http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/anamericanindelhi/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from anamericanindelhi en-us Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:33:13 +0000 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:33:13 +0000 On Monday of this week I started working on the project with CARE Kenya. I have been really pleasantly surprised by the support I have been receiving from the country office here. First thing on Monday morning we had a team meeting to orient me to the project and staff and discuss the logistics of moving forward. I'm really blown away by how productive and dedicated everyone on the team has b http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Nairobi-Province/Nairobi/blog-403012.html Despite my ever present fear of dying in an airplane crash I made it to Nairobi without a snag. I pretty much slept the entire way from Amsterdam...which was a bad idea because now my schedule is all screwed up and I have a touch of jet lag. Besides that though I'm very surprised with what I've seen so far. This is my first time in Africa and my boss was prepping me before I left. I kind of http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Nairobi-Province/Nairobi/blog-401695.html Well Daisy D has arrived hooray and we have been chillin in Delhi for the last two weeks. I have been hard at work on the project and Daisy has been touring the city until I finish at the office. It was awesome to see a good ole famliar face and catch up with each other on the other side of the world once again. Today was actually my last day at ACCESS. Yesterday I gave a presentation on http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/National-Capital-Territory/New-Delhi/blog-309075.html It's been a while since I last wroteand much has happened. Here's a quick rundownAfter Rath Yatra festival in Puri I met with a small NGO there and then travelled to Bhubaneswar for another meeting. I really liked Orissa the country side is really beautifultropical jungle rice paddies and green fields and hills. Bhubaneswar on the other hand is the armpit of India. It's really dirty a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/National-Capital-Territory/New-Delhi/blog-301413.html I have been bloggin a lot lately but there's just a lot more to talk about over the past week or so. Yesterday I went to the opening day of the world famed Rath Yatra in English called the Chariot Festival or Car Festival held in the holy city of Puri. Apparently this festival is the most important Hindu festival of the year and draws throngs of pilgrims fom all over. The festival is center http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Orissa/Puri/blog-295523.html The powers that be somehow have a way of making you eat your own words. In my last blog I asserted that I had become somewhat savvy on traveling via the Indian Railway system......uh huh. Not two hours after posting that blog all of a sudden my trip took a major wrong turn....literally.So it's like this I purchase a confirmed ticket in Chennai headed for Bhubaneswar in the north which the co http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Orissa/Puri/blog-294744.html I've gotten pretty good at navigating India by train. Currently I'm aboard the Howray Mail train bound for Bhubaneswar Orissa. I left Chennai last night around 1130pm and will arrive in Bhubaneswar at about 10pm tonight...yes that's almost a 24hr train ride It's ok though this time I sprung for an AC sleeper so it's not bad at all. I actually really like train travel it's feels more r http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Tamil-Nadu/Chennai/blog-294300.html So earlier today I was in Big Bazaar the Indian version of Walmart listening to the entire Bryan Adams Gold Collection over the loud speaker when I realized that I have not written a blog in a while. Why was I in Big Bazaar you ask Well...my freagin brand new digital camera I bought specifically for this trip just quit working out of the blue a week ago Minorly irritating. I took it s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Andhra-Pradesh/Hyderabad/blog-291572.html AhmedabadI arrived in Ahmedabad at the beginning of last week. It was really only for business and there is not much to do in this extremely conservative state completely dry as well. Travellers tend to avoid Gujurat...not much to see and very hot in the summer. The people there are very religious there is a large Muslim and Hindu presence of course but Jainism is most represented in this s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Maharashtra/Mumbai/blog-287628.html Auight I am currently in Udaipur Rajasthan deservingly known as the Venice of the Eastalso the Lake City White City and the most romantic city in India. Udaipur was once the home to a great kingdom and is built around a central lake. The architecture is amazing. It's a cluster of winding streets and buildings or 'havelis' piled one on top of another all with extremely intricate arche http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Udaipur/blog-284424.html My last few days in Jaipur I saw some amazing forts and palaces Including the Amber Fort Jaighar and the City Palace home to the Maharaja of Jaipur. The ancient walls and forts are the highlight of Jaipur....the city is loud and chaotic and extremely touristy even though I was one of the only ones. Prices are inflated and the city has lost much of its alleged charm. The best part about Ja http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Jaipur/blog-284676.html I arrived in Jaipur Rajasthan on Friday night and walked the Pink City on Saturday. It's really strange...I am essentially the only tourist in this whole city. Only today have I encountered two other Westerners and I think they live here. I am told that the summer is brutally hot and hence they are in the off season however usually there are always some stragglers hangin around. Maybe the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Jaipur/blog-282481.html Trying to leave Delhi has been somewhat of a challenge. Civil unrest in Rajasthan where I am trying to go has caused large groups of tribes to stage a protest to demonstrate their political will. Ingeniously they did so by sitting on the railroad tracks rail being India's primary mode of transport and then blocked the streets as well screwing up the major routes between Delhi and Bombay. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/National-Capital-Territory/New-Delhi/blog-281412.html Here are some pics...not many so far since I am still in Delhi. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/blog-279585.html It seems that every time I meet with senior management at my organization the concept for my work broadens and becomes more challenging. As I understand it now my mission is to meet with officials and organizations involved in every aspect of the insurance industry in India and simultaneously review the latest literature on microinsurance and become somewhat of an expert on the current climate http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/blog-279285.html Okay so what I had imagined I would be doing for the organization and what they actually want me to do are two very different things. I feel a little overwhelmed at current. Instead of just doing an assessment of MFI partners they are having me meet with representatives from the government of India large private insurance carriers other nonprofit organizations USAID GTZ German humanitari http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/blog-278873.html They say that some days you love India and others you wonder why you came. Today is one of the former. I had an AMAZING time today exploring Old Delhi which was originally built as part of the Mughal empire. I wish I would have lodged here to begin with. Outside of the monuments I only rarely saw other foreigners. The people were incrediblly friendly. Most want to stare at you a while whic http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/blog-277458.html Well...I made it The 20hr trip to get here was nothing compared to what I found at the end... Delhi is nuts. It took me about 2 days to get over the jet lag and come back to life from my initial shell shock. This city is packed with people and ridiculous traffic I will never complain about I7585 again. I chose the backpacker ghetto Paharganj as the first place I stayed which ended up be http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/blog-277219.html