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Published: June 30th 2008
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When we arrived at Mumbai airport 4 months ago despite all the horror stories (yes they are all true) we felt excited, and were ready for the challange yet were very nervous............ Now 4 months on so much learnt about all kinds of stuff, REAL suffering, struggle, poverty, religion, history, ancient architecture, the list goes on - I've learn't more in 4 months about all these things and more, than I did in all my school years!! We now walk the indian walk and talk the talk - in two Languages !.......We feel a part of India now and are sad to leave. Ha ha and we done all this with our guts still intact!!
So many unforgetable expiriences and so many we can't wait to forget, probably the worst being a recently deceased suicider laying on the train tracks cut cleanly in half!!! yes very horrible.
Nic - It's seems like only a blink ago that we were sitting in Heathrow, but it's the end of a small chapter of amazing things. But first a little about Delhi!
We've been here for 4 days now and have run out of things to do so are quite pleased
to be leaving tonight. It's a massive city, really spread out, and so its a bit of a task to get around.....although we have had one really pleasant experience here, a very surprising one, in the form of the Metro!....it's amazing and very cosmopolitan, million times better than the crusty London Underground...crazy!
We went to Old Delhi to visit the much raved about Lal Qila (Red Fort) but unfortunately due to all our other amazing experiences were quite let down, not really a lot to see inside. Jama Masjid (the biggest Mosque in all of India, capable of holding 25,000 worshipers) was quite a sight made of red sandstone and marble.
Central Delhi and Connaught Place are all very modern and cosmopolitan, a nice change from the grot of Old Delhi! loads of expensive shops but being on a budget these were out of bounds! And that's about all for Delhi....a good place for shopping if your at the end of your trip...but not for us, we onto the next challenge!.....
....So a quick round up of the first leg!:
FUNNIEST SIGHTS:
* 3 People working 1 shovel! (a little explanation, 1 holding the shovel and
2 pulling on attached ropes to help!)
* A bicycle converted into a grinding wheel (apparantly it's cheaper to pay an Indian to pedal than to use electricity!)
* Autos, cars, jeeps etc full to the brim (the most we could count was 25 in a jeep - they're may have been more crushed underneath!)
* 2 soldiers holding hands (It's a regular thing here for men to hold hands and cuddle their friends!)
* Stampede for bus, train or any sort of gate/door opening.
* Sleeping people (they fall asleep everywhere and in the most rediculous contortions!)
* Imense head wobbling (it means, everything: Yes, no, maybe. not sure, probably and is generally used to accompany most sentences)
* Stashing the booze in the pants.
* Watching people crash as a result of staring at the two whities.
THINGS WE PERHAPS DIDN'T WANT TO SEE/HEAR (But are everywhere!):
* Spitting
* Urinating
* Mountains of rubbish
* Poverty and beggars
* Nose picking
*...and not for the squeemish.....:
* Early morning competition of the men to regurgitate their internal organs with the winners being the noisiest and flemiest
* Early morning synchronised pooing (Usually most abundant when waking
up on an overnight train and looking out of the window.....lines of bums squatting in unison!!)
THINGS WE'LL MISS MOST:
* Swooshing noise of people brushing the dust and rubbish off their patch outside first thing in the morning
* Smell of Jasmine and flowers in the hair of the ladies in South Indian
* Chai and Indian sweets (sooo much sugar, but oh so yummy!)
* "Coffee, coffee chai,chai, garam chai" (The cry of the tea sellers on trains in in busy areas of town)
* Indian chaos in general!
There's so many other things that we could list, but it'd take way too long. We really feel like we've covered a good section of India (at least all of the most diverse and important places) and from the pic of the map you'll see how much we really have covered - wouldn't like to think how many miles we've travelled!!
And so it's on, to a complete change of pace, culture, and way of life (to name but a few things, not to mention a totally different expenditure per day!) Our next stop is Hong Kong (we fly out at 3.30am tomorrow, so and evening
of camping out at the airport is in store!) for 2 days and then we're off to Japan for a whistle stop tour in a week. It's going to be hectic, but hey we enjoy a challenge! and we'll have to smarten up a bit, especially in Japan as they're oh so trendy....eeeek! (not sure if we can deal with that anymore after 4 months of tramping around, dusty clothes and no make-up!)
So, from Delhi...and of course India, for the last time......Namaste!
xxxxxxxxxxx
(PS...prob be a while till we catch up again as the next couple of weeks will be manic!, see ya soon!)
xxxxxx
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Wow!
You guys are the shiggety!! I'm an American checkin out the internet for blogs from real people who have seen the real Asia as I am preparing for our year+ venture next year and came across your awesome blog. Amazing!!!! I look forward to reading the rest of it in its entirety and wish you all the best in your next journeys. Rock on and keep living the dream, guys. :)