar. This astrological center had various instruments to tell time and location. I got a tour guide and he explained how all the instruments worked. After the tour Khan took me to his family's silk shop. They showed me different things I could buy and I found a few pieces I liked.

The next day I stayed in and started reading my book. I had seen the main sights downtown and was going to meet the guy I met in Delhi to go see the forts that night. We ended up going to Jal Mahal, which is an island fort, and the Amber Fort, which is the most famous fort. The Amber Fort had a light show at sundown that was ok. After the fort tour we headed to a club in town. The rickshaw ride was probably one of the most insane experiences I've ever had. Our driver was crazy. He kept cutting everyone off. We even hit a guy on a scooter and bent his mirror. It took about an hour to find a place that was open. We ended up finding a club that was in the basement. It had a cool atmosphere and we had tandoori chicken and a few beers.

I went to Jaipur expecting to see more. I think two days would have been fine. I was looking forward to going to Mumbai because it was only supposed to be in the 90s, not the 110s. Heat like that just makes you want to stay inside all day. My flight to Mumbai was interesting. When we took off we cruised at about 5000 ft. for about 10 minutes hitting turbulence. It was unclear whether or not we were heading up or down. Eventually we started climbing and the flight was fine from then on.

Mumbai - Mumbai was more humid, but definitely cooler than Jaipur. I headed to the ITC Hotel and relaxed for the rest of the night. Sure enough I went to the lounge and the two people who sat beside me worked for Deloitte. The next day I did some sightseeing and headed to the Taj Hotel and the Gateway of India. The Taj was the center of the 2008 terrorist attacks. There was clearly a higher level of security there. The Gateway to India is where the British landed in 1600 when they came to India. I met up with the two Deloitters and we agreed to do some touring the next day. That night my friend Frances called me to tell me that she was in Mumbai that night on a layover heading to Bangalor for work so I met her and two more people who work for Deloitte.

The next day I met the Deloitte people from my hotel and we went to a silk shop and then to the train station. It was a pretty low-key day topped off with drinks at the JW Marriott. That hotel sits right on the beach. There were a lot of people at the beach that day. Apparently Indians like to go swimming with all their clothes on.

Goa - Goa had been another place that I had wanted to see in India. I remember the opening scene from the Bourne Supremacy and it looked similar. Goa has about 100 km of beach. This was the off-season so I wasn't expecting for it to be a big party scene. I went to South Goa but if I had to do it over again I would have gone to North Goa. The days were hot and the water was really dirty. I thought it had oil in it. I met two girls from California who were traveling the world as well. We ended up hanging out having dinner and going to the beach. Going to the beach in India with white girls is interesting. Basically we all stood out and the guys were starring at the girls like they were from Mars. We decided to walk down the beach a ways to get away from everyone. Sure enough groups of guys started walking by us and sitting down 50 feet down the beach. I could see some of them trying to take pictures with their cell phones. One even came over and asked if he could take his picture with me. I told him 'no' and he started starring at me like I had just offended him. The same thing happened the next day in the hotel lobby. This time I let them take a picture. I must look famous!

Two weeks in India was enough for me. To be fair to India I did go at the worst time of the year (May/June/July) when it is ungodly hot. I even tried Indian food and didn't get sick. I had never been a fan of Indian food but I know I can always find something on the menu that I like. India has a very colorful culture. It is chaotic, loud, and congested. I’m glad I was able to go and hope someday I can go back in a season that isn't so hot. It is by far the most colorful place I've been and most culturally different experience I've had in any of my travels.

Next stop - Qatar and then the United Arab Emirates!

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Photos

The Taj
From my hotel

Astrological Center 1
Leo!