Weekend in Rishikesh

We left for Rishikesh at 5:30PM on Friday. It was an adventure! Sid and Shweta picked me up in their cab. Then we were dropped off at the Metro somewhere in Delhi, took it to Noida where Rahul was working/waiting for us. From there, around 6:30PM, we set off for Rishikesh and camping. The drive was long, but Sid and Shweta were in good spirits and they kept the ride entertaining. We zoomed the 200 or so kilometers to Rishikesh where we met up with our guides. They had us walk across the Ganges (there's a bridge) to where a Jeep taxi was waiting to take us up the mountains to where we would be camping for the night.

The ride was like the Indian Jones ride at Disneyland. It was freaking awesome! We were turning left/right and all over the place. It was pitch black so we couldn't see beyond the lights. I remember one Indian Jones movie, "The Temple of Doom" was to take place in India. Great! We landed safely to the campsite. Had to trek down a huge steep hill to the tents. Indian camping is WAY different than the camping I'm used to. I didn't bring anything besides my phone because I figured we wouldn't have electricity, or toilets. The tents were furnished with two cots and a bathroom (toilet, sink, shower w/bucket and mug. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! (website for the camp)

We had arrived at the campsite around 2:30AM so we all quickly changed for bed and fell asleep. We had to get up around 7:30 to move to our actual location and go rafting.

When we woke up...this was the beauty that we hadn't had the chance to witness the previous night:

It was amazing! The birds were chirping, there was no horns honking every two seconds, no smell of pollution, just wilderness. Beautiful wilderness!

So we hiked back up the hill to meet the car that would take us to our campsite. Apparently the one we were at had a large group coming in later that day so they wanted to give us a more “exclusive” camp where we could have undivided attention from the staff and more privacy. It wasn't too far away and while I wouldn't describe the new camp as being as picturesque at the first, it did have it's own unique charm. (Other Camp's Website) The staff was also extremely helpful and would help us out whenever we asked for something without showing any disdain.

After we settled our bags in, a taxi was waiting for us to take us to Rishikesh so we could go rafting. The taxi-walla was an older gentleman and judging by his driving, he drives the mountain road regularly. Speaking of which, the road in the day time is a lot less fun than the road at night. You can see how far down the car could fall and the lack of safety features built into the road. Not only that, but the seat belts in the back of the cars (everywhere in India) never are used or missing.

We made it to Rishikesh and met with a guy who would take us across the Ganges to another car which would take us back up the mountain on the other side to go rafting. There's a lack of vehicular bridges across the Ganges up the mountain so you have to go all the way down to town (15 +/- kilometers) and walk across the foot bridges to the other side. While on the middle of the Ganges, I stopped to take a picture. Ooops! All the people selling stuff saw that and realized I was a tourist and started asking me if I'd like to buy stuff. Random crap too.

We made it to the Jeep, drove up the mountain (almost to where the campsite was) and got ready for our trip rafting. No one but myself had ever been rafting. Sid and Rahul never learned to swim so I was a little hesitant about the rafting trip. I think they were at first but that quickly changed for them. Shortly after we took off, we came up to our first set of rapids. They were small, mostly to get everyone's blood flowing. And boy oh boy did it get the boy's adrenaline going! Then came the second set of rapids. The guide wanted everyone to stand up on the edge of the boat while floating. I refused but Sid, Shweta, and Rahul stood up. And then Rahul and Sid fell into the water. Rahul tried taking me down with him. I was holding on to him at first but realized he was pulling me in so I let him fall hehehe

The fourth rapids were the worst. The boat tilted to the side and Rahul and I fell in. I wasn't expecting it, it came out of no where and I didn't have a chance to take a deep breath before going under. And the water was pushing me everywhere. I was trying really hard to kick my feet and swim up but the damn oar....I was still holding on to the oar! So I let go and managed to make my way up to the top. I felt the boat hit my head and I tried to grab on to the “lifeline” rope. And out of nowhere, as soon as I got up, I was pushed back under by another set of waves. Then I got back up and starting grasping for air because the 10 or so seconds that I was under water, felt like an eternity and I didn't know if there would be another wave again. Then all of a sudden the guide started pulling me up. But my pants were falling off but he wouldn't let go. He just kept pulling. The life vest was wedged in between my two front teeth and then I was landed safely in the boat...kind of. I was stuck in between the two seats of the raft. It took a while to get myself unstuck. Apparently when Rahul and I fell off, Sid and Shweta automatically went to our side of the raft to help us and it made the boat unstable. Shweta got stuck in between the seats too. Everyone got banged up a bit from the rapids. I was cold, wet, and slightly miserable. Life vests are a necessity but they get heavy when wet and my chest gets in the damn way every time. I learned it from rafting down the Deschutes so I was trying my best to not go into the water to prevent that scene but it happened anyway.

When the water was calm, the other three (mainly Sid) would jump out the boat and “swim”. Dude that guy was having a blast in the water! Then Shweta would jump out and join him. Those two would carry on and have fun. Rahul even joined them at one point. The guide asked me if I wanted to join him but I politely declined. I had enough “fun” in the water and didn't want to have to go through getting back in the boat again.

When we got to Rishikesh, the guide dropped us off at a spot on the Ganges where we could walk up to a market and find our way to our car (where we left it the previous night). The market was amazing.

I guess I should tell you a bit about the Ganges and Rishikesh first before I go into too much detail...

The Ganges (Ganga) River is a holy river in India. Hindus believe that the river was formed by Lord Shiva to help cleanse humans and fertilize the land. It also is supposed to carry the blessings from Lord Vishnu. Hindus believe that if you bath in the water, you will be cleaned and blessed. (Side Note: I fell in the water and was bathed by the holy Ganga, I'm officially blessed!) If you're sick, you should drink the water so the medicinal properties of the Ganga will help heal. Apparently for some odd reason, it fights off certain bacterial diseases. It's also one of the most polluted rivers in the world. I guess that's what happens when you have a bunch of people bathing in the water. The further down the river you go, the more polluted it becomes. Rishikesh is a combination of like five small cities and is considered a holy site. It's where the Ganga leaves the Himalayas and starts it's decent into the Ganga basin. There are a lot of ashrams and yoga centers in the area. Hindu pilgrims and tourists alike flock to this place. I saw plenty of white people...mostly hippies.

So while we were walking through the market, I was admiring the simplicity of the place. Everywhere you are, you can hear bells ringing from the temples. There's on in particular that I found fascinating and it was dedicated to Lord Shiva. Every floor has a series of bells (all outside) and from what I could witness, people would walk around the building and ring the bells. It was like a bunch of Catholic church bells going off at random times. Very spiritual. While we were buying water, very very dark or black guy, I think based on the staff in his hand, was dressed like Lord Shiva and spotted me and came towards me. I think it was to ask for money. It freaked me out more than anything so I quickly grabbed Rahul and walked away. I've heard stories of people being “cursed” by weird people like that so I was trying to stay away from him. In hindsight, I should have asked Rahul to ask the guy if I could take a picture with him so you could see how crazy he looked. It would have been worth the money. I also saw another black guy walking through the market with religious attire on. I wish I would have had my money with me so I could buy something from there. It was too magical. Oh and I also made them stop to find Aloe Vera for my sunburn which I had received over the course of the day. Nice huh?

We made our way to the car and drove back to the camp. I took pictures along the way. I got some decent shots of Rishikesh from the mountains, and also of the MONKEYS! I was so excited to see the monkeys. Then Shweta started telling me horror stories about them. How one bit her leg when she was younger and had to get 9 shots and a bunch of stitches. Then Sid joined in about how one type of monkey will grab stuff from you and they 'hit on' females. I don't think any of them like monkeys. While I'm not in the mood to be bit and hit on, I do find them cute.

We got to the campsite after driving WAAAAY past it. From there I applied a bunch of the Aloe Vera cream on my arms. The three of them were way worried about my burn so they made me to lay down in front of the cooler in my tent. Coolers are like gigantic fans that you can put water in the bottom of so it spits out cool air. I like them more than A/Cs. After I fell asleep, Rahul came in with ice to rub on my arms because they were so crazy hot. I fell back asleep and woke shortly before dinner. The campsite guys had built a fire for us. We all sat around the fire talking, we were brought out snacks to eat before dinner (pakoras and some other crazy dish consisting of mostly onions). Then they decided they wanted to play charades. So we did that for a couple rounds. I'm not the best at charades but I think I do pretty decent. However, there's a HUGE difference between cultures which came to light while playing. Rahul and I were a team, Sid and Shweta were a team. Rahul had to act out “Madagascar” as we were doing movies. He broke it up into three parts, “Mad” “Gas” and “Car”. Any time I would get something right, he apparently was motioning that I was right but I thought he was saying “keep going, it's along that lines”... He was hoping that if I understood “Gas” and “Car”, that it would make sense. Really, all I understood from him was “Car”. Sid and Shweta wanted him to act out “Mad” ...and it came time for him to do that since I had no idea where he was going. So he started jumping around like a crazy person then slapped me! HE SLAPPED ME! I was stunned. What the heck?! Sid kept telling him that the word he was acting out means something different to Americans. So I thought he was handicapped, retarded, mental, crazy. That's how he was acting. I wasn't getting it so he gave up. Then Sid said he would do it to show the difference.

First he did “Car” since I got that right. Secondly he did “Gas”. It clicked! Rahul was using two hands to put the gas-pump in the car and it looked (to me) as if he was trying to shovel dirt. Sid used one hand and I got it. Then he acted out “Mad”. Instead of being crazy, he was pretending to yell. It made sense. After a few seconds, I was able to put the three together “Madagascar!”

I laughed so hard when they started talking about the differences. Sid was trying to explain to Rahul that Americans don't really think of “mad” as “crazy”, more of “angry” and then then that we Americans use one hand to pump gas, not two. I think Rahul was frustrated that I wasn't understanding his charades but I had forewarned him that it wasn't going to end well. After our game, we ate dinner and went to bed. I was exhausted even though I had a couple hours nap. I laid down on my bed and passed out with the cooler over my arms.

Next morning we woke up, had breakfast, packed, and left to go to a waterfall. My arms were still hurting so I wasn't in any mood to trek. Apparently there was a waterfall not to far away that wouldn't require a lot of walking. When we got to it, it wasn't much of a waterfall and a bunch of guys had just landed to go swimming. We were going to scrap the idea and just head home but Shweta really wanted to go to a waterfall. So we stopped and asked a roadside stand group of people if there were any waterfalls nearby. There was the one we saw. One across the street up a VERY steep hill, about 25 minutes walk in pure sunlight, and one that was a 2 hour trek but an amazingly HUGE waterfall. However, it was full of nothing but foreigners apparently. So after some discussion, they decided to go into town and apparently some city on the way back to Delhi had a waterfall to stop at. A short while down the road, we spotted the Ganga and a road leading down to it. Perfect! We parked the car and walked down to the river. There was a spot that was near the rapids but was surrounded by rocks so it wasn't fast, more of a pool. I put on one of Sid's shirts to protect my arms from the sun and we spent a good hour or so playing in the water. Really Sid and Shweta played in the water. Sid wanted to go swimming but I pleaded that they don't because the current was too fast beyond a certain point and we didn't have life vests. Sid and Shweta made their way out of the water after a little bit of time to the sand bank and decided to cover each other's feet in sand. Rahul and I found some rocks to sit on, dip our feet in the water, and watch the rafters go by.

About an hour later we decided to head out. Back to Delhi. There was a diversion and it took us an extra 30km. We passed through some city where a teenage boy made some lewd expressions to Shweta as we were driving slowly through traffic. Sid got angry when she told him. Almost ran the car into the boy, got out of the car and almost beat him. After yelling at him, they (Sid and Rahul) got back into the car and we drove off. Apparently it was a very heavily populated Muslim town. Riots break out over stuff like that otherwise he would have punched the kid a few times. The kid was scared shitless until he realized his parents were nearby. If I could have, I would have punched him myself. It was my first encounter with guys being nasty perverts (eve teasing), and guys who stand up for the rights of their female friends and companions. Funny how a bunch of my friends had warned me that Delhi had bad eve-teasers and it wasn't safe and I should be careful. Delhi so far has not shown ANY of that, and I've been here for some time. I get a lot of stares when I'm out but I attribute to that to being a fat white chick.It wasn't until we got out a ways to a crapshoot of a town where all those warnings happened.

There was another diversion and we had to go through Meerut. Ugh! Meerut has a reputation of being a seedy town. People disappear and are never found. We locked the doors and tried to get through there as quickly has possible.

It took us about 12 hours to make the journey from the campsite to Delhi. Since Aunty and Uncle had the key to my apartment, they dropped me off first. Rahul and Sid both apologized like none other to Aunty when we arrived for being so late. I don't think she cared much. She just wanted to go back to sleep.

It was a fantastic trip. For $30/night, we slept in amazing tents, went white water rafting, had a campfire, ate decent home cooked food, and enjoyed the beauty of the Himalayan foothills. That's how much I spent for a night in a hotel in Noida when I first landed here, not including the food. Part of me wanted to stay up in the mountains for some time longer, but I know there's other adventures that are waiting, and I can't wait to enjoy them! There's talk of the four of us going to Agra next weekend as a weekend trip. I hope it actually works out this time.

A Quick Update

Agra fell through again. While I am bummed about not getting to see the Taj Mahal, part of me is okay with it. Temperatures reached 46C this weekend and that does not make for a pleasant trip to see one of the greatest monuments ever created. I'm convinced I need to come back in October/November when the weather is nice and enjoy the Taj and Diwali!

There is serious talk of going to the hills this weekend. Apparently Rahul, Sid, Shweta, another couple, and I are going as of current. You never completely know who will go when it comes to this bunch. I hope that the plans don't fall through. Of all the things I'd like to do right now, going to the hills so I can enjoy nice weather is on the top of that list! Not only that, Shweta's birthday is coming up. It's customary for the birthday boy or girl to “gift” to their friends. Opposite to how it is in the US so I think I'll find a gift for Shweta this week!

A few nights ago I had the pleasure of meeting one of Rahul's friends. Her name is Taposhri (Taps for short). The three of us went to Sanchos (a Mexican restaurant in CP) as I was hungering for some good Mexican food. The problem is, every cuisine undeniably has a twist per the region it's in. While Mexican is pretty authentic in the US, it's not the same in India. It's been Indian-ized. I had horchata which they simply called “Rice Water”. I was also teased slightly for drinking rice water. It was probably the closest thing on the menu to being authentic. Made with real rice too! ;) We spent a couple hours just chatting away, nibbling on nachos and chimichangas. Taps lives in England visiting to get a visa to Sweden to do research for her Ph.D. Unfortunately for her, she's trapped here right now due to the volcano mess. I felt like I connected with her views on life. I really enjoyed my night.

Side note: No matter where you are in the world, there is always someone who thinks/feels/views life the same way that you do. This is why I don't understand why there's war in the world.

Yesterday Rahul took me to Flavors, the “authentic” Italian restaurant in Defence Colony. It felt like a date, which was actually pretty nice. Rahul's car is being worked on so he took an auto to my place where we walked to Flavors which is a good 7 blocks away or so. Along the way we talked and admired the houses. When we got to Flavors, we browsed through the menu; I picked bruschetta, Rahul picked a cheese/mushroom pizza. The bruschetta was delicious but I didn't care for the taste of the mushrooms on the pizza. Rahul thought the opposite. After, we split a brownie/ice cream dessert which was yummy! Instead of walking back with full tummies, we took an auto back to my house where he dropped me off.

I've run out of shampoo. I've skipped a couple days of washing my hair and tried using my dry shampoo which didn't work so well. Today I actually used my body wash. While I believe it did an amazing job at cleaning my hair, and I didn't have to use conditioner, the thought of using body wash to clean hair is weird. So I walked to a convenience store a few blocks from my house to get shampoo. Stupid me THOUGHT I grabbed a shampoo. I didn't realize until I got home that it was conditioner. Shoot.

Oh the way back, I saw this man and woman walking hand-in-hand down the middle of the road. They were elderly. The man looked like his face was painted like a dog and was walking with a stick! I tried to do a double take quickly. They were peasants and I think they were asking me for money. Unfortunately for them, I don't speak Hindi so I don't know for sure. They could have put a curse on me. Who knows! That was definitely the craziest thing I've seen. If anyone in India can think of what was really going on there, I'd appreciate some insight!!!

I went to a mall with Rahul one night after he got off work. The only place that was open by the time we got there was a bookstore. I bought three books, 100 rupees each. I've already read 2 of them. I'm so glad I bought more than one. We told the bookstore guy that I wanted something humorous and he laid out “romantic” books. Apparently females here don't read anything BUT love stories. They are good though. It gives good insight into how messed up teenagers are here. The books are obviously influenced by Bollywood movies where American teenage books are influenced by Hollywood. If I had a choice, I'd rather my kid want the romance of Bollywood movies than American sexscapades.

I will have to find more books to read. It helps pass the time during the middle of the day when it's too hot to venture out or my skin would boil.

The lizard keeps coming in and out of my room through the crack in the bottom of the door. He hides under the bed and under the voltage regulator under my table. Oh...and behind my wardrobe and behind the tube light. The shock of having a lizard in my room has waned. It's actually kind of cute!!! As long as I don't wake up to it on the bed or find it in a shoe, I think I'll survive with wildlife finding it's way into my room. Bugs are in a different category. I hate bugs.

That was my “quick” update to what's been going on.

The Disgruntled Me

Ugh. I feel the need to vent. Several things are bothering me. While none are pressing issues, collaboratively, they suck! And I feel like listing again.

1) Why the heck are shirts so difficult to find that fit?! Seriously. I've tried finding shirts in the bazaars. They're all weirdly shaped. For 150-325 rupees, I kind of expect it. However, when I go to a department store at a mall, looking to spend 800-1300 rupees, I expect some common sizing.

Now get this: In a bazaar (outdoor market) I found a shirt that was a LARGE. It was just a little small in the chest so the stall owner said if I bought the shirt, he'd extend the size by 2 inches. Cool. So you figure it was now considered an XL, right? Yeah it fit up top but it didn't fit down below due to the high slits on the sides. I went to wear it and I ended up ripping one of the slits. Fudge.

Well I went to a big department store, tried on a couple different shirts. One was too tight in the chest, perfect everywhere else. The other was for obviously narrow shoulder females. I thought I was one...apparently not. Those shirts were by the same vendor and both XXL. What the heck?! All I want is variety. My 5 shirts are getting to me! I also want a long flow-y skirt too but until I find some shirts, I'm not going to even track down the skirt.

1b) To the female who wrote to "Time Out Delhi" (magazine) complaining how Western wear doesn't tailor their outfits to Indian curves: SUCK IT! I have curves and I'm not finding any Indian wear that doesn't need to be independently tailored to fit. I see plenty of chunky chicks here who have clothes that fit. Obviously they're buying cloth and having it hand stitched to fit by some Joe Blow tailor man down the street from their house. While it may be nice to get tailor made clothes, I don't want the hassle. I'd like to simply buy a shirt, have it fit, wear it, enjoy it, the end. That is why Western Wear is so awesome. That is why you want to wear it. You pissed me off to the point where I'm seriously considering sending in a rebuttal to the magazine.

2) The heat is starting to piss me off. I'm handling the 100F+ heat well all things considering. During the day I turn on my AC and all is well. When the sun starts to set I venture out and enjoy the reduced heat and non-glaring sun. Yet it's messing up my plans! Two weekends ago I was supposed to go to Agra. Those plans fell through because of a stupid petrol strike. Whatever! Stuff happens so I can't get mad at that. So, we decided to go this weekend. Then Rahul's car AC went out. Like out out. Not repairable out, has to be replaced for a huge sum out. So out went the plans to Agra (again). If it wasn't so hot, the AC issue wouldn't be an issue. The messed up part is, the Taj Mahal is on my "get it done and out of the way" goals. Seriously, you can't visit India and not see the Taj Mahal! I want to make my way up to the mountains to enjoy the cooler air but I feel guilty at that thought when I should be visiting the Taj.

2b) Then again, if it wasn't so frickin hot I could venture out during the day and not feel pissy about being out instead of in the AC room. I wouldn't have to worry about wiping the beads of sweat off my face/neck/etc. I know I picked the hottest time of the year to visit, but it's also an unusually hot summer. Mother Nature, could you ease up a bit for my sake? Please & Thank you.

2c) Guess this means I need to either stay longer to enjoy this place when it isn't so hot or come back later this year for Diwali and enjoy the "Indian winter"

;)

I feel better. Going shopping again today. Wish me luck! Hopefully I can find something that fits!

Food In America Vs. India

I've been here less than a month and judging by the way my pants fit, I've probably lost a good 10 pounds or so. Really I'm not eating less but I've started to realize some of the key differences between the two countries which might be contributing to my weight loss.

1)The Heat – While it's not particularly about the food per se, the heat in this country has a lot to do with the food combinations that go on in India. For example, onions apparently are good for you in the heat. You'll find onions in almost all of the food. Scary, I'm learning to eat them. Still can't consume onions by their lonesome but I can eat fresh onions mixed with other food. Not only that, the heat causes people to eat less and drink more. Water is everywhere. And although soft drinks are too, the variety is limited and the caloric value is actually less per serving than in the US. Go figure. People drink Coke for a special occasion, not 8 cans a day everyday (you know who you are).

2)Preservatives – Wow. I couldn't figure out why all packaged foods have expiration dates. ALL. Even dry soup packets, which would last an eternity in the US, have expiration dates. Then, I started looking at the ingredient list of the packages. Amazingly, I can pronounce every single ingredient in the package. No preservatives or weird chemical names. I'm willing to bet that the chemical makeup of the foods in the US is the reason why obesity is such a huge problem. I'm still eating. Since my Delhi Belly has corrected itself, I've been eating more. Yet, my pants are continually growing and my belt needs some new holes because it's getting too big.

3)Knowledge is Power – You won't find every other commercial on the TV some new drug promising to correct everything that's wrong with you at the expense of some new problem (side effects). At the same time, Diabetes is a problem in this country. And judging by the amount of road-side advertisements, sugar-free products, etc that this country has, it is either a very big problem, or this country is making sure that people are aware of the dangers of Diabetes. Not only that, it seems like India is going out of it's way to provide enough information so one doesn't have to rely on 10 different Diabetes drugs to live.

4)Dining Out – I'm not sure if it's because I'm trying to be health conscious or if the portions are really out of control, but one dish at a restaurant is about four servings. While I usually share orders with others or take 4 days to consume, I've also noticed others doing the same when out (i.e. sharing). I remember going to Goa Sizzlers (which is like a sizzler platter). For some reason, the four of us (Rahul, Sid, Shweta, and I) ordered our own platters while every other table only had one or two for the tables. We realized when the food came, that it was just way too much. We should have ordered two sizzlers for the four of us. Even then, there still would have been left-overs. What's even better, the only fast food in this country is KFC, McDonald's, and Subway. However, it's really not fast food. There's no drive-thru windows. You have to go in and order your food, sit down, and eat. Or order for delivery. I've yet to visit any of these establishments because we have them back home and I'd rather have good food. I guess I should try one some day just for more comparison. All restaurants I've visited use more fresh ingredients, less frozen reconstituted crap.

5)Fresh Foods – The chicken isn't force fed grain. The chicken eggs are amazing. Mutton, pork, sea food...they're all fresh(er) and less engineered. It's obvious when you taste the food. Produce is usually local too. It's like when you buy local fruits back home and bite into that crispy apple.

I really wish the US would take a cue from other countries and learn to rely less on the drug companies and more on the farming communities for food choices. I'm happy that there is a movement in the United States for co-op farming or farming markets but I wish that it was more main-stream and less expensive so those who have health concerns can enjoy eating right.

India Gate / Qutb Minar / Lotus Temple / SHOPPING!

As I sit here eating my DELICIOUS food from the Sagar Ratna Veg Restaurant in Defence Colony, I decided it'd be a good time to update my blog with a little sight-seeing activities. First off, let me tell you what I'm eating because I am in heaven right now. I have on my plate butter naan (bread), dal (lentils), and a lady finger (okra) dish which I don't know what it's called but it's heavenly.

Friday, Rahul and I spent the evening visiting the India Gate in the central part of Delhi. The place is a common pick nick area for Indian families and I was the only non-Indian, that I saw anyway, the whole evening. India Gate was created as a memorial for all the Indian soldiers who fought in WWI and the Afghan War. It's a grand memorial, with the names of fallen soldiers inscribed around the whole gate. I tried really hard to get a good photo of some names but my camera needed a tripod for the “night mode” and flash does not work at night in India. In the center of the India Gate lays the tomb of the unknown soldier; or in Hindi, “Amar Jawan Jyoti”. The flame at the tomb burns year round. Rahul said that the President of India comes every year to light the flame but Wikipedia does not mention that so I'm not sure which is correct.

Very near to the India Gate is an empty canopy. I asked Rahul what it was for as it looked to be 10 times as ancient as the gate, but he had no idea. Wikipedia says it used to house a statue of King George V, which is now housed somewhere else. Again, my pictures weren't so great but this was truly as amazing as the India Gate. There was a moat surrounding the canopy a beautiful garden surrounding the moat. We decided we'd come back again during the day some time to get better shots. My Lonely Planet guide book should have mentioned that place.

We visited the Qutb Minar and the Lotus Temple today. It was 41C (106F) today and all things considering, I survived the heat fairly well.

We set out for the Qutb Minar first. Spent about an hour/hour and a half there before I got so parched that my head was starting to hurt and we decided that it wasn't worth getting heat stroke. Honestly, this place is amazing! I thought the Qutb Minar was just a pillar...maybe surrounded by a garden, but it's housed around an ancient house or mosque (I'm not sure which one or if both). There are several tombs of rulers within this complex.

Firstly, I want to point out the price difference to get into this place. Rahul paid 10 Rupees ($.22USD). I paid 250 Rupees ($5.50USD). Rahul got mad over the huge difference but really, it's only $5.50 to visit the largest brick minaret in the world. Not only that, I can see why they charge that. No Indian would pay 250 to visit the Qutb Minar, but EVERY foreigner would. And they do.

The Qutb Minar stands at 72.5 meters (238 feet) tall and is slightly slanted to one side. I don't think it has to do with poor design like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Most minarets built near structures (the Taj Mahal is another example) lean out from the main building so that if there is an earthquake and the minaret falls, it won't ruin the building. The structure took three rulers and 193 to complete. If you look at the minaret, you can see where each ruler added to the piece and their distinctive styles. There was also plans to build another, bigger minaret within the Qutb complex, but it never surpassed 12 meters. This too slightly leans. The Qutb Minar Complex is the most visited Indian monument, surpassing the amount of visitors to the Taj Mahal every year.

This complex was amazing. Every piece of wall featured hand carved detailing. I feel sorry for those who had to do this kind of work, but it's stood for over a thousand years and will stand for some time longer; they've done an fantastic job! Even the Qutb Minar has hand carved writing featuring piece of the Qur'an. Yes, it is an Islamic piece of art, but minarets tend to be Muslim =) No one is 100% sure why this one was created but historians believe it was either a pillar of victory for the Islamic rulers of the area, a watch tower, or just a simple minaret to call prayer to the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque.

After we found paani (Hindi word for “water”), we set off for lunch at Ruby Tuesday. Yeahhhhh, I know. Not very Indian of me. Then, we visited the Lotus Temple, or Bahai House of Worship. We didn't get to the inside of the building. There was a huge line to get in, the heat was causing a severe headache, and I figured I could visit when most Indians were working (Tuesday – Friday, Monday the place is closed). I did get some good pictures of the outside. Even when I go back, pictures of the inside aren't allowed so it's not like you'll be missing out on much until then. The Bahai House of Worship is open to all religions due to the Bahai faith which has no religious denomination restrictions. However, some restrictions to this temple are that you can only chant/read scriptures, and sing only with a choir, not a band. There are no altars and no sermons can be performed from any Bahai House of Worship (not just the Lotus Temple).

Once we left the Lotus Temple, we set off to do some shopping for the week. I grew tired of listening to “You're shirt may be too revealing, can you pull it up?” Rahul took me to a shopping area that I had apparently been to before but didn't recognize. It's not far from my apartment, only a couple kilometers and across the highway. While trying to find a place to park, I spotted a store which said it sold Dupattas (Scarves). I said the word out loud because it sounded like it'd be fun to say. Du-pot-ahs. Rahul said they would most definitely have the scarves which I sought. He didn't see the store sign so I'm glad I decided to be foolish or we would have been all over the place trying to find a dupatta. We found a plain black dupatta for only 110 Rupees ($2.62USD). It needs to be stretched out a bit but it will be perfect for wearing over my shirts so I don't have to worry about offending anyone or making some Indian pervert horny. I wanted to get one or two more because of the price but Rahul told me to wait to see how well it holds up. If it's good, we'd come back and get more. Then we did some grocery shopping. The fruit/vegetable stand was a mere fraction of the cost of the Defence Colony market; same with the milk, toilet paper, and other foods. After market shopping, we ordered food from Sagar's to be delivered, bought some water, and came back to my place.

It was definitely a productive day / weekend. I enjoyed every bit of it.

Cleaning Clothes / Taking A Bath

I thought I'd take a break from my normal journal posts to write a bit about how the every day Indian washes their clothes and takes a bath. This may shock some, but I assure you, it's not as bad as it seems.

The Bucket and Mug



These two little items make up your bath tub/shower, washing machine, and in my situation, the cleaning bucket. They come in various sizes and colors, and most families would have more than one. I can't give an exact price because I don't have my receipt and I bought a lot of stuff that day; however, I believe I got the combo from the store for the inflated price of around 250 rupees ($5.95USD).

Taking A Bath

At first, these two little items made my heart sink. All I wanted was running water! While you will find that most homes also feature a shower head, you'll also find that they're calcified from the hard water and end up spraying everything down in the room. As you can see in my bathroom, there's no divider between the toilet, sink, and shower. Technically you could stand by the toilet and take a bath but I don't see how hygienic that would actually be. This bathroom may look dirty but I spent a good two hours or so scrubbing everything with all-purpose cleaner. Compared to the before, it's not so bad. Actually, it's the same with the toilet but that's getting off topic so I digress...

To take a bath, simply turn on the hot water heater (they call is a giser like an old geeser not giser as in Old Faithful), turn on the water and fill the bucket. Then you proceed to take a bath by using the mug to pour the water from the bucket wherever you feel necessary. I've grown quite fond of this method. Of course, it's always warm in India so I don't have to worry about stepping out of a hot shower to a cold room. It also saves on water. I believe this method first started due to water shortages but it's become the norm in this country. Every place I've stayed at so far has featured a bucket and mug, some more slimy than others.

Cleaning Clothes

I'm still not sure of this method and if I'm even doing it right. However, no one has questioned my methods so I'm going to assume it's being done correctly. Since not everyone can afford a washing machine OR has the place to put a washing machine, clothes are cleaned in buckets. I guess I could hire a maid to do my laundry for me but I can't see spending the money when I could do it myself while hiding from the 104F heat. Not only that, having a maid wash my “intimates” seems a little weird.

To wash clothes, simply fill up the bucket with water (I use warm to hot water, never cold since I don't have a dryer), add detergent, add clothes, and agitate with 10 lovely digits. I use the clothes to scrub together if there's a stain on something. So far, I've been pretty successful in getting out stains I've accumulated. Then I let them soak in the water for 20 or so minutes, scrub again, and then rinse with running water. After I've rinsed them, I wring out the extra water and set up on my clothes line to dry. Right now, my line is in my kitchen. I'd put it outside somewhere but the state is covering the water (i.e. sewer) line across the street and there's dust everywhere outside. Heck, it manages to find it's way inside too! The minute I would set my wet clothes outside to dry, everything would turn into dust magnets. No bueno.



So there you have it. The Indian way of cleaning one's self and their clothes.

One Goal Complete!

I learned Cricket! Today I went to a cricket match (IPL league Delhi vs Bangalore) and Delhi won. I've had people try to explain the game but it never made any sense. 10 minutes into sitting down at the game, it all clicked. Okay, maybe not all but pretty close to it.

The tickets said no cameras so I took pics/videos on my phone. Will update them tomorrow morning. One of the guys in front of us was so into the game, he was dancing around and carrying on. And then they started playing Punjabi music and the guys in the crowd would literally stand up and stand on their seats, fingers pointed in the air, and their shoulders would start twitching in time to the beat. It was AWESOME until the top balcony would start throwing paper over the balcony and hitting people. When Rahul and I got to the stadium, the area was relatively clean. After, it was the biggest shit-hole of a mess. Imagine a football game afterward and all the garbage everywhere, and multiply it by about 100; that was this stadium.

We had to park so far away from the stadium and I wore the wrong flip-flops and now I have a blister on each foot. I guess that means I gotta take it easy tomorrow :( I was looking forward to walking to the market and picking up some food and maybe another bunch of flowers for my room.

Oh, and when Rahul dropped me off, I swear I heard a monkey up in the tree! I saw a bat fly over head but as I walked up to the gate, I heard what sounded like a monkey! I stopped, looked up at the trees, but there was nothing there and the trees weren't moving. Maybe it was the bat? So I closed the gate and started to walk to my room, and I heard the sound again! So I stopped and was 85% sure it was a monkey, then realized that I was all alone and I had nothing to protect me if a monkey decided to come down from the tree and "play"...and then I walked VERY quickly to my room, locked the door and then called Rahul to see if monkeys did hang out in Delhi. Sure enough, they do in the residential areas but it's not very common.

To recap, I've had an "encounter" with an elephant and now a monkey (which I couldn't actually see).

Welcome to India

April 3, 2010

I finally have experienced Delhi Belly. NOT fun. Not at all. It kind of put a hold on everything for a few days while my stomach settled down. Then, I finally found an apartment!

We were going to finalize one of the apartments in Kalkaji, the one in GK, or the one in Noida that Rahul had found. The realtor told us the apartments we wanted in Kalkaji were already rented out, but he'd be happy to show us some new apartments. We declined. No one was happy with the GK apartment (except for me) so then we tried for the Noida apartment.

Rahul and Sid picked up Shweta and me, and all of my luggage, and drove all the way from Gurgaon to Noida to finalize the apartment and move in. However, the landlord was a brave asshole and the realtor was just an even bigger dick. The landlord refused to speak in English so I couldn't understand what was being said. And then there was a lot of talk and discussion that I could tell wasn't going too well between the landlord, the realtor, Sid, and Rahul. It turns out, the landlord wanted a security deposit which the realtor had told Rahul earlier that day that it wouldn't be necessary. Then the realtor tried to argue that he didn't know about it and kept laughing the whole time. Oh and even better, the landlord told Rahul he wasn't allowed to spend the night.

First of all, who the heck said he would be spending the night?! Secondly, you gotta have some major balls to make that assumption out loud. Thirdly, it irritated me that he couldn't say that in English...it was like he didn't trust me and I had no say in any matter regarding where I would stay. The whole situation pissed me off and I had NO desire to pay a realtor any kind of commission when they lie. That's just stupid. The boys kept trying to argue and I had to literally stand in between them and the realtor and tell them it's not going to happen and to just get in the car. I was all set to let the realtor find his own way home too because he was an ass. However, they took him back to where we picked him up from.

Then there was the problem of me checking out of the PG and not having a place to stay. Rahul and Sid decided I would stay with Rahul and his family! EEK!!!! I was definitely not ready to meet them yet. However, Rahul's parents are the Indian version of my parents so it was pretty easy to connect with them. Rahul's dad came into the room where I had been sleeping (kind of like a drawing room with a bed/couch/thing) and started talking to me about everything under the sun for about an hour in the morning. It felt like my many “conversations” where I don't give my dad a chance to speak.

My stomach was still upset from the Delhi Belly so Rahul's mom made me food which was supposed to help the stomach feel better. Then she went to the market to get stuff for lunch and came back with a lemon/lime soda drink called Limca. It's very similar to 7 Up but better. What's funny...while she was gone, I was telling Rahul that I wanted 7 Up because it always makes my stomach feel better if I'm not feeling well. He wanted to call her but I said,”No, we'd get it later”; I didn't want to put them out. She came back and said Limca makes your stomach feel better when it's ill =)

I helped her as much as I could while preparing lunch. Mainly it was just setting stuff on the table but I appreciated the fact that she let me help. For breakfast, she wouldn't let me help at all. After lunch was done, Rahul's brother came downstairs. The only person I didn't meet while spending the day was the aunt who was out of town visiting other family. I loved spending time with a family. I didn't feel like a traveler that day, just another person in the family.



So my room is in the Defense Colony area of Delhi. The apartment is attached to a house. A retired Colonel of the Indian Army and his wife own the whole home. Their son/daughter (not sure which is their kid and which is married into the family) live upstairs. Their grand daughter is a news anchor and apparently moving to Mumbai to start her job. They were so sweet and the house was immaculate. My apartment needed some heavy duty cleaner and elbow grease but it's a lot better than A LOT of the apartments we've seen. The only ones which were better were the brand new places.

I made a list of the things I needed to get and today and Rahul came to pick me up. We spent the day in the market buying stuff for my new apartment, ate dinner, and then came back to the apartment to clean. It was fun! I put on some Bryan Adams and we scrubbed the bathroom and kitchen down really well.

While at the market, I also bought some flowers for my room. I love them! It makes my house a home. Okay, well maybe not that much but it makes it feel more like mine.

Rahul said next weekend he is free and asked me if I wanted to visit the Taj Mahal or go white water rafting. I want to do both. Now I have to decide what I want to do first. Decisions! Decisions!!


Before I forget...I have to tell you the most amazing thing I've seen to date!

Friday, the 2nd, while on our way to visit the apartment I now am staying at, we were driving on Ring Road (which is like a highway) and on the road was AN ELEPHANT! Walking along the highway, was an elephant with a guy laying on top of it. The conversation between Rahul and I that took place when I saw it went something like this:

“OH MY GOD THERE'S AN ELEPHANT!”

“Yeah, there's elephants.”

“NOOOOO! There's an elephant! Walking down the highway! Oh my God! I WANT TO RIDE AN ELEPHANT!” (I think I grabbed his arm at that point and started shaking him, I was too excited)

“You will don't worry. And you'll see that a lot”

“I've been here a week and we've been all over the place and THIS is the first elephant I've seen! I want to ride an elephant!”

“You will! And it's common.”

“How common could it be to see an elephant walking down the highway in one of the biggest cities in the world?!”

“Ring Road isn't a highway.”

“It's the equivalent to a highway in the US.”

“Okay.”

“My point is: this isn't common!”

“Okay”

(I started shaking him again) “It's sooooooo awesome! I can't wait to ride an elephant!”

He laughed. I started beating myself up for putting my camera in my suitcase in the trunk of the car. Then about a kilometer down the road, there was ANOTHER elephant!

Wow!

I love this place!!!

March 30, 2010

Well, Rahul's job took longer than expected and he learned that he would have to visit Moradabad today. I don't know where that's at. Last night we went out trying to find WiFi and dinner. By the time Rahul and Sid had reached the PG, it was 10pm and the only place that was open that had WiFi was Cafe Coffee Day. Unfortunately, their WiFi was not working either. So we went to a food court and had paranthas for dinner. I had one with potatoes in in. It was salty! I went through a coke, sweet lassi, and half a liter of water trying to choke down the first of four pieces of my paranthas. Rahul tried it then made Sid and Shweta try it and they all agreed it was unusually salty and demanded a new order. It was much better but I was so full from the lassi and water that we boxed it up to go.

All three have been giving me a hard time because I haven't been eating much and drinking loads of water. I'm not used to the heat and all I want is a cool liter of water and nothing heavy to eat. I had explained that several times but Shweta is determined to make me eat a lot. She eats a lot and weighs no more than a toothpick...lucky her! I don't have that metabolism and food makes me feel sick if I'm out in the heat.

Today Sid has Rahul's car so we could house hunt. Rahul had arranged several meetings with realtors in South Delhi and Noida. He was really upset that he couldn't come with us. I told him it would be okay but he said “No, I really want to be there.”

He's so concerned about me getting ripped off or scammed that he keeps forgetting that I have two (now seasoned) pros with me. He even is concerned about things which I wouldn't think were a big deal. For example, last night while out to dinner, I called up Dad to let him know where I'm at and what I'm doing. I had to step outside because the food court was too noisy. Rahul came out and told me to stand where I could be seen. I asked why and he said, “So I know you're alright.” This guy worries more about my safety than Mom. He said it's because he wants me to enjoy my trip and the best way to do that is to prevent anything from happening. So Mom, you don't need to worry; Rahul is doing enough for the both of you! If we're walking out in public and there are a lot of guys, he will grab me and pull me away from them or walk in front of me. I feel like I have a body guard and I know he means well.

This new PG is super nice. Uncle speaks English but sometimes I don't think he understands me. This morning he came into the room and said “Good Morning.”

So I said, “Hello.”

He repeated, “Good Morning” which I thought was just him repeating himself and that would be it. But then he shouted, “GOOD MORNING”

I replied, “Good Morning” and then he asked about sugar for my chai for breakfast.

They had made me parathas which were MUCH better than the ones from last night. Shweta said Aunty makes everything and she doesn't make it too spicy so it's always delicious.

I've uploaded pics of the PG. If it wasn't so far away from everything in Delhi, I'd want to stay here. It's reasonably priced and Aunty and Uncle are sweet.

Today was the first time I went to CP. Shweta and I took a taxi to Le Meridien Hotel to meet Sid who lives in the area and had to visit a temple today. Today was Hindu god, Hanuman's birthday.

We passed by a lot of embassies and the government agencies. All these buildings were so elaborate and beautiful, especially the Pakistan Embassy. Sorry India, but the purple domes were amazingly beautiful! We came back later after house hunting to meet Rahul and to eat dinner. These people eat way too much!!!

I found two apartments which I like. They're the same price but in two different settings. The house in GK is in a quite, clean, and peaceful neighborhood and the other which we saw today was right off a main road which housed almost every shop I could think of. Rahul had arranged to see the house today but the realtor lied to us and told us he needed one month has commission, not the original 15 days. He said two months would be okay but now it's not.

CP isn't at all what I expected. Even though its so much different, I'm really falling in love with this place. Its nothing like what I imagined but it's so wonderful.

March 29, 2010

Still trying to locate an apartment. I found one in GK which was small but quaint. The problem is, the four of us are having a hard time agreeing. So when I found this one, Rahul said it was too expensive, Shweta said it was too small, and Sid wasn't there but he seems to think we could do better cuz of what he heard from the other two.

In the meantime, I've checked out of the hotel and am going to stay in a PG in Gurgaon with Shweta. Actually, last night I stayed in the vacant PG right next to the one Shweta is staying at. It was a dump. The water didn't work and there was literally poo in the toilet which smelled something fierce and I couldn't flush the toilet. It was the first time since being here that I felt home sick.

Shweta stopped by this morning and told me to come to her PG, she talked to her “aunty” and they got “uncle” to approve me staying until the 1st. This PG is much nicer, cleaner, and the Aunty (although she doesn't speak English) seems very nice.

Tonight I'm going to house hunt with Rahul some more when he gets off work. Right now is the end of fiscal year so his job is pretty demanding but he's taking the time to get an apartment asap for me so I'm not wasting my money...and to spend time with me so I'm not stuck in Gurgaon all the time. Really, Gurgaon is nice if you have a car. Everything is spread out and there's tons of things to see and do and HUGE malls. But rickshaws are hard to come by and the metro isn't finished yet.

Shweta and I have gotten the chance to spend some one on one time together which is nice. I knew of her before coming to India through Rahul and Sid but had never had the chance to interact with her until now. She's a lot like me and thinks in the same way. However, she speaks a million miles per hour. Scratch that, kilometers, and in a hushed tone so I have a hard time understanding her sometimes.

In the evening we went to the local market. She made me try this dish which apparently every Indian loves. It was quite disgusting! Then she made me try a sweeter version. Although it was better, it still wasn't that great. Then we had chai from a chai-walla. She told me Rahul has been sheltering me too much and I need to “experience the real India.” After we were done in the market, we took a rickshaw back to the PG. It felt like a sllllooooowwww roller coaster and it was fun. But I saw a guy tip over in one a few days back so I was nervous. Shweta said to just hold on to the rail and it would be okay.

She and her roommates spent time trying to teach me words in Hindi. They kept arguing over what was important for me to learn. This is why I'd rather take a class =)

March 28, 2010

So today I checked out from the hotel, then Rahul and I picked up Sid who is staying at a hotel called Svelt (try getting an Indian to pronounce it right hahaha) then we went to pick up Shweta. On the way from Svelt to Gurgaon, we passed the Qutb Minar. It was amazing to see a huge thousand year old statue in testament to the Islamic empire which ruled this part of the world for a period of time, still standing in decent condition. I will have to visit this place once I get my apartment situation settled. Attempted to lock down an apartment for the duration of my stay. It's proving to be more difficult than it would seem. Of course, having three extra people inputting their different opinions and trying to negotiate on your behalf has added more than it's fair share of frustration. We found that there are “To-Let” signs everywhere in every neighborhood. Just call the number and you'll get the agent who is listing the house and they'll let you see the place. In the end, I found a quite and quaint 1 room furnished studio apartment in the heart of Delhi. It was a little high but the landlord went out of his way to speak in English so I could understand the conversation. None of the other landlords or real estate agents had even attempted so the extra price felt like it'd be worth it to have someone who I could seek advice from if I needed help on anything. Regardless of how well I liked the room, it wouldn't be available until the 1st. So that left me with a problem: where do I stay until the 1st?

Shweta had suggested staying with her in the PG in Gurgaon, called her 'aunty' and got permission for me to spend a few days. Now a PG (Paid Guest) is a lot like a hostel. There's a main communal room and big rooms with tons of beds. These houses usually are girls only or boys only and this PG is no exception. When we finally got to the room I was speechless. I had overheard them talk about this place. There are 10 or so girls staying in this place and each is paying around 6500 rupees a month. That's a huge chunk of change. Yet, it's an absolute shit hole! I was told to stay in the downstairs room since the place where I'd be staying upstairs wasn't ready yet. There are a million mosquitoes in the room. The walls are falling apart from bad plumbing. Rahul, Shweta, and Sid all helped me to my room and the guys were suggesting I spray myself down really well with my mosquito repellent and sleep with long sleeves/pants and keep the fans going. The problem is, I've been here less than an hour and even with the repellent, I've got bites all over my arms, legs, and face. The best part is, the bathroom has no water, the toilet doesn't work and there's literally shit in it which smells absolutely awful! I do not think I'd be staying here until the 1st. I'd rather spend more living in a hotel room which at least has a useable toilet. The hotel in which I was staying wasn't a Comfort Inn by any means...heck it didn't even have a shower curtain, but it was in better condition.

I was doing spectacularly well at adjusting to this place and all of it's pitfalls but I refuse to stay in a crap house like this. Rahul picked up on my uneasiness and asked if I'd prefer renting a hotel room tonight but I told him that it would only anger Shweta. Rahul told me to call him if there were any problems so here I'm stuck.

This crappy place (PG, not India) is also making me feel homesick for my bed and bathroom and cable internet. It's funny too because earlier we were wandering through a market trying to find myself a tunic-style shirt so I could fit in better with the surroundings and I absolutely loved it! I was thinking to myself, “Besides the fact that there's garbage everywhere and it is dusty right now, I love Delhi. I don't understand why people hate this place so much.” I definitely don't hate it because of my temporary situation, but it's making it hard for me to want to stay longer. Not that I would but it was starting to feel like home if I had a home to call my own even if temporary.

I've pulled out my camera and started clicking away! These pictures are of the market area in Noida. I didn't like it too much just because it looked poor and I heard that Noida was actually supposed to be posh. Just because it had a few super-sized malls, does NOT make it posh. Actually, some of the houses I looked at in Gurgaon were in nicer areas although we decided it would make no sense to stay in Gurgaon as it's too far away from Delhi and the metro from D to G isn't completed yet. Gurgaon also comes complete with your side-show, garbage eating moo-moos.

Sid is convinced I shouldn't rent the apartment in GK because it's too small and not everyone can get together there. I'm not sure when my new apartment would become the center of their lives...but Rahul brought up a good point about the price. It would be 12k/mo*2 + 6k real estate commission + security (which would be refunded in the end). I asked Rahul to contact the real estate agent tomorrow and offer to give him the 6k commission in exchange for working a lower price since the place is on the smaller side. We'll see what happens. So then, in the mean time, our center of attention in finding apartments came back to Noida and Delhi while the one in the GK district was definitely the pick of the litter. South Delhi like the Defense Colony has nice areas too. But, no matter how nice, there's always garbage. I watch people just toss stuff out their car windows like the Earth is their public dumping ground.

In all the driving around, I finally realized why there are tons of bricks laying all over the side of the road. I was told that they were cheap to make but the dirt is the same color as red bricks...duhhh. It's not cheap labor but it's cheap material. Just start digging in your land and you got the stuff for bricks. I also have come to understand why this country has been able to soften the blow of the world recession. Everything in this country is "out-sourced" to someone else in this country. In the US, you do your own laundry, cleaning, cooking, wall painting, etc. In India, you hire someone else to do it. Because the culture is as such, the hired labor isn't as expensive as it could be. They rely on their own country to get what they need done. If only the US would adopt the same approach, it wouldn't be in the mess it's in.