Into The Wild

Day 222/223- Delhi, India.WOW.

Long before we boarded the flight I was beginning to question my decision to bring Mike to a country that he had very little interest in. In brief, the feedback we'd received on India was; The stench overpowers your nostrils as soon as you exit the plane, personal space does not exist, people will shove past and through you constantly, the food is just as likely to poison you as it is to nourish you, the noise is unbearable and as a woman, I should expect to feel unsafe. I should also note that these expectations were always paired with positives but the negatives are what stood out, especially when I had Mike on the mind. Lastly, almost every person we quizzed on India said that we would be itching  to leave the country and yet dying to return. This was a very interesting idea and needless to say, India had our full attention when the wheels of our 757 jet touched down in New Delhi.  

We arrived late in the evening on day 222 with hesitation and excitement in our minds. The doors on the plane opened and no smell overwhelmed my nostrils. We arranged a prepaid taxi and set off to our hotel. The drive was no joke and we counted 5 legitimate near accidents in the 1 hour it took us to arrive. Below is what we looked like as we faked smiles through fearful gritted teeth. 

As we got to our room we were still becoming acquainted with our surroundings and we were relieved to have what seemed like a safe and clean environment to call home. However, just as we were snuggling into bed, the sound of a gun shot cracked right outside our window! Mike and I looked at eachother with pure fear in our guts. While I hid behind the curtain, Mike poked one of his eyes out to see if he could get some information. BOOM, a shattering blast and bright light shot right in Mike's face sending him falling backwards in surprise. The boom was quickly proceeded by the sound of music and singing. We realized soon after, that a wedding procession was passing directly in front of our window with a horse, firecrackers, lanterns, firecrackers, speakers and all. Did I mention firecrackers? They had firecrackers. Not only was the faith in our home restored but we laughed pretty hard at the situation. Welcome to India. We learned two things that first night in India. There are no noise curfews and Indians don't truly enjoy music unless it is loud enough to cause permanent damage to your eardrums.

                           

We woke up in the morning feeling refreshed and ready to go into the wild. We took two deep breaths, then stepped out into the busy streets of Main Bazaar road. 

We walked around for some time before stopping in at a shop for some chai. We looked at eachother and I waited for Mike to speak. Turns out he was thinking the same thing I was...'this isn't so bad'. I was instantly relieved. Not only was it not so bad but it was quite familiar. It was very much like a lot of the other big cities we've experienced like Jakarta, Bangkok, Hanoi and Manila. Was it crazy busy? Yes but not overwhelming. We could move and we weren't being shoved out of the way any more than any other overpopulated city. I mean it takes one second on google to find out that Delhi has a population of 18.7 million but it sure didn't feel as bad as people made it out to be. Below is two genuine smiles from some slightly jet legged travellers. 

We stopped in at a spot called Drunkyard Cafe for a taste of our first Indian food. Below, what you see is Channa Masala (chickpea spice dish), Paneer Butter Masala (indian cheese, butter and spice dish) and Butter Naan. Oh boy... are we in trouble if this is our diet to be. It was perfection and exactly how I hoped Indian food would taste. 

I had a cold and wasn't feeling well so we headed back to the hotel, watched some tv and went to bed. 

Day 224- I was still sick so my nights were difficult but we were looking forward to some more Delhi action.  We went wakling around the main bazaar and Connaught place. The sights we saw along the way never got old... like the cows, the holy, delicious, friendly cows. Did I say delicious? Well that would have to wait as Mike and I committed to eat vegetarian on this leg of the trip, in an attempt to avoid the dreaded Indian food poisoning. 

According to Hinduism, which is one of the most practiced religions in India, cows are considered a symbol of life, as they consistently provide milk, therefore it is illegal to kill cows in the country. Sometimes cows are owned by people but they often roam free in the streets and are fed and cared for by the whole community. Also, sometimes they are not cared for... and if they cannot find food then they do not eat and that is never easy to see. 

We went to the park at the center of Connaught place and sat amongst the many Indian couples. As most of my friends and family know, I am obsessed with the book Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. In the book he speaks about love in India like it is the most magical emotion in the world. At this park we saw the love that he describes so beautifully. Couples sat in the rare piece of grass all around us hand in hand, smilling and laughing together. I've never been anywhere, where I've seen so much love around me. Gregory said it perfectly in his book, "although love wasn't created here, it was perfected in India". 

We let the romance rub off on us a bit before going back to the main bazaar to get some food. We returned to the Drunkyard Cafe for some Masala Chai and a sweet view of the craziness in front of us. 

                             

After 'too many chai', we headed back to the hotel for me to rest some more. The combination of my cold and the heat was draining my energy and I wanted to be healthy for the start of our guided 20 day tour we had booked with an Alberta based company, Breathe in Life. 

Day 225- This day was pretty much the same as the days prior. We explored the city and bought some new items to add to our dwindling clothing repertoire. Below you see the kind men in red and light purple getting mobbed by a crowd as they attempt to give out FREE soda. Bad idea guys. It got crazy and grabby and pushy and a little scary. 

After the above spectacle we sat down and enjoyed our free cokes... Juuuuust joking. We didn't get in on the free soda bonanza but we did go and indulge in four or more chai's and some delicious Thali (a complete meal served on a single plate that includes a mixture of rice, dal (lentil dish), curries, curd and chapatis) at a hole in a wall joint called Madan Cafe. 

Our group and trustee guides arrived that evening. We met the beautiful couple Chris and Melissa on that first night at the roof top restaurant and they set the tone for what I expected to be an epic 20 day  adventure. Although I had briefly met Melissa before, it was only a quick intro and by no means did we know each other well. So this meeting felt like the first time and if first impressions mean anything, this one meant we were under the guidance of two truly genuine, caring and knowledgable people. 

Day 225- We met up with the group in the morning and formally got introduced to our new friends and family for the next 20 days. We wasted no time jumping into the madness of the city and boarded the metro to take us to the Lotus Temple. Mmmmmm the sweet hot smell of a thousand other sweaty humans. I'm glad I wasn't the only one. 

                      

The Lotus Temple is a Bahai house of worship. The Bahai faith supports the beliefs and religions of all people, which allows a person from any faith to worship their God in the temple... any God. 

When entering the temple, visitors are asked to stay completely silent. It was a nice moment to leave the chaos of the city and enter a peaceful environment, for a little mental reset.

We returned back to the hotel, ate one last meal at Madan and set off to the train station to catch the sleeper train to Pushkar. As our taxi's pulled up to the train station, there was a high level of intensity in the air. A large group of people stood in a crowd, shouting and the mood around us was one of frustration and anger. We quickly learnt that our train had been cancelled but we were all still unaware of the reason (hard to get answers in India some times). We returned back to the hotel while an alternative mode of transport was arranged. We were told that the roads were blocked and our transition to Pushkar would have to wait until further notice. Mike and I got on the internet and started searching the current news for Delhi. We discovered that the city was undergoing huge protests against the current government for unkept promises of employment for the lower class. The people were fed up and started protesting to induce change from their current situations. It was quite a big deal and the protesters meant business. They set 8 train stations on fire, they began dissembling the train tracks in certain areas, they sabotaged the water supply to Delhi, which meant closing down many schools and businesses, they blocked major roads and ten poor souls died. Based on current events it didn't seem like we were going anywhere. 

In the mean time we enjoyed our welcome dinner with the group. Our trustee guides ended up arranging a bus to take us to Pushkar throughout the night with hopes that protesters would not continue through the night and if at any point things got out of hand, we were going to change gears, along with directions, and head straight to Rishikesh. We were a bit skeptical at the time but we were also anxious to get out of Delhi. 

Next Stop, Pushkar....we hope.