The flight over proved to be full of surprises. After days of moving house and scrambling to get everything done – including a very literal last minute dash to Europe bound to grab some power adapters and stuff sacks, which by the way don’t work in India (Bumboclots)- we arrived at the airport to find out that the flight was postponed by 2.5 hours. Four months of travel and adventure I can’t wait, but the pressure cooker cap was released and all of the running around and counting of the minutes was finally over. Ppppssssshhhhhhhhhhh. We board after an incredible feeling of joy and calmness overcomes me.
After 13 months of flying every week, I was just expecting not be fed enough food. Boy was I wrong. We had three meals between Toronto and Zurich, then another three meals from Zurich to Delhi. We were getting prepped for the India experience as the majority of the plane consisted of Indian’s for the second leg. The food was also a great prep
The first hours in Delhi proved to be quite stressful as we had to fight and negotiate for everything. The rickshaw driver from the airport wanted to take us to a hotel that he knew – yeah he knew he would get a commission! But even before that the price went up from the prepaid voucher that we had purchased, arg, it was going to a long night indeed. After over an hour of searching for the mystery hotel in the back alleys of Delhi, we finally struck gold. And to boot they had an extra room for the Swiss friend whom we had made while waiting for our luggage, sweet. After the long journey and the stress of getting to the hotel we realized holly cow, we’re in INDIA!!!
On our second day we made the move to the Tibetan colony – Majnu-ka-Tilla - that is in Delhi. One where the constant hustle and bustle of Delhi is left outside the walls. There is a calmness and sense of security within the colony. Not to mention great Tibetan food!!! Tibetans have this billiards like game that is played on small tables and they use their fingers as opposed to a pool cue. But the most amazing sight was the monks walking around in their orange robes. But something seemed a little different. Some of them had cell phones, something that doesn’t really fit in with the image, right? Well the one that took the cake was the monk with his iPod! Oh yeah all generalizations flew out the window at that point – ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE IN INDIA!!!!
In Delhi we went in search of the train station and found it easy enough, but as we were a mere steps from the entrance, we were intercepted by a would be ‘helper.’ He said that we were about to enter the ticketed area, and that we needed to go to another building that was down the street. We were handed off to another person and reassured that the tickets are now taken care of in another location…. Long behold we are corralled into a rickshaw and taken to the ticketing building – we felt like something was a little fishy at this point but decided to go along for the ride… Surely enough wee were being taken to a travel agent, not the central ticketing for the train station. But once inside and after a few failed attempts of selling us higher priced bus or taxi tickets he ended up being a cool guy.
The initial impact of Delhi, was not as bad as I had imagined, or was told to expect. But that might be because of the other places that I have traveled to. What is overwhelming though is the amount of motorbike and rickshaw traffic. Considering that most of these vehicles are 2 stroke, there is a phenomenal amount of blue smoke everywhere. The garbage is another thing that really stands out. But this stems from a culture where they were used to throwing used items on the streets like chai cups and plates. In the past the chai cups were made of clay and the plates were made out of pressed banana leaf. So a cow would come along trample the chai cup into the road, eat any left over food and the banana leaf plate, take a poop and then the poop was collected and dried and used as fuel to heat! What a perfect system, but then plastic came along and buggered it all up. Now there are cups all over the place and the cows are getting sick because they are eating plastic. On the pollution note, though, it is funny to see how some of the cars here proudly display the engine badge of a “V2.” I can’t see that going very far in North America!
After our two days in Delhi we were off to Rajasthan.
In the Lonely Planet they describe India as “a million different experiences, all at once.” That has got to be the most accurate way to describe this incredible place. Having traveled to a few places, I must say that the most impactful thing has to be the poverty. Comparing to the slums of Venezuela or Brasil, or the villages in China or Cambodia, India throws a more desperate spin on the situation. Not letting you forget for a single moment that there is suffering and people who really have only the shirt on their backs. Arriving to Mumbai at 5 in the morning after an overnight bus ride, we could see how thousands of people start their days in the endless towns that are right beside the highways. Tin houses with no running water and make shift electricity, and heaps upon heaps of garbage overflowing onto the streets. Again, I think that this is India’s draw for the traveler, as it makes you question.
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