I arrive in Delhi and meet my host Virender. He asks me to meet him at a Metro stop and it takes me a while as I have to negotiate where to pick up the bus to the Metro...then it occurs to me I don't have to take a bus, as the metro goes to the airport.
I did ask...too funny.
Anyways as it would turn out I was on the bus that had to gas up and so I was on the bus for 1/2 an hour just chaffing at the bit.
The metro at Delhi is very nice!
Better than the C-Train for sure.
I meet him and then we continue on the Metro and change lines twice and then finally we are at the last station where his car is parked. We get out and Virender says to me I will show you something no one will show you in Delhi. He says see that mountain? I do, it's a very large hill a few blocks away from the Metro station and it has some trucks on the top. I say okay. He says that is a garbage pile! I am shocked. Yup, it will probably be a prime piece of real estate when they green it!
Wow.
I get into his little Suzuki and we head off to his family's place. I didn't know that he was outside of Delhi by 15 kilometers.
Now I ask where my hosts are located. You can feel very trapped if you are not allowed to get out and enjoy normal tourist things especially if you are in a town outside of the City you are supposed to be in. It displaces you.
When we arrive I am given a big hug by his wife and meet his daughter and son.
I am given a room upstairs and come down for a quick dinner and then have a conversation with his daugter who is 14 and his son is 12.
Virender knows that my pilgrimage is to place my mother's ashes in the Ganges. We discuss that all though I wanted to do it in the Viranasi, Hardiwar is the sacred place that families make a pilgrimage to.
I am grateful for him for guiding me on that point. So the next day his children take a day off of school because there is a big festival in Delhi. So we all pile into the car...except his wife...???
She says she doesn't want to go. I so wanted to get to know her a little better, but what could I say?
I went to the fair and paid for the whole group of us to get in. (am I stupid or what)?
Anyways it was marvelous as it had all different kinds of handy crafts and there was music and local dancing but also dancing from many different countries. It was so colourful.
So then after that Virender asks if I want to have him take me to Haridwar which is where I will place my mother's ashes in the Ganges. He outlines what the costs may be and I say that at the very outside I see this costing me 8000 R. That is a lot of cash ...and as it turns out Virender is using me to take a vacation on my bank roll. Enough said.
I went to Hardiwar and Rishikesh, but the highways were horrible as they are trying to build a new multi lane highway...and hopefully it will get done soon...on Indian time are we?
After the first night and the rate that Virender is helping me to spend my money I decide that we should go back but that doesn't happen and as a result we spend yet another night in Hardiwar and he says he wants to go for a nice breakfast in the morning. It ended up costing me 400 R.
Now I usually don't spend more than 50 rupee on a breakfast...so you get the idea of what was going on.
I was not impressed as he clearly took advantage of the situation. I decided to try and get the train that night to Agra.
Virender wanted me to pay for his gas. I then twisted off.
You see the Indian male likes to talk, talk, talk and particularly with Virender I could not get a word in edgewise...and when I would start a conversation he would just bulldoze over my conversation. It was clearly irritating by the end of 4 days.
So I just twisted off. Finally I could tell him what I thought was going on and there we were shouting at each other. It worked out in the end. I did pay him to top up his gas tank and then unfortunately I could not get a train so I had to come back to his house that night....I really did not want to.
But I was pretty much in the middle of nowhere and he insisted he could not leave me to take a auto rickshaw.
I came back for the night. He had promised me that I could get the bus at 7:30 am, but that didn't happen and as it turned out I had been invited to a wedding that was happening in the family, but my time was getting short as this was the second half of my time so I needed to get my finger out.
I declined the wedding but I didn't leave at 7:30 either although I was ready...this is how it happens in India. But no explanation is given.
I finally got on the bus at 2:30 pm on my way to Agra. I made it there by about 6 pm when I met my next host Vikas. He had a nice place 20 minute walk to the Taj Mahal. The mos luxurious room and a GREAT shower. He even...asked if I wanted use the washing machine. Now you know that those words can set my heart aflutter!
I spent three nights in Agra...and it was pretty hot here. I then booked all my onward tickets on the train as it was getting a lot harder to get the bookings I wanted. It took me three hours with a travel agent. Whew!
I left and went to Jaipur on the train.
Now I need to express something.
In India, the trains are most often described as Express...I need to resolve this...there is nothing express about these trains. I waited over 8 hours to get my train from Agra to Jaipur and waiting at the train station is not a relaxing event. Where to go to the bathroom? The bathroom in Agra was okay, but you can often smell the bathrooms in the waiting room...so smelling that for 8 hours can certainly curb your appetite...perhaps that is why that is done???? Dunno.
I stayed here three days in a hostel called the Babylon guesthouse where I met some interning young people who were doing internships teaching in school or even interning at the jewlery shops here...I think that he term interning is used as word for working in India.
Anyways there were three French girls one 18 and the other two 23 and a woman Metha from Slovakia.
It was nice to just chill for a couple of days and not do anything and not try to understand what someone was saying to you. Very nice break from the host track that I've been on.
I did ask...too funny.
Anyways as it would turn out I was on the bus that had to gas up and so I was on the bus for 1/2 an hour just chaffing at the bit.
The metro at Delhi is very nice!
Better than the C-Train for sure.
I meet him and then we continue on the Metro and change lines twice and then finally we are at the last station where his car is parked. We get out and Virender says to me I will show you something no one will show you in Delhi. He says see that mountain? I do, it's a very large hill a few blocks away from the Metro station and it has some trucks on the top. I say okay. He says that is a garbage pile! I am shocked. Yup, it will probably be a prime piece of real estate when they green it!
Wow.
I get into his little Suzuki and we head off to his family's place. I didn't know that he was outside of Delhi by 15 kilometers.
Now I ask where my hosts are located. You can feel very trapped if you are not allowed to get out and enjoy normal tourist things especially if you are in a town outside of the City you are supposed to be in. It displaces you.
When we arrive I am given a big hug by his wife and meet his daughter and son.
I am given a room upstairs and come down for a quick dinner and then have a conversation with his daugter who is 14 and his son is 12.
Virender knows that my pilgrimage is to place my mother's ashes in the Ganges. We discuss that all though I wanted to do it in the Viranasi, Hardiwar is the sacred place that families make a pilgrimage to.
I am grateful for him for guiding me on that point. So the next day his children take a day off of school because there is a big festival in Delhi. So we all pile into the car...except his wife...???
She says she doesn't want to go. I so wanted to get to know her a little better, but what could I say?
I went to the fair and paid for the whole group of us to get in. (am I stupid or what)?
Anyways it was marvelous as it had all different kinds of handy crafts and there was music and local dancing but also dancing from many different countries. It was so colourful.
 |
| Delhi Market with Virender's daughter and son |
 |
| Local dancing |
 |
| She's cute isn't she? |
So then after that Virender asks if I want to have him take me to Haridwar which is where I will place my mother's ashes in the Ganges. He outlines what the costs may be and I say that at the very outside I see this costing me 8000 R. That is a lot of cash ...and as it turns out Virender is using me to take a vacation on my bank roll. Enough said.
I went to Hardiwar and Rishikesh, but the highways were horrible as they are trying to build a new multi lane highway...and hopefully it will get done soon...on Indian time are we?
After the first night and the rate that Virender is helping me to spend my money I decide that we should go back but that doesn't happen and as a result we spend yet another night in Hardiwar and he says he wants to go for a nice breakfast in the morning. It ended up costing me 400 R.
Now I usually don't spend more than 50 rupee on a breakfast...so you get the idea of what was going on.
I was not impressed as he clearly took advantage of the situation. I decided to try and get the train that night to Agra.
Virender wanted me to pay for his gas. I then twisted off.
You see the Indian male likes to talk, talk, talk and particularly with Virender I could not get a word in edgewise...and when I would start a conversation he would just bulldoze over my conversation. It was clearly irritating by the end of 4 days.
So I just twisted off. Finally I could tell him what I thought was going on and there we were shouting at each other. It worked out in the end. I did pay him to top up his gas tank and then unfortunately I could not get a train so I had to come back to his house that night....I really did not want to.
But I was pretty much in the middle of nowhere and he insisted he could not leave me to take a auto rickshaw.
I came back for the night. He had promised me that I could get the bus at 7:30 am, but that didn't happen and as it turned out I had been invited to a wedding that was happening in the family, but my time was getting short as this was the second half of my time so I needed to get my finger out.
I declined the wedding but I didn't leave at 7:30 either although I was ready...this is how it happens in India. But no explanation is given.
I finally got on the bus at 2:30 pm on my way to Agra. I made it there by about 6 pm when I met my next host Vikas. He had a nice place 20 minute walk to the Taj Mahal. The mos luxurious room and a GREAT shower. He even...asked if I wanted use the washing machine. Now you know that those words can set my heart aflutter!
 |
| Taj Mahal |
 |
| Red Fort Agra |
I spent three nights in Agra...and it was pretty hot here. I then booked all my onward tickets on the train as it was getting a lot harder to get the bookings I wanted. It took me three hours with a travel agent. Whew!
I left and went to Jaipur on the train.
Now I need to express something.
In India, the trains are most often described as Express...I need to resolve this...there is nothing express about these trains. I waited over 8 hours to get my train from Agra to Jaipur and waiting at the train station is not a relaxing event. Where to go to the bathroom? The bathroom in Agra was okay, but you can often smell the bathrooms in the waiting room...so smelling that for 8 hours can certainly curb your appetite...perhaps that is why that is done???? Dunno.
I stayed here three days in a hostel called the Babylon guesthouse where I met some interning young people who were doing internships teaching in school or even interning at the jewlery shops here...I think that he term interning is used as word for working in India.
Anyways there were three French girls one 18 and the other two 23 and a woman Metha from Slovakia.
It was nice to just chill for a couple of days and not do anything and not try to understand what someone was saying to you. Very nice break from the host track that I've been on.
 |
| Amber Fort Jaipur
I left Jaipur three days later and headed to Jodhpur. I did the sights here the first day but because I can't get an onward I stayed the three days. I took the train from Jaipur, and again it was called an Express train. I waited 5 hours at the station that day. Clearly frustrating.
I am staying currently at a hostel called Zostel. It is okay. They screwed up my reservation and so I am in an 8 girl dorm. I don't do 23 year olds well anymore. Most are just plain stupid with no regard to others in their space. I did meet a nice girl from Italy who we spent the day exploring together and actually had some very good laughs.
I will leave here tomorrow and go to Amristar.
This will clearly be my longest train trip should be 17 hours...but folks do we have bets that this one might crack 24 hours before I reach there?
Okay, if you make money on this bet you will have to buy me a nice tea....please be on time....
From there I will take a train back to Delhi and then I have a flight into Nepal...are you excited...I absolutely am!
So please keep in mind that in the next while I expect that the wifi and internet connections will be very poor when I get to Nepal.
I will try to post when I get to Amristar.
Take care and don't laugh too hard at my expense....it could be much worse! I could be pregnant! :P
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