Blogs from Delhi, National Capital Territory, India, Asia - page 37

Geo: 28.6137, 77.1834I guess six months away from home and Mom needed a visit, so tomorrow we set off for a 10 day tour of Rajasthan ending in a day at the Taj Mahal together! Should be an experience of a lifetime!... read more

Geo: 28.6137, 77.1834... read more

Before coming to India I'd heard and read a lot about the culture shock westerners are susceptible to upon their first arrival in the country. I'd also seen my fair share of documentaries and pictures from India, so had a fair idea of what to expect. This coupled with my experience of travelling in other developing countries made me confident that I would smoothly make the transition to life in India. Paharganj is the area of Delhi where most of the budget travellers and backpackers stay. By all accounts it is a filthy, crowded and chaotic place, teeming with aggressive touts, salesmen and beggars. Emily has been there before and testifies that this is true. With this knowledge, I'm not sure what exactly inspired us to book a hotel room there. Probably the price, location, the ... read more

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 ... read more

On Tuesday, our second day in Delhi, Christine wanted to head to the local Missionaries of Charity, our chosen charity. We had originally decided to do all our work in Calcutta, but with us being in various locations, we thought it would be good to go ahead and start the work and donations! After consulting a guidebook, we knew there was a local orphanage that was supported by Mother Theresa's charity. We headed there. On the way, we were approached by a young man wanting to practice his English. (This is not unusual--it is happening to us everywhere!) With persistence as a cultural value here, he followed us a long ways and talked with us. He actually knew of the street and the orphanage, so we headed there together. It was actually good to have him ... read more