Blogs from New Delhi, National Capital Territory, India, Asia

Beauty is an important thing for women across the world. As a California girl myself I cant deny that I grew up around a more shallow thinking of what defines beauty. My experience in India has found me in a crowd full of Indians--wherein I was the ONLY white person in the entire village/room/space--and never have I felt less awkward. Imagine all the men and women staring at me every time I step outside. The terrible feeling that every movement I make is being watched and criticized is enough to make me squirm in my clothes. If I wear Indian clothes, their constant gawking makes me feel as if I didn't match colors correctly, and if I wear Western clothes they stare at me as if I'm some sort of alien. And yes...I definitely feel like ... read more

I've been in Delhi for one night and almost a whole day, and already I feel like I'm getting the full Indian experience! It's been almost exactly one year since I was here last, and thankfully I feel a bit more relaxed with the utter mayhem that is this city. Not to mention being aware of scams (i.e. being overcharged for a lot of things) and also being wary of how you act and dress, as a female. I'm lucky to have a wonderful friend here who has been showing me around her favourite parts of the city. It's great, because it makes me see a different and fun side to the city, rather than feeling stressed and overwhelmed. So yesterday I arrived in the area of Pahar Ganj, which is apparently a slightly seedy area, ... read more

In my opinion, the only good part of Delhi is leaving it, but they don’t make it easy! My departure from Agra was painful. After waking from my short nap I find that I have a bit of a sunburn (not surprised) that is uncomfortable enough to slow my packing process dramatically. Not feeling well either—also not surprising, the food here takes some getting used to, but I pack on. I must leave this city! I first haggle with the damn tuk-tuk drivers who want to rip you off—and I’m haggling over about 92 cents! It is a chore that I’m happy to be rid of. I endure the endless stares at the train station but just sit in agony and wait for my train. My stomach is churning and the smells of the station do ... read more

Its common in India to find joint families. I myself have had the pleasure of staying with several families as a guest on various occasions. A joint family is when the entire family (mom, dad, uncle, brother, cousin, sister, nephew, grandma, brothers sisters aunts cousin twice removed...) all live together in the same home. WHOA. Wait a second...how is that even possible?!?! Usually in the Joint families the family owns an entire building dedicated to their family (each couple having their own room and sharing only a common kitchen, living space and bathroom). Now this concept might seem completely suicidal for us Americans who only deal with our family once a year on Thanksgiving...but here in India, anything less than daily interaction with your family is simply unheard of. The word 'family" here has a very ... read more

Well then, in the coming blogs, Amelia and I will be visiting a few hospitals run by The Leprosy Mission, so I think it's only fair that we get a few things straight before you encounter that. We don't call them “lepers” any more, the correct term is person affected by/suffering from leprosy. This is not just for the sake of being PC, as I shall explain later. The disease is caused by Mycobacterium leprae, a member of the same family which causes Tuberculosis. The bacteria live environmentally in soil and it is NOT CONTAGIOUS. It can be spread from person to person, but only by blood to blood contact, so we will not be coming home with leprosy. Also, it has the longest doubling time of any human pathogen ie, it reproduces very slowly, so ... read more

Following the most straightforward trip through security I have ever encountered, we were met at Gate 5 at Delhi Airport by Mr Mantosh from The Leprosy Mission at around 23:20 Indian time. Walking to the car park Andrew and I were attempting and failing to reality check. It was only when we hit the Delhi highway that it all became very real. Top Gear has taught us both many things; not just that James May is a legend of a man and that Jeremy Clarkson is quite like my Dad, but that the death rate in India is some 500,000 people a year. I had always said that I couldn't imagine any roads being worse than El Horeya in Alexandria or the streets of down-town Cairo however I will hold my hands up and say that ... read more