Post #74 - December 24, 2012 - Jaipur, India

What we did: post office, shopped at Bapu Bajaar, watched The Hobbit
Budget: 3640 Rupees/$70; Spent: 8965R/$179.30

Today began earlier than usual for us because we had the driver from yesterday coming to pick us up this morning to drive us around. We got up at 9am (not really that early, but early for us) and got down for breakfast around 9:30am. We had a very nice breakfast at our hotel and ran out the door. We looked for the driver we had had the night before who said he'd come pick us up this morning, but we didn't see him. We waited for 10 minutes or so then decided to jump in another auto-rickshaw.

Our first stop was the post office. We had to ship a bunch of clothing home, as well as our DVDs with our pictures on it. Our book warned us about India's postal system, but we really weren't prepared for the ridiculousness we experienced. The first step as we entered was to get our package wrapped in a white fabric. The guy literally sowed our package shut. And then, to top it off, he melted some wax using a candle, rubbed the wax onto the corners of the package and then pressed a seal into the unmelted wax. I guess this is for safety purposes. A very elaborate process! This took about 20 minutes, including waiting for our turn. The next step was to get in line to get our package weighed and paid for. While in line, we remembered that we needed to send the DVDs with our pictures, so I bought an envelope and shoved them inside. When we finally got to the front of the line, our bill came to 1650 rupees, which is about $30, for shipping 2.5 kg. We were not happy with this price and demanded to know why it cost so much. We had shipped nearly 10 kg in Hong Kong for the same price. The guy at the counter was not helpful in explaining this to us and he also tried to shortchange us. I suppose we are used to this. The guy who wrapped our things eventually explained how the pricing system works and showed us why we were charged so much. What makes no sense is that we went online to check how much it should cost and it was much less using the calculator on the India Post website. It was very frustrating.

After this, we had to send our DVDs and this required postage. We went to another counter to buy stamps, which we then pasted with glue on the envelope. After this, we got in another line to just give them the envelope. Thankfully, some random worker saw that we were just waiting to give them the envelope so he took it himself, stamped it, and put it with the rest. We couldn't believe how antiquated the shipping system is here in India. It's so ridiculous that it's actually kind of endearing. India is such a backwards place in so many ways.

From the post office we went to the Bapu Bazaar. Patty has been obsessed with Indian jewellery forever and was hoping to buy some today. We ended up buying quite a bit from a young guy. He was very helpful and patient showing Patty all his merchandise and explaining when their worn, what they're called and how to wear them. Here's Patty wearing a full set of jewellery that would typically be worn by an Indian bride:

We ended up buying quite a bit of stuff from this guy and left wishing we had done a better job of bartering. I guess we're not used to bartering in a jewellery store. Plus the sales guy was pretty good, he even gave a tika to Patty for free which threw her off her game. We vowed to never make the same mistake bartering for jewellery again. In the end though, we got some beautiful stuff at a pretty good price, several tikas (jewels from hair to forehead), 2 hatfuls (ring connected to bracelets), bracelets, tummy belts, a necklace and earrings set.

After this we went to Crystal Palm Mall and ate McDonald's and then watched The Hobbit for a second time. This was for Patty who fell asleep the first time we watched it, though Jeff didn't mind watching it again.

It was still pretty early when the movie was over so we decided to head back to Bapu Bazaar and we bought a shirt and tights. The markets in India are the best we've seen so far during our travels. Their stuff is beautiful. It's a lot of fun bartering and the sales people are always fun to talk to. It has been a fun way to get to know the culture and the people. Here's a cow walking down the market stalls non-chalantly and fitting right in with everyone... I wonder what he was shopping for. This is common place in India but it's still hilarious. Bet the shop owners are always praying he doesn't decide to use the front of their store as a bathroom.

Once we got back to the hotel we decided to have a late night snack. We bumped into Arnaud and chatted with him and bought him a beer. We met a lady from Poland who was very nice who was sitting with Arnaud. After that went back to room and Patty chatted with her mom and aunt, dad, and Elena.

Post #73 - December 23, 2012 - Jaipur, India

What we did: shopping, blog writing
Budget: 3640 Rupees/$60; Spent: 14,165/$272

This morning we had a nice breakfast on the rooftop of our hotel.

We did some planning for our trip, laundry, and then decided to go to a bazaar to do some shopping: priority was linen pants for me.

After talking to a auto-rickshaw driver, he told us that the bazaar was closed because it is Sunday. There was no reason for him to lie since he basically denied himself business by telling us this. Interestingly, the first auto-rickshaw driver we asked had given us a price of 150 rupees, which is more than double what our hotel had recommended to us. The first guy didn't care that the bazaar was closed, he would have taken us to a deserted street.

We asked the second guy if he knew of a place to get linen pants. He took us to a store where he would likely get commission for bringing us in. We walked in and new it wasn't really in our price range. But we allowed the two very nice gentlemen to show us around. Their names are Luis and Wassim. Luis who was of Indian origin, turned out to be from Spain, so he spoke Spanish to Patty. We mentioned to them that I just wanted linen pants, but they quickly began talking to us about suits. We looked through some really nice materials. When they started to give us some prices, our suspicions were confirmed: the prices were high. They initally asked for around $350 for custom tailored linen pants and a suit for Jeff. Then he got it down to $325 which was still out of the question so we started just talking pants, and then eventually started looking for clothes for Patty. We politely declined many of their offers and simply explained we were not looking to spend the kind of money they were looking for even if the quality of their merchandise was outstanding. Wassim was extremely receptive to us and our concerns and he looked genuinely appreciative of our forthcoming approach. It didn't seem like he got that type honesty from customers very often. He said he really wanted to make something work for us. Then out of the blue, they gave us a price for tailored made suit and linen pants of $225 and made us promise not to tell anybody about the price, or where we bought the suit since often hotels will contact them asking for a cut of the profits. They were very good salesmen and we got along quite well. We were certain we would not buy anything at this place and then there we were making a deal and shaking hands with them. It was difficult to say no to them, and I think the price was good anyway. We laughed with them as we agreed over a delicious cup of tea they offered us that was made with saffron. After this, Patty looked for a kurta shirt and ended up buying one for about $30, although somehow our total cost came out to about $240.

Afterwards, we went to check out a jewelery store, but didn't stay long. Wasn't very nice.

We decided to head back to our hotel after this to grab a bite to eat. Restaurant was closed so we chose a different restaurant at a nearby hotel. We walked there in about 15 minutes. The restaurant was at the roof of the hotel, about five stories high. It was a beautiful restaurant with a romantic ambience, great service, and the food was really good as well. We were very happy! It gets quite chilly at night, and we were so pleased when the restaurant brought us two warm fleece blankets during dinner to keep us warm and comfy. Nice touch.

We walked back to our hotel and arrived around 7pm. It was our first time walking alone after dark in India, and we felt surprisingly safe. On our way back we saw so many people sleeping under a bridge and on the streets trying to stay warm for the night. It was a shocking sight to see so many homeless people lined up on the sidewalks under blankets where they would end up staying the night. We even saw several auto rickshaw drivers sleeping in their 3-wheelers. Definitely makes us question whether we should pay the grossly inflated prices they charge foreigners. It often crosses our minds that even their inflated prices in India are still good prices relative to home. The dilemma is that in India bartering exists, and if we can get a better price we should try. The shops are different of course. Nobody is going to sell you anything under cost. If you give them an offer they have the option of declining it. The rickshaw drivers on the other hand make so little money and they work very hard. Because it's so competitive, for them they will take something as opposed to nothing... work is work is money. The poverty is definitely overwhelming sometimes, and there's often feelings of guilt for being as fortunate as we are.

When we got back to the hotel we decided to do some serious blog work until bed time. Tomorrow, we will shop and watch The Hobbit again.

Post #72 - December 22, 2012 - Jaipur, India

What we did: train from Agra to Jaipur, shopping in Indra Bazaar
Budget: 3500 Rupees/$70; Spent: 4785 Rupees/$96

Today was a very early morning. Our alarm rang at 4:00am. We quickly packed our things, brushed our teeth, and ran out the door. We had been told when we booked our taxi last night that the taxi would be waiting at the barrier to the Taj Mahal. We had given a down payment for the taxi ride when we booked last night and were afraid the guy wouldn't even show up. There are also several barriers near our hotel and we weren't sure which to wait at. To top it off, it was really dark and no one was on the streets. We were pretty much panicking since the second we left our hotel. We waited at the closest barrier, then decided to walk to the second barrier. We waited another five minutes or so before I asked a security guard to use his phone. Thankfully, the guy we booked the taxi through had given us his phone number in case of an emergency. We were told that the taxi was waiting at the third barrier about 500 metres back where we came. We ran for it.

We arrived at the taxi a minute or so later. He had been waiting the past 20 minutes for us to show up. It was now less than 20 minutes to our train's departure, but he said it would be fine. The ride took only five minutes, and when we arrived we did not have exact change, so we handed him a 500 rupee bill. When he took the bill he mumbled something about a tip. Essentially, he wasn't going to give us change, until I pleaded with him to be reasonable. We were already paying him 600 rupees ($12) for the 5 minute taxi ride, which is hugely excessive for India.

After we got our change, we ran into the train station, asked a worker where to go, and ran to our train. We jumped o to our train with five minutes to departure. Phew!

But, the fun wasn't over yet. The train car we were in had no heating and it was close to freezing. Thankfully, our previous train ride had somewhat prepared us, so we were wearing warmer clothing this time, but it still wasn't enough. We sat on that train for 4.5 hours more or less in total agony, sandwiched between various locals and their families who were clearly much tougher than us. I kept thinking of how comfy and warm I was sitting in the reclining chair in the movie theatre watching The Hobbit. Surprisingly, this really helped.

Near the end of the train ride, we began talking with another white guy who was sitting next to us. His name is Arnaud and he is from Belgium. He hadn’t booked a place to stay yet, so we invited him to come to our hotel to see if there was room. Getting to the hotel was an adventure, as always. What felt like dozens of taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers swarmed us asking where we were going. We’re pretty used to this by now, but it can still be pretty annoying, especially in our condition. Eventually, we gave in and paid one guy 20 rupees for the three minute taxi ride to our hotel.

We arrived at our hotel and checked in without problems. Arnaud was also able to get a room, although with a shared bathroom. We dropped our stuff in our room and then proceeded to the roof of our hotel for breakfast. Our hotel has a wonderful rooftop patio and it served us quite a nice breakfast. Arnaud sat with us and we chatted for some time.

Eventually we decided it was time to get going. First thing on our list was to book train tickets. We took an auto-rickshaw to the station, though it dropped us off nowhere near the entrance. Coincidentally, our charismatic taxi driver from earlier in the day was standing where we got dropped off and pointed us in the right direction. Once inside the station, we had no idea where to book tickets. I went to stand in “line” to ask where to go to buy tickets. This was interesting. When I asked someone whether he was in line, he said “there is no line.” Indeed, people were simply pushing their way into a clump of bodies gathered around a booth. So I did the same. Unfortunately, this cost me my sunglasses. Whether stolen or bumped off my body in the scuffle I can’t be sure, but I pushed my way to the front of the line pretty quickly. It’s nice being larger than average for once.

The lady told me to exit the station and go to the ticket reservation office. So we exited the station, but had trouble finding the correct building. Eventually we got there and booked one train ticket from Udaipur to Mumbai. Our other route, from Jaisalmer to Udaipur, will have to be by bus because trains do not operate between these cities.

From here we decided to head to Indra Bazaar to do some shopping. The bazaar is similar to those we visited in Delhi. The ride there got very interesting when the rickshaw driver who had agreed to give us a ride for 80 rupees began creating a scene and demanded 200 rupees saying that he meant it was 100 rupees per person. This was absurd and never has it been the case that rickshaw drivers charge per person. Jeff was even nice enough to tip him 20 rupees and ended up giving him 100 total. He began yelling at us in public and a group of people gathered around listening to what the whole ordeal was about. Jeff calmly explained to the guy that we were being nice and even tipped him but there was absolutely no reasoning with him. He was a unkind man trying to take advantage of us. A store owner who came out of his shop to ease the tension even took the rickshaw's side. We were disgusted with the whole spectacle and Patty in the end walked away after saying if it was 200 rupees he should have said that from the get go. Had it been the case the ride was 200 rupees never in a million years would we have gotten in the rickshaw as this would have been a ludacrous price for 5 minute trip. We walked away pretty riled up about it but felt comfort in knowing we did the right thing. Once we got shopping I managed to bargain down a pair of sandals from 950 to 650 rupees, which I was pretty pleased with. Patty bought three pashminas for 1300 rupees, a bangles for 190 rupees, two kurtas (long shirts) for 500 rupees, and a bag for 150 rupees. It was a pretty successful day.

We met Arnaud at a nearby post office and decided to go to a restaurant called Ganesh Restaurant. We took an auto-rickshaw, although the driver had to ask directions on three different occasions and several three-point turns in the middle of traffic. The restaurant was well hidden, sitting on top of the old city walls. It was an Indian restaurant that served vegetarian cuisine. We ordered three different dishes and some bread. All the dishes were alike, and they also had paneer, a kind of cheese. The cheese was delicious, but I’m terrified that it will not agree with my stomach. I suppose I’ll soon find out.

After this, we took another auto-rickshaw back to our hotel. Arnaud offered to buy us beer and to sit on the roof to chat. We stayed up there for over three hours. He is quite an interesting character. He is like me in the sense that he is hoping his year-long trip will help him find out more about himself. An hour or so into the conversation I received a Skype call from my parents and I talked with them and Chris for a couple minutes. I can’t say how wonderful it was to hear their voices and see their faces after such a long time.

After the Skype call, we chatted with Arnaud until about 11:00pm, when we decided it was time to get to bed. Tomorrow it’s back to the markets to look for a couple more things, including linen pants!!

Post #71 - December 21, 2012 - Agra, India

What we did: India planning, bought Jeff kurta paijamas
Budget: 3640 Rupees/$70; Spent: 2765 Rupees/$53

We crawled out of bed around 11:30am this morning. It's fantastic not having anyone to rely on, or relying on us! I think we're both feeling a little weird now that we don't have someone else's schedule to follow.

We had decided last night that we were going to have breakfast at Yash Café, so we did. Patty had an excellent coconut french toast and I had a fantastic Masala Omelette. We met the manager of the cafe, Kamru, who we spoke to after breakfast. We asked him some questions about traveling and where to go shopping in Agra. After letting him know we wanted to buy me some kurta paijamas, he led us to a couple places to check them out. I ended up buying a pair from one of the stores he took us to. Kurta paijamas are an Indian-style outfit worn by men and women consisting of a longish shirt and often big, baggy pants. Kamru also showed us where a nearby post office is.

We wanted to ship some stuff home today, so we went back to our hotel to pick up the stuff. Although we could have walked, a rickshaw driver convinced us to take a ride to the post office for 40 rupees. The driver had only one hand, had to go uphill, and had to jump off the bike to push for a while, so we gave him 100 rupees, instead.

Unfortunately, this post office did not send large packages so we looked for another driver to take us to the main post office in Agra. We found another rickshaw driver and while we were negotiating a price, he was fighting over us with an auto-rickshaw driver. The post office was about 20 minutes away, and when we got there, we found out that it was about $27 to send 1 kg, which is ridiculous. We debated whether we would accept that price for a couple minutes, but in the end we decided to leave. We thought that maybe they were trying to screw us over, so we decided we'd try the post office in Jaipur.

After we dropped off our stuff back at our hotel, we went to the most expensive hotel in Agra for a tea and a lassi, which is a smoothie-like drink made with yogurt. The hotel is called Oberoi Amar Vilas and is 35,000 – 45,000 rupees per night. You do the math. We passed by three different security guards and a metal detector before entering. The hotel has an amazing view of the Taj Mahal from its restaurant, part of which is outside on a terrace. It was a little too cold outside by this time to sit there, but we could see it from inside anyway! We paid $16 for the drinks. We were given complementary chips and peanuts, and my tea came with some of the best cookies I've ever eaten. The shortbread cookie was actually to die for. I will never forget that cookie. The hotel was absolutely gorgeous. I can’t believe they even let us in.

After this we went back to the Yash Café to do some more planning. We booked an overnight bus to Jaisalmer from Jaipur, although we would have preferred a train. Unfortunately, this time of year seems to be even worse than normal for booking trains. Apparently many Indians go to Jaisalmer to celebrate new years on a camel safari.

Once we got back to the hotel, we packed our bags and got ready for our 5am train ride to Jaipur tomorrow morning.

Post #70 - December 20, 2012 - Agra, India

 What we did: train to Agra, Taj Mahal
Budget: 3640 Rupees/$70; Spent: 3340 Rupees/$64

We had an early start this morning. We woke up at 6am to complete our packing and walk to Mintoo's aunt and uncle's by 6:45am. Mintoo's mom and aunt had made us breakfast of parantha, which would be really hard to get tired of! When it was time to leave, we said goodbye to Mintoo’s aunt and uncle. It was sad to leave them. They have been excellent hosts and so friendly and welcoming. They will be missed.

We walked to the nearest larger road and Mintoo’s dad negotiated a price with an auto-rickshaw driver. To say the ride was a tight fit is an understatement. Fitting six people (five of us plus the driver) into a regular sized car can be tight enough, and the three-wheeler is quite a bit smaller. Add our backpacks into the mix and it made for some serious discomfort. Oh ya, and it was also freezing. There are no doors on three-wheelers, so the wind was howling through our hair as we swerved this way and that on our 45 minute journey to the train station. I really must buy pants.

We arrived at the train station and found our train no problem. The station itself is an older one, and in a state of disrepair. The train track was also littered with garbage and other, worse, things. The train was fine. It was dark and the “seats” were OK. I say “seats” because what we were sitting on doubles as seats (during the day) and a bed (at night). The back rest could fold upwards into another bed, with a third bunk even higher. It’s a neat design, and gives some versatility to the train. It's not really all that comfortable though.

The ride was about 3 hours long and we arrived in Agra around 11:30am. Before finding a taxi, we wanted to book train tickets onward to Jaipur and Mintoo and his parents their train back to Delhi. It took us a little bit to figure out where to go and how to do this, but we eventually booked trains we were OK with. Our train leaves Agra at 5am on December 22. Not exactly wonderful, but it'll have to do. Mintoo and his family leave tomorrow morning at 6am.

Getting a taxi to take us to our hotel was bothersome. We had heard about all the scams and they were in full operation. Several people, including three-wheeler drivers told us that the three-wheeler people were on strike. This of course is an absolute lie. I’m not sure how the profit sharing works between the three-wheeler drivers and the taxi drivers, but they have a sophisticated thing going on there. Of course, once we were in a taxi on our way to our hostel, we saw three-wheelers in operation. This is only to squeeze more money out of every tourist. At the very least we got our taxi ride at an acceptable price by walking away to the street as a taxi driver chased after us, yelling decreasing amounts at us.

While driving, the taxi driver was trying to sell us his services. He wanted to charge us 900 rupees ($18) for driving us around for the day. This may, at first, seem like a great deal, until we realized that he was already taking us to the Taj Mahal, which would probably require the rest of the day to see. He kept running off the names of all these places he would take us, but I knew straight away how big of a scam it was. Not on the best of days could you see that many places. And who wants to rush through the Taj Mahal?!

The ride itself took no more than 10 minutes, and was more than we had paid the three-wheeler in Delhi for a 45 minute ride. Sigh. Unfortunately, taxis cannot get close to the Taj Majal, due to pollution laws, so he dropped us off a bit of a walk away from our hotel, which is about 100m away from the east entrance to the Taj Mahal. We quickly found our hotel and it turned out to be pretty decent. No wifi though. Apparently its broken. I've promised myself that if it’s not up and running before we leave, I will ask for a discount. Hopefully I can pull out some charm/negotiating skills. I've been pretty bitter about getting ripped off, and I think it’s shining through. I need to remedy that.

It was here we learned that we buy tickets about 800 metres away from the entrance to the Taj Mahal. This actually wasn't too much of a pain in the ass because Mintoo and his parents couldn’t stay where we were staying and an available hotel was in the direction of the ticket counter. Our hotel arranged a car to take us to the hotel...free of charge! I suppose there's a first for everything.

Once Mintoo and his parents had a hotel room, we bought our tickets to the Taj Mahal, then took a horse-drawn-carriage-ride to a restaurant near the entrance. When we got off the carriage, we saw what I can only describe as a dog and a cow playing. The dog would run up to the cow, get it's head really low to the ground and it's butt up high, and then the cow would chase the dog a little distance before it started all over again. It was pretty hilarious to watch.

The meal was pretty good, though it's hard to enjoy restaurant food when all you have to compare it to are amazing home-cooked meals... After lunch, we were finally ready to tackle the Taj Mahal. It was already 3pm by this time, with the sun setting around 5pm, so we really didn’t have that much time.

Mintoo was nervous because they had bought a ticket for him as a local, which is less than 10% of the cost of the foreign ticket. Unfortunately, this plan did not work and he and his dad had to run down the street to buy a foreign ticket. Mintoo's mom, Patty, and I walked a short distance into the grounds while we waited for them. Eventually, Patty and I left Mintoo's mom to actually get closer. I was pretty anxious to get moving since the sun was setting. Hopefully I didn't seem like a jerk.

We wandered around the Taj Mahal until sunset. It is absolutely spectacular. Pictures cannot do it justice. The size of the building is immense. People look like ants at its base. The inside of the building is less impressive. As the story goes, the Taj Mahal was built by a king as a tomb for his wife so that the world never forget her. The tombs of the king and his wife are housed inside.

We tried to enter into the museum on the grounds of the Taj Mahal, but it had already closed. After many backwards glances, we left the Taj Mahal behind us. We walked back to our hotel and this is where we parted ways with Mintoo and his parents. I think his parents must have been relieved to be rid of us. They had taken care of us like their own children for an entire week. It must have been stressful and exhausting for them!

We dropped off some things in our room before heading to a cafe that is recommended in Lonely Planet. We got a little lost trying to find the place, but we eventually found it. We had some Indian dishes and they were quite yummy. We also took a look at their breakfast menu and that looked good too, so we decided to come for breakfast tomorrow morning.

It was here that we finally accessed the internet after more than a week! It's nice to not have the distraction of the internet, but it's also nice to be able to communicate with family back home. It was here, in the Yash Cafe, that we really ironed out our itinerary in India. From Agra, we will head to Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodpur, Udaipur, Aurangabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Calcutta. It was a relief to get something down on paper because booking trains in India is tricky. We will need to book trains well in advance.

After our planning we called it a night. We have no specific plans for tomorrow, but we'll see where the day takes us!

Post #69 - December 19, 2012 - Delhi, India

What we did: watched The Hobbit, looked around the Pacific Mall
Budget: 3500 Rupees/$70; Spent: 1616 Rupees/$31

This morning we woke up around 10am and then went for breakfast at Mintoo’s aunt and uncle’s. When we arrived, Mintoo was awake and feeling better. During breakfast, Mintoo decided he was good enough to go to Agra tomorrow, so we decided to book train tickets for 6am tomorrow morning. We also were lucky enough to book two nights at a hotel in Agra that is recommended by Lonely Planet.

Mintoo wanted to just rest today, so we were on our own. We decided to walk to Pacific Mall to watch The Hobbit. The walk was short and uneventful. When we arrived at the ticket counter, we were offered a choice of three different ticket prices: the cheapest were near the front; a little more expensive were the seats in the middle; and about a dollar more got us Gold seats. We decided to go for the Gold seats. It was the best dollar I've ever spent. Basically, we were seated in the best location in what I can only describe as La-Z-Boy recliners. It was the best movie experience of my life - and for only $4 each! In fact, we were so comfy that Patty lasted about 30 minutes into the movie before falling asleep. I can't blame her, those seats were unbelievable and I guess she is still recovering from being sick... If you can believe it, the popcorn and drinks we bought were also reasonably priced. India is a wonderful place.

After the movie we grabbed a bite to eat at the food court. We bought a tandoori platter that had four different appetizers. It was less than $6 and very tasty. We then wandered around the mall for another hour or so, but it’s a pretty posh mall so it was pricey. We didn’t buy anything.

We headed home after that, not wanting to walk around after dark. We showered then went over to Mintoo’s aunt and uncle’s for dinner. The vegetarian cuisine they cook is really fantastic and I think I could really get used to it. Each meal seems to consist of whole wheat bread and lentils or beans in a sauce. Most people scoop up the lentils or beans with the bread.

Mintoo took a look at our Lonely Planet book because he needs to figure out what he’s going to do in India for the remainder of his time here. He kept the book for the night. Hopefully he remembers to bring it on the train to Agra tomorrow!!

We learned at dinner that our train is actually leaving just before 9am tomorrow morning. I guess the other train was full. Much better this way, anyway. We still needed to pack so we headed home around 9pm. Once we were packed, we slid into bed at the very respectable hour of 11pm.

Tomorrow, Agra and the Taj Mahal!!

Post #68 - December 18, 2012 - Delhi, India

What we did: Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Lotus Temple, Hauz Khas Village
Budget: 3500R/$70; Spent: 1330R/$25.58

We woke up around 8am. Mala was to pick us up and take us sightseeing on our last day in Delhi. We got ready for 9am, but it turned out Mala wasn’t ready yet, so we decided to go over to Mintoo’s uncle and aunt’s for breakfast.... we were okay with that because that meant more homemade paranthas and masala chai... mmmm

Mala arrived before we got served breakfast, so we took our breakfast of the aloo paranthas with us on the road. First stop was the most famous and largest Gurdwara in Delhi known as Gurdwara Bangla Sahib. It was a very beautiful place. Very quiet, yet with many people.  It was one of the most spiritual experiences I have ever had at a religious site. There was a huge body of water there that is supposed to contain holy water. People bathe themselves in it sometimes. It is also a requirement to take off shoes before entering. There is a little pool of water to wash your feet before entering the complex; probably not the most sanitary set up. It’s amazing that a country with so many sanitary problems has so many unsanitary customs. It’s just shocking many of the things people do out of tradition that probably end up making them sick, at least eventually.

Being with Mintoo and Mala so much the past few days has taught us a lot about the Sikh religion and I think we've both developed a deep respect for their customs and beliefs. Sikhism is quite interesting. They have both a rich history and a turbulent past, much of the occurrences of violence took place not even that long ago. In the 1960's there were mass killings of Sikhs and in 1984 there were anti-Sikh riots that took place that eventually broke out into a genocide of Sikhs.

While Sikhs only make up 1.9% of India's population, they maintain a strong and dignified presence in India. The majority of the army is made up of Sikhs and Sikhs are 10 times more likely to become a soldier than other Indians. The state of Punjab is also the wealthiest in India. It is the 2nd youngest religion in the world behind Baha'i. There is not a single country in the world that is predominantly Sikh. They have always been a minority. The largest concentration of Sikhs is also the same place it originated, in the region of India known as Punjab. Mintoo and his family speak Punjabi to each other. We have learned one word: sat sri acal (hello/goodbye). The best thing about Sikhism is that they encourage equality in all respects. This includes the acceptance of all religions. They welcome all people into their places of worship and in the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib they regularly perform "langar" (food for all) which is always served to people of all origins, the same (vegetarian) food, while sitting together on the same level of the floor. Mala taught us that "pure" Sikhs must follow the 5 K's which all stand for words in Punjabi. Essentially they must never cut their hair, always carry a comb, and a curved sword, a steel bracelet, and wear special kind of shorts. There's much more to it than that, but according to Mala, in today's world it is extremely difficult to follow all the rules set out for pure Sikhs. I admire the young Sikhs so much for maintaining their culture and religion in a world where dressing or looking different can be so difficult. It was all quite a learning experience and we really grew an appreciation for Sikhism. At the Gurdwara they gave us a thick glossy book that discusses the history and teachings of Sikhism for free. 

After this, we checked out the largest church in Delhi. It wasn’t very impressive. We explained some of the Christian customs to Mala who seemed genuinely interested in learning about it. He had never heard the story of the last supper and was unfamiliar with the many famous paintings of it. So we also talked a bit about that. Pretty cool that we could show a mutual respect for each other's backgrounds. Not that we're devout Christians but that's the religion we grew up learning about. So sharing each other's knowledge in an open and friendly way was really nice. Mala even did the sign of the cross on his way out.

From here, we went to the Lotus Temple and learned about the Baha’i religion, which neither of us knew existed. It is a very beautiful temple and an interesting religion. It seems to accept the broad tenants of all the major world religions and claims to be accepting of all religions.

It was a neat and modern building, but not much to see inside: just chairs and beautiful architecture. They kindly ask all visitors to remain silent while in there. We all had a tough time doing that so we left a few minutes after entering.

From here we went to Hauz Khas Village, which is sort of the posh area of Delhi that also happens to contain some ancient ruins of a university or college. The ruins were amazing, although there was no security so there was some graffiti, but not a lot. Young people, locals and tourists alike, are everywhere just hanging out in the ruins and taking pictures.

After this, we came back home. I think we were all beat. Mala forgot that on Tuesdays there is a market on the street we are staying just off of, so we had a hilarious time trying to drive to our home without killing anyone. A trip down the road that should have taken us 2 minutes took us 10 minutes. People were all giving us the evil eye and yelling. One lady said in Hindi "they must be new". We all laughed. Poor Mala was driving us around all day and must have been exhausted.

Once we arrived back home, Mintoo, who had been feeling terrible all day long, decided that he wouldn’t be able to travel tonight by taxi to Agra. We had booked a taxi to take us during the night so we could arrive at Agra first thing in the morning. We cancelled and there was no fee. Mintoo went to the doctor and picked up medication. He stayed with his parents at his aunt and uncle’s house tonight.

Once Mintoo and his parents had left, we went out to buy some water and candy, then watched the second half of the Dark Knight Rises and then Love, Actually.

A busy day, but a good one.