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Published: January 5th 2007
where do i begin? there is so much to say. a day of indian experiences fills up about a week of my usual life i feel like i've been here for a month already!!!we had our first taste of indian bureaucracy at 2pm in the morning...waiting 45 mins to get off the aeroplane! then a bumpy bus ride across the tarmac and filling out the "arrivals" card. there wa a huage queue even at 2.30 and although our plane landed at 1.20 we didnt get out of the airport until 3. nightmare! they are so strict about people coming into their country even indians had to queue to register back in! finally we collected our baggage nothing missing hallelujah! and strode off into the night to find our taxi....
meanwhile...natalie..stupid dippy lass that she is thought she wld buy some water at the airport. she paid 200 rupees and while we were in the car park (with the driver chucking our rucksacks nochalkantly onto the roff and casually flinging a piece of string over them!) i checked the seal just before she dranks and...yes it was filled with tap water. live and learn. we fim\nally got to the ymca at 4 after habing our first taste of indian driving. its seen better days but has a shower and a proper toilet (which doesnt flush) so i'm not complaining.
After ignoring the building work which had started at 8 (and felt like it was IN our room) i was woken up by the phone. Rekha - our indian gap rep was phoning to say that the term didnt start for another week so therefore we cldnt stay there next week.....right. go with the flow i suppose so we are now going to go to Dehra Dun a week in advance and do some sightseeing etc and stay with the regional gap rep up there.
me and nats and ems wandered out from our ymca at 10 only to find that there was a huge colourful festival going on. "GURU PARAB" is when the Sikhs celebrate the birthday of Guru Nanak - founder of their religion. all the schools took part there where bands and dancing and sword fighting and the constant beat of drums this was all ina constant parade. the weather was like a balmy summers day in england and the dust and smells where the most different. each smell is so pungent and it is like they try to vie for attention. three schoolchildren nudging each other and, giggling pushed there friends forward shyly, "hello how are yooooo?" and then set off giggling down the street. all down the sides of the parade they were giving out free food chippatties and sauce and the cars in the parade gave out nuts and sweets and people handed out wreaths of flowers like hawaii or something. and india is so dusty but all the schoolchildren were wearing immaculate white trousers and looked so smart. while the areas around the food was like a bun fight with the bowls (made entirely out of palm leaves) where strewn all over the floor. thecolour was riotous and all around people stare at you and want to talk to you and even some want to take pictures. people in the street just struck up conversation and walked and wanted to know about you and offerd to show you places. and at first i was wary of this from cuba and places but they didnt expect payment and everyone seemed very friendly.
we found a smashing little place to eat called, "Savara Bhadan" we've been there twice now. not a westener in sight but packed with locals. the fixed Thali which has rice and poories (inflated naans almost) and about eight different dips and a sweet. all for about a pound. we wandered onto a backstreet and suddenly found ouirselves surrounded. by Monkeys just crawling over the rooves and houses and living with the people. they looked quite sinister and i was left suddenly wishing i had got the rabies jab after all.....
our room is basic but no squat toliet thank god! there is a shower too. had one this morning no exxageration before my hair was bushier than hermione grangers! we have a balcony overlooking the building work dilapidated back alley and empty swimming pool you can also see peoples house over the other side of the swimming pool and one had a mini garden on their roof! 😊 we saw a few touristy things today which would have been interesting if we hadn't seen the less touristy parts already. it is worse there with a lot of beggers and people selling things.
earlier today we saw a man with black wrinkled skin and a leg which had been amputated above the knee and he was lying on his back waving his stump begging with his hands clasped tightly together and flies buzzing round him like vultures. we were driving back today and we saw a man dead on the road. juist like that. i'm still a bit shaken up by it but i think that nats took it worse. poeple were just driving round him. fasce down on the road sprawled across it - it looked like he may have been knocked down. thats another thing..
the driving. every car has a bash in in there are no lanes as such people just act like its a bun fight pushing in a queue rickshaws and motorbikes (the women sit side saddle like they do in amsterdam (lottz) expect its a motorbike!) there are no seatbelts and the irony is that its road safety week!
everything is so sweet over here and then everything is spicy even the tomato ketchup! and the jam is like strawberry sauce you would put on ice cream! it's a riot of colours and taste and smells and i'm exhauted already....can i take another 6 months?
lottz calling and just hearing her voice made me miss her and everyone more - hence the blog! email me if you want!
I'm getting the train tomorrow at 6.50 tomorrow to Dehra Dun so we'll see what its like up there! a 6hr ride is costing 550 rupees - 6 quid! plu i've learnt some hindi. plus had a gorgeous sweet lime juice - heaven in a glass! anyway love to all xxxxxxxx
sorry its so long just so much to get out!!!!
The women seem quite docile and it seems like a very male dominated society. they have public urinals in the streets for men.
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karen (mum)
non-member comment
Culture Shock!
You seem to have done so much in such a short space of time,I'm glad you can be so laid back about it i'm sure that's the key.Seeing a dead man can't have been much fun, though you have a least had a small peak at different cultures before in the sahara and Cuba and are used to us talking about death and dying! Look forward to hearing about the train journey and what you do before the term starts! So glad you have written so much i feel as if I'm there with you and i wish I was! Can't wait for the next instalment Mx