Delhi was absolutely incredible. I have been a lot of
places, and each one has been cool in its own way, but there was something a
little more in Delhi. Obviously I was not there long enough to really bond with
locals or serve the people, but strictly from a tourist standpoint, I can
honestly say Delhi was the most fascinating place I’ve been. The flight was short but necessary, but we landed early in the morning so we were able to pack a ton of stuff
into the first day. (PS-I am waiting for my hard drive to get here (it is
coming with the next group of volunteers) so I have not been able to load
basically any of my Delhi photos. Feeling bummed but grateful for the friends who shared pics with me. Ill return the favor as soon as I can.
First stop was to get food—and we went to McDonalds! Unless
it is breakfast, McDonalds is not a place I regularly eat at home anyway-but
there was something about the familiarity of McDonalds that made us so happy. Benson
(our tour guide who was MAGNIFICANT—he owns Abish Travels, I highly recommend
him and his company) kept laughing at our reaction to it. It was pretty funny though. It’s not
even like the menu is the same because honestly it is all chicken or vegetarian options, but still. It was awesome. Awesome
enough that I felt the need to take a picture of my meal-which was about as
unsatisfying as McDonalds at home-but it made me so awesomely happy. Maybe I’ve just been
in isolated rural southern India for too long. But speaking of food, I have
heard rumors of Dr. Pepper AND Bacon being available here. That is one rumor I
really want to be true. Like really bad.
After McDonalds we went to see what was basically the
Washington DC of India. We drove past the Delhi Gate and continued up the hill
to were all the different parliament and government sector buildings were
located. There were a ton of guards, who really didn’t like having their
pictures taken-oops—and tons of monkeys, because, well it’s India. The
buildings were huge and spacious and a deep gorgeous red color and then you
would see the outline of a monkey running across the top of it. There weather
was hazy/rainy which only added to the heat comfort level as well as made for
some cool pics. Benson said that a little while back the government hired
someone to dress in an ape outfit and scare all the monkeys away from the
government buildings. It worked for a time, but they have gradually worked
their way back.
The White House of India
After visiting “Capital Hill” we went to the Gandhi Memorial
Museum. It is hard for me to find the words to describe the museum-powerful and
fascinating are the two that encompass it the best I think. For as much as I
admire Gandhi, I’m ashamed to say I am still pretty uneducated about him in
general. Well this museum helped that out in a zillion different ways. There is
still much to learn though so there are a few Gandhi books on campus that I’ll
defiantly be reading when I get back. Aside from the educational aspect, the
museum had really cool Gandhi paraphernalia, such as the walking stick he used
while on his Salt March, his dentures, a toothpick he used to pick at his mouth
with, the model of his jaws with two of his actual lower incisors placed in it
(of course I would be drawn to his oral health memorabilia), one of the bullets
they took out of him, and the bloodstained sheets he was laid on immediately
following his assassination. After the museum we went to the Gandhi Memorial
Garden, which is a shrine built over the place his body was cremated. It was
very sacred, and even if you didn’t feel it you had to respect the sacredness
the people of India hold for this place. You have to take your shoes off to
even walk on the path that leads you into the garden. I was wearing my flip
flops—which when combined with the wet stone we were walking on equaled death
trap. I literally had to hold Alex’s hand to keep my stable. It’s okay to do
that in India though—just as long as it is with the same sex or a child.
Then we started our drive. The tour is called the Golden
Triangle Tour-meaning you hit three different important cities that define and
encompass what most people think of as India. The first leg of our trip was to
Agra. For a few hours I honestly forgot that I was in India. We took a private
road down—meaning we were literally the only people on the road besides an
occasional passerby. But only like a few different cars. For reals, I was
shocked. The scenery was pristine as well. There were not a bunch of people
walking around, it was just little grass hut villages tucked among rice farms
as far as the eye could see. I never expected to see such tranquility while in
India.
Once in Agra-we checked into our hotel (Radisson Blu Agra
Taj East Gate) which was SO nice. After seeing our hotel we declared ourselves
Delhi Princesses. The bed was so soft-and there was even a stand up shower with warm water AND
a western toilet! We got the royal treatment for sure. After dropping our bags off we changed and went out
for dinner, but Benson surprised us with one little stop before dinner. Rachel
has mentioned that she really wanted to go to an Indian music shop so Benson
simply made it happen. I’m telling you, Benson rocks! We got a private
traditional sitar and drum show as well as sitar lessons afterword. It was really neat. The sitar strings hurt your fingers though—well they did mine at least.
There was jewelry on our way out of the store-we looked some but the only thing
it really did was make me miss being able to go to the Gem Fair. Oh and I also
found out that one of the rings I already have is a specific kind of five
pointed star ruby that can only be found in India. That was pretty sweet. I
just got it because I thought it was cool, so it was a nice little surprise to
find out I already own an India specific ring and got it for much cheaper then
what these guys were asking for. Dinner was full of garlic naan and more Bombay
house tasting Indian food. I was in heaven. And good news, I do still remember
how to use actual utensils! Gold star for me!
