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Published: September 29th 2009
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All the books you read and the stories you hear can not prepare you enough for your initial reaction to India. After my flight to India was cancelled in Bangkok I waited around for about 6 hours before I was able to find someone that was able to help me. The flight to Delhi was short but the thing I found interesting was the lack of females on board. The flight consisted of a few foreigners and mainly men. I was wondering where all the women were? As the flight landed there was a uproar in cheering by the natives on board, maybe there were thankful that the plane had landed without any problems or they were just excited to be home.
After a mix up of information I met Wen at the airport and took my first steps outside to India. The smell is the first thing that hits you, followed by the heat then you realize that there are a massive number of people around you. What surprised me the most was when we headed to the parking lot there were people just lying on the curb settling in for the night. No shame but just the norm
of their lives.
Delhi was chaotic. That morning we woke up early to go to the Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Connaught Place and Gandhi Smriti. But the heat and the chaos of all the people around made the visits just ok. The most interesting place that day was visiting the Gandhi Smriti. It was so interesting to read about his life. The site was the actual place where he was assassinated and there were footsteps leading up to the location of his death. Kinda creepy but fascinating at the same time.
The next morning I was going to get up early and head to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, but a malfunction in the alarm made me miss my train. So we headed up to Wen's town, Dharamsala, where I was for the last two weeks. I decided to do something with my time so I volunteered at ROGPA Baby Care Center every morning. The day care is free for low income Tibetan families which allows parents the opportunity to work. The babies were so cute amongst the crying, fighting and snot filled noses.
During my time here in Dharamsala I got sick with this massive
stomach pain. I thought it would pass after a few days and even took some precious Tibetan medicine which was quite the procedure to prepare and take. It had to be prepared the night before, opened and crushed without exposure to light then mixed with boiling water and left to settle for the night. The next morning I was to stir it with the ring finger, same some mantra and then take the medicine and return to bed. Maybe it didn't work because I failed to say the mantra but after 4 or 5 days of not getting better I decided that going to the hospital would be best just to make sure that things were ok. Going to the hospital in a third world country was a very different experience. After meeting the doctor, she wanted a stool sample and asked if I had brought one. Since I didn't bring one, she gave me a "large container" to collect the sample, which to my luck was a film canister. She said the regular container was A LOT smaller. I asked her if I could get some gloves and she said that they don't provide gloves for people. Damn. Then
I realized that I didn't have any toilet paper. Damn again. (Note: ALWAYS carry toilet paper around with you in India.) I opened the door to the stall and realized that it was a squatter. It just kept getting better and better...I'll let you figure out how I got the sample to her. Luckily the results did not show anything serious and after a few days of medication I was back to normal.
After leaving Dharamsala, I took a taxi down to Amritsar to see the Golden Temple. The taxi arrived at 4am making it just in time for some morning ritual. It was beautiful to see the temple throughout the morning. A few hours later, I took a train to Delhi and stayed the night in Manju Ka Tilla and then headed out at 4:30am to catch another train to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. This was breath-taking and the minute you see it you can't take your eyes off of it. Following the Taj Mahal was Agra Fort, which was nothing too spectacular other than the fact that it was rather large. Then another train back to Delhi. The next morning I left at 4am to
catch my flight out to Bangkok. The transfer in Calcutta was a hassle and I barely made the connecting flight, but nonetheless made it out to Thailand.
All in all the trip to India was interesting and like I said nothing I could have prepared for. In the weeks that I've been here, these are some memories that I take away (in no particular order)...
1. The initial exposure to India
2. Pissing off an auto-rickshaw driver...when he didn't take us to the proper location we paid less and he got out yelling and then followed us
3. The visit to the hospital
4. Seeing the Dalia Lama and "listening" to his teachings
5. Dropping my camera off a cliff and then getting the little Indian boy to retrieve it
6. Trekking up the mountain...to see clouds
7. Having a rat run across my face at night
8. Getting in trouble at the Golden Temple and taken to the back room
9. Asking to have my picture taken by random Indian boys then being groped by one (this was not good)
10. The early and long train rides
Hope all is well with everyone else. I'm in Thailand
now and it's wonderful. Will write again soon. Miss you all!
Peace and Love
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Erica Tealey
non-member comment
WOW!
As always, after reading your blogs, I am ready to buy a plane ticket and wander. Though, I do have to say, I could do without the rat running across my face ;) Also, could you please elaborate on getting into trouble at the Golden Temple? There are always some shennanigans with you! Erica P.S. I totally had to get a fecal sample when I was in Venz. I did have the container, and it came with this mini little scooper. Hilarious!