The train ride was great, 2nd class ac... I couldn't get the Delhi-Kolkata express from New Delhi Train Station so had to shift (that's what they call moving here) to the Old Delhi station which also left 2 hours later, so I had 3 hours to kill in Old Delhi... it was of course over 100 again and sweltering, Saturday so the market was packed... found my way around the Chandni Chowk but didn't score any bargains. Ate a great meal at Haldirams topped off with 2 red slush drinks (risked the ice&water)... so finally was able to stop sweating. The Old Delhi station makes the new station look like a palace... unfortunately you cannot take pictures inside there the machine gun toting guards frown on that... terrorism these days coming from Pak you know..
Picture the orlando amtrak station x12 platforms, strip off all the paint, put corrugated metal up over the platforms, and cram the platforms as full as a crowd leaving a sellout basketball game, add 100+ 90% humidity, and piles of fly covered you know what on the tracks in-between the platforms... absolutely the only breeze is when a train comes by...you cannot sit down anywhere except the ground and it is so filthy even though I had dark brown pants on I didn't want them to get THAT dirty. So you stand and sweat is pouring off... bandana on my head down to my eyebrows with another one to mop off my face and neck below that. Soaked through shirt and uwear. The bottled water is the only relief, it's just cooler than 100.... finally our train shows up, it's on time, the Jarkharand Express, and YES! the AC is on in the ac car... not at first, the train was starting fresh, but after about 10 minutes. I got a nice berthmate couple of students from Tokyo, Ray is studying Native American literature at Tokyo U, his partner Meg is into Public Health. We had good talks about native american books, authors, etc, and also Rays dad is a cyclist everywhere around Tokyo! So we had a good time and although they got off 7:00am at Varanasi, while I was still groggy with my head under the sheets, they each left me very nice notes. Ray will get his dad on liketoobike.com and converse with me.
10:10 we pull into Gaya, I am in Bihar, the poorest state in India! A dozen kms from Bodhgaya, and it is absolutely way way hotter than Delhi! You walk up a long ramp to get out of there, it's a dusty dirty open air station, and it's pretty full of people waiting for local trains. Not a person with clean clothes in sight.
Before I get out of the platform concourse I have 3 auto rickshaw drivers fighting over who is going to take me to Bodhgaya, it's an 80 rupee ride, says Lonely Planet guidebook.
The first one starts at 200 and I give a loud laugh, the second one is 150, and I push past him "no thanks, buddy". The last guy says what do you want to pay and I say 80, he says OK, and the other guys are hassling him I saw him first, hot, dusty parking lot... then as I'm getting in the vehicle "100 0K?"... yeah, yeah, you take me all around Bodhgaya and take me to 3 hotels. That's just what we did and you read about they will steer you someplace they get a commission in this case the Hotel Tokyo(!!!) Vihar... offered at 600 rupees, was not far behind the quality of the Sujata, which Lonely Planet calls "top range"... they want 3600 and won't deal after I see the room, as I'm walking out no thanks he's "how much you want to pay"? game, too bad. Everything works at the hotel I get a cool shower and change to fresh clothes the go out to explore Bodhgaya... I make friends quickly here...oh they are closing up the internet cafe so I gotta go, more tomorrow!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Going to Bodhgaya
We've decided it will be good to split up a couple days. Julie was on her own for 4 hours yesterday and really enjoyed not having dad around... and my time is short, and the one place I really wanted to go besides the Taj Mahal is Bodhgaya, where the Buddha became enlightened beneath the Bodi Tree.
There are several overnight trains leaving tonight, and of course, the online booking system, after a long time of pages not working, found the train, a 1st class sleeper spot, and let me put in my name and age but when I try to pay for it too bad, nope won't work and by the way I may get downgraded to any class seat if not confirmed at the station... so I will go up to the station 2 or 3 hours early. It leaves at 5, it's 11:50 now.
I'll get to Gaya, 12 km's up the road from Bodhgaya about 4:30am... don't know what I'll do then. Also, the online booking for hotels shows no accomodation available, except at a couple "budget" places.... still at $60 USD per night! Now we've seen what are called "posh" neighborhoods and places, and to us they are hmmmm well, imagine the worst part of any city you have ever been in... now, imagine all the garbage get's piled in the street, people pee etc not behind bushes and trees but on the sidewalk, dogs and cows roam freely, and there are masses of people everywhere all staring at you... that's a posh neighborhood... so a budget hotel I think I'd rather be on the train back but don't want to do overnight trains 2 nights in a row, they tend to not be the most restful, especially with a 3:30am wake up call.
So this may be my last post until Tuesday, it's Saturday morning here now... we will see if I see an AC internet cafe somewhere along the way I'll be in there for an hour.
Meanwhile, on the Visa front.... one last hope tomorrow is dimming, it looks like Julie will be required to travel back to USA for a week to get her Student Visa, then return in the 3rd or 4th week of school (they started 2 days ago here). So she will probably come home with me Thursday morning we fly out of Delhi 12:15am and with the 9.5 hour time dif, going west, after changes in Chicago and St Louis, get to Orlando about noon Thursday! That will give us back the day and a half we lost on the way here.
It's hot and going around 100 again today, monsoons would cool things down again and they tell me the further to the east you go the hotter it gets! But I must make the pilgrimage and chill for a day or two before saying farewell to India.
Oh we had dinner at Ashok and Alka's last night, Ashok is Julie's Rotary host here in India and Alka his wife. They have a very nice house in the southwest part of the city, after a wonderful veg dinner topped off by creamy vanilla ice cream atop fresh mango we were pushing 11:00 when Kuldeep showed at the gate to drive us back, about 20 miles. It was still crowded on the roads and streets everywhere even as we got back at midnight. There are huge Krishna processions going on where hundreds of devotees got water out of the Ganges up by Rishikesh, and they walk all the way back with gaily colored orange and gold banners and decorations by the hundreds, then they pitch large tents on the side of the road and you see them all stretching out in there with lit up palm trees and like christmas lights strung up all over the place... they are just on the roadside and apparently many temples send their people to do this we saw 3 separate parties going on during our drive back. When they get back to their temple they pour the water on their krishna statue and maybe something else, it's confusing all the things they do and who they are worshipping...
That's what confirmed for me to go to Bodhgaya, I like the Buddhist religion for it's simplicity, not too many rules, worship as you wish, live and let live. I look forward to hanging around the global mecca for buddhists from around the world and absorbing the laid back peaceful vibes... more to come.
There are several overnight trains leaving tonight, and of course, the online booking system, after a long time of pages not working, found the train, a 1st class sleeper spot, and let me put in my name and age but when I try to pay for it too bad, nope won't work and by the way I may get downgraded to any class seat if not confirmed at the station... so I will go up to the station 2 or 3 hours early. It leaves at 5, it's 11:50 now.
I'll get to Gaya, 12 km's up the road from Bodhgaya about 4:30am... don't know what I'll do then. Also, the online booking for hotels shows no accomodation available, except at a couple "budget" places.... still at $60 USD per night! Now we've seen what are called "posh" neighborhoods and places, and to us they are hmmmm well, imagine the worst part of any city you have ever been in... now, imagine all the garbage get's piled in the street, people pee etc not behind bushes and trees but on the sidewalk, dogs and cows roam freely, and there are masses of people everywhere all staring at you... that's a posh neighborhood... so a budget hotel I think I'd rather be on the train back but don't want to do overnight trains 2 nights in a row, they tend to not be the most restful, especially with a 3:30am wake up call.
So this may be my last post until Tuesday, it's Saturday morning here now... we will see if I see an AC internet cafe somewhere along the way I'll be in there for an hour.
Meanwhile, on the Visa front.... one last hope tomorrow is dimming, it looks like Julie will be required to travel back to USA for a week to get her Student Visa, then return in the 3rd or 4th week of school (they started 2 days ago here). So she will probably come home with me Thursday morning we fly out of Delhi 12:15am and with the 9.5 hour time dif, going west, after changes in Chicago and St Louis, get to Orlando about noon Thursday! That will give us back the day and a half we lost on the way here.
It's hot and going around 100 again today, monsoons would cool things down again and they tell me the further to the east you go the hotter it gets! But I must make the pilgrimage and chill for a day or two before saying farewell to India.
Oh we had dinner at Ashok and Alka's last night, Ashok is Julie's Rotary host here in India and Alka his wife. They have a very nice house in the southwest part of the city, after a wonderful veg dinner topped off by creamy vanilla ice cream atop fresh mango we were pushing 11:00 when Kuldeep showed at the gate to drive us back, about 20 miles. It was still crowded on the roads and streets everywhere even as we got back at midnight. There are huge Krishna processions going on where hundreds of devotees got water out of the Ganges up by Rishikesh, and they walk all the way back with gaily colored orange and gold banners and decorations by the hundreds, then they pitch large tents on the side of the road and you see them all stretching out in there with lit up palm trees and like christmas lights strung up all over the place... they are just on the roadside and apparently many temples send their people to do this we saw 3 separate parties going on during our drive back. When they get back to their temple they pour the water on their krishna statue and maybe something else, it's confusing all the things they do and who they are worshipping...
That's what confirmed for me to go to Bodhgaya, I like the Buddhist religion for it's simplicity, not too many rules, worship as you wish, live and let live. I look forward to hanging around the global mecca for buddhists from around the world and absorbing the laid back peaceful vibes... more to come.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Up in the air, but shopping is good
We don't know what's happening with the VISA... but at the Rotary District meeting last night, where all the leadership was changed, everyone got gifts and bouquets presented to them, the new leaders were installed, the waiters came around with hors deurves and whisky, a little beer... we had a good time. We were dressed right in the middle, not as nice as the dignitaries and award winners, but nicer than most of the friends and family attendees. I was so glad we went and bought nice stuff they announced our presence and asked us to come up on the dais as they presented Julie with a bouquet so everyone (about 75-100 people) could see what we look like and take our picture. They are doing a lot of great stuff here for community service, Polio eradication is their number one goal, and Bill Gates foundation has stepped up to donate 350 million american dollars, if the Rotary matches 200 million... so there's that drive, they have gotten polio down from 1000 cases a day to 50 and the goal is 0... india is one of 4 countries in the world where polio still exists and we see many people sitting on the road begging, peddling bicycle rickshaws with their hands, and walking on their hands with deformed legs, etc.
Aside from that project they are funding and operating a vocational school in rural area's to teach farmer (mostly women) job skills, and also a program to teach computer literacy (MS OFFICE), so they can aspire to get a job as a clerk rather than menial labor or peon work. After the meeting, over drinks (I got some hard looks when I declined the straight wiskey with water as they all were drinking)... there was a great buffet line of veg things and some meat as well, and the deserts were strange... some white balls of curd like stuff flavored, kindof gritty, and YOU MUST TRY THIS! Ashok tells me as he piles something that looks like scalloped potatoes then puts on a white gravy... and then some ice cream may have been pistacio...
we hear from many people about the visa hassle they have all heard of it by now. Some say that should be no problem, to others who say what a mess you are in!
Anyway, we agree to dinner at Ashok and Alka's home an hour out of Delhi Friday night at 7:00 and say our goodnights, it's nearly midnight as we leave and the meeting is still going strong with the food and drink, but we have had enough. Kuldeep is waiting outside in the lot and we are in by 12:30.
Thursday, July 16. Article in the paper this morning Delhi U colleges are opening some holding their first days of class, others orientation as they open at different times over the next 2 weeks. Julie is a little disappointed she isn't starting school and settled by now, we've been here over 2 weeks and still don't know if she will have to travel home and back or what, we're finally adjusted to the time difference it's day when it's night at home and verse visa. Ashok calls this morning and 3 ways a call with a high ranking man we met last night who has a connection somewhere, and asks us to scan and email copies of all the documents to him so he can see what can be done. Mind you, this is where there are no office max's or kinkos, not in this part of the city anyway, photstat or fax is the best you can do and they are usually open air with mininum 10 year old equipment. We walk quite a while and it is hot again, though the monsoons have started just one day and the next 3 no rain is expected, we stop and ask several places and get pointed down the road or to Nehru Place, so we flag a tuk-tuk and start for there then see the place I saw the other day "RK Document Filing" We stop in and in a few minutes are sitting in an office with a guy on a pc while another meeting between 3 men takes place on the other end of the desk. 15 minutes later it's all done and we cash out for 100.
We celebrate by stopping in Narulas for a Fanta Ice creme soda and fries, then take a tuk-tuk to Greater Kailash market, which is supposed to be THE market in this sector of the city. We are greatly disappointed it is mostly clothing and jewelry, upscale for Delhi, higher priced than we are used to, and most of the stuff is plain ugly. An article in the paper this morning about the "Freshers" Freshmen girls at the Lady SriRam College just up the road "you must have different stuff" and they are all shopping at places like this for plaid capri's, denims (jeans), and tshirts with american slogans or ads on them... Julie thinks this is hideous and you can be different by being yourself so we flag a tuk-tuk and head for our favority market Lajpat Nagar. No word from Ashok so we pick up a few things and cannot find a Ganesha statue in wood, only brass, someone suggests Connaught place, so after back to the room to unload and cool off we will venture back up north to Connaught place, where we can also catch the metro on to the Chandni Chowk, the biggest best market in all of Delhi, in my humble opinion.
Oh I picked up another 3 india kurta tops (super lighweight, loose cotton with a pocket), and 2 pairs of the elastic waist loose cotton pants that are so lightweight you can wash them all out in the sink and hang up and within a couple hours they are dry and ready to wear again. Julie's ready to go so more tomorrow, it's 2:10 in the afternoon which means it's what 3:40 in the morning Thursday back in Orlando, so when I write again tomorrow Friday morning it will be Thursday night for you all!
We hope to have good news for the Visa by tomorrow so we can make a trip somewhere this weekend, if not I may have time to dash out to Patna and Gaya next Tues/Weds before I am coming home next Thursday.
Aside from that project they are funding and operating a vocational school in rural area's to teach farmer (mostly women) job skills, and also a program to teach computer literacy (MS OFFICE), so they can aspire to get a job as a clerk rather than menial labor or peon work. After the meeting, over drinks (I got some hard looks when I declined the straight wiskey with water as they all were drinking)... there was a great buffet line of veg things and some meat as well, and the deserts were strange... some white balls of curd like stuff flavored, kindof gritty, and YOU MUST TRY THIS! Ashok tells me as he piles something that looks like scalloped potatoes then puts on a white gravy... and then some ice cream may have been pistacio...
we hear from many people about the visa hassle they have all heard of it by now. Some say that should be no problem, to others who say what a mess you are in!
Anyway, we agree to dinner at Ashok and Alka's home an hour out of Delhi Friday night at 7:00 and say our goodnights, it's nearly midnight as we leave and the meeting is still going strong with the food and drink, but we have had enough. Kuldeep is waiting outside in the lot and we are in by 12:30.
Thursday, July 16. Article in the paper this morning Delhi U colleges are opening some holding their first days of class, others orientation as they open at different times over the next 2 weeks. Julie is a little disappointed she isn't starting school and settled by now, we've been here over 2 weeks and still don't know if she will have to travel home and back or what, we're finally adjusted to the time difference it's day when it's night at home and verse visa. Ashok calls this morning and 3 ways a call with a high ranking man we met last night who has a connection somewhere, and asks us to scan and email copies of all the documents to him so he can see what can be done. Mind you, this is where there are no office max's or kinkos, not in this part of the city anyway, photstat or fax is the best you can do and they are usually open air with mininum 10 year old equipment. We walk quite a while and it is hot again, though the monsoons have started just one day and the next 3 no rain is expected, we stop and ask several places and get pointed down the road or to Nehru Place, so we flag a tuk-tuk and start for there then see the place I saw the other day "RK Document Filing" We stop in and in a few minutes are sitting in an office with a guy on a pc while another meeting between 3 men takes place on the other end of the desk. 15 minutes later it's all done and we cash out for 100.
We celebrate by stopping in Narulas for a Fanta Ice creme soda and fries, then take a tuk-tuk to Greater Kailash market, which is supposed to be THE market in this sector of the city. We are greatly disappointed it is mostly clothing and jewelry, upscale for Delhi, higher priced than we are used to, and most of the stuff is plain ugly. An article in the paper this morning about the "Freshers" Freshmen girls at the Lady SriRam College just up the road "you must have different stuff" and they are all shopping at places like this for plaid capri's, denims (jeans), and tshirts with american slogans or ads on them... Julie thinks this is hideous and you can be different by being yourself so we flag a tuk-tuk and head for our favority market Lajpat Nagar. No word from Ashok so we pick up a few things and cannot find a Ganesha statue in wood, only brass, someone suggests Connaught place, so after back to the room to unload and cool off we will venture back up north to Connaught place, where we can also catch the metro on to the Chandni Chowk, the biggest best market in all of Delhi, in my humble opinion.
Oh I picked up another 3 india kurta tops (super lighweight, loose cotton with a pocket), and 2 pairs of the elastic waist loose cotton pants that are so lightweight you can wash them all out in the sink and hang up and within a couple hours they are dry and ready to wear again. Julie's ready to go so more tomorrow, it's 2:10 in the afternoon which means it's what 3:40 in the morning Thursday back in Orlando, so when I write again tomorrow Friday morning it will be Thursday night for you all!
We hope to have good news for the Visa by tomorrow so we can make a trip somewhere this weekend, if not I may have time to dash out to Patna and Gaya next Tues/Weds before I am coming home next Thursday.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
VISA cannot be changed ! ?
For those of you who have heard that China and India are going to pass us up soon and be ruling the world... you do not have to worry. This is not possible within the next 50 years at least, more likely to be 100. We had a day planned to get Julies tourist visa changed to a student visa. We have all the necessary paperwork and a letter from the university saying she will be admitted as soon as she is issued a student visa.
So we plan to first go to the Home Ministry Affairs office, where they will give you the application, and then provide you with a sealed envelope with their decision, which you will take to another office miles away, the FRRO Foreign Registry whatever, then we should be getting the visa application processed. Here's what happens... we hire a driver for the day, and get to the Home Ministry office promptly at 10:00, as applications are only accepted between 10:00 and 12:00 each day. The driver drops us at the guarded gate, and we walk in, the guard shak guard waves us over to a table where 3 other guards wave us into the reception office. Once in here, we wait in the line for the reception desk, where the "reception officer" asks us what are we there for, who are you? to me, and to see Julies paperwork and passport... all looks good, so he pecks into his keyboard for a minute, and then scrinch, scrinch, scrinch, scrinch, he tears a fresh green form off the dot matrix printer, with her name, and other information from her passport. He then rubber stamps the form with great applomb, and puts his initial on it. This form, from the Department of Reception, allows us to go back out to the guard that waved us into reception, and after searching our bags, waves us to the main building to the visa processing office, which we find on the 2nd floor (they call it first).
So far so good, we get upstairs to the office, where we wait in line to talk to the 2 women at the reception desk. One of them asks to see the green form, then hands us two photocopied applications which Julie needs to fill out in duplicate. The forms ask the same information as is already printed on the reception form, name, passport number, etc, with the additional question, VISA APPLIED FOR. She fills them out and checks Student, then gets back in the line to turn them in. By now it's 10:30 and already about 30 people are waiting for "the interview". The interviewers, however, don't start until 11:30... they are in the building, maybe, doing who knows what, but they won't start giving interviews until then. Once you complete your interview, then you must come back after 5:00pm, when they dispense the stamped and sealed envelopes that give the disposition of your case, and also the place you are supposed to take it to. So you cannot go to the other place today in any case, that will take at least another day. The fellow sitting next to us has been here 5 times before and he hopes today is his lucky day.
One interviewer starts doing interviews about 11:20, and Julie is the 2nd one called! Wahooo! It is a short interview, and I see her shaking her head and saying, you mean there's no other way? The interviewer shakes his head... she comes walking out... I have to get the visa processed in person, in my home country! So we have a valid passport and valid tourist visa to visit India, but must leave India, travel to the US, to apply in person to get the student visa, with the letter from the university showing their intention to offer her admittance if she has a student visa.
This is so crazy we are stunned... beyond belief. We ask the driver to take us to the market. Meanwhile, we're invited to the Rotary Club meeting tonight, and we don't have the address yet... so Julie calls Ashok her Delhi sponsor to find out about that and let him know what's just happened. It's at the Habitat Center, the big International arts and meeting place in the center of Delhi.. kind of like the Kennedy Center is to Washington DC, and it's formal attire, black suite, maroon tie preferred! And by the way, your dad is also invited..... I have khaki's, a "washed" (what they call used here) white shirt, and my scruffy brown suede shoes I've been wearing out here in Delhi they are filthy! Julie planned to wear a white shirt and khaki's as well.
So we are back to Lajpat Nagar market and do some decent shopping in 2 hrs we have clothes, my new black pants have been altered to fit, and I have a fresh haircut from the street barber who gave me the most thorough haircut, shave, head rub, face massage, neck and shoulder massage, back alignment, and neck crack I have ever had.
We get back to the room and try on our clothes and Julie' pants are a size too small... she told that guy 32 and he have her 30... oh is she steamed... and it's naptime we have a late night coming we must be there for the reception at 7:30 and dinner is 9:30... then the program?
While Julie naps I flag down a tuk-tuk in the pouring rain (did I mention the monsoons have started?) it's nice and cooler now... go back to the store slipping like crazy on the marble sidewalks now soaked in my slick new camel leather bottomed sandals. A thousand apologies from the guy at JCD department store that committed the screw-up... I said you are lucky Julie didn't come back here... she was too mad! They made good and there was a 1 rupee adjustment in the price for the larger ones... then I pick up a black belt and grab my favorite dish coconut rice at Sai Sarovar, with a veg chow mein to go and back on a tuk-tuk to East of Kailash. We pass the scene of the metro distaster where the column colapsed and the cranes got all messed up and the 200 tonnes of concrete and metal are all there they are cutting everything apart and removing it piece by piece... no shortage of bystanders either. So now we have 45 minutes to get ready before the driver shows up to take us to the habitat center for the big district meeting of Rotary International... more tomorrow... we don't know if Julie will have to come home to get a new visa or not... hard to imagine the government of India does not have the ability in it's capital city to issue a student visa, but we'll find out and report soon!
I am due to fly back next Thursday, Julie the following Friday, we set it up that way because we expected she would need more time to find out when she will finish school next year and change her return flight... anyway... things are very fluid here and my tour of India is not looking like it will happen we will likely be trying to get this thing straightened out here in one line or another begging for official receptionists and the like to stamp our forms and please help us find some sanity here!
So we plan to first go to the Home Ministry Affairs office, where they will give you the application, and then provide you with a sealed envelope with their decision, which you will take to another office miles away, the FRRO Foreign Registry whatever, then we should be getting the visa application processed. Here's what happens... we hire a driver for the day, and get to the Home Ministry office promptly at 10:00, as applications are only accepted between 10:00 and 12:00 each day. The driver drops us at the guarded gate, and we walk in, the guard shak guard waves us over to a table where 3 other guards wave us into the reception office. Once in here, we wait in the line for the reception desk, where the "reception officer" asks us what are we there for, who are you? to me, and to see Julies paperwork and passport... all looks good, so he pecks into his keyboard for a minute, and then scrinch, scrinch, scrinch, scrinch, he tears a fresh green form off the dot matrix printer, with her name, and other information from her passport. He then rubber stamps the form with great applomb, and puts his initial on it. This form, from the Department of Reception, allows us to go back out to the guard that waved us into reception, and after searching our bags, waves us to the main building to the visa processing office, which we find on the 2nd floor (they call it first).
So far so good, we get upstairs to the office, where we wait in line to talk to the 2 women at the reception desk. One of them asks to see the green form, then hands us two photocopied applications which Julie needs to fill out in duplicate. The forms ask the same information as is already printed on the reception form, name, passport number, etc, with the additional question, VISA APPLIED FOR. She fills them out and checks Student, then gets back in the line to turn them in. By now it's 10:30 and already about 30 people are waiting for "the interview". The interviewers, however, don't start until 11:30... they are in the building, maybe, doing who knows what, but they won't start giving interviews until then. Once you complete your interview, then you must come back after 5:00pm, when they dispense the stamped and sealed envelopes that give the disposition of your case, and also the place you are supposed to take it to. So you cannot go to the other place today in any case, that will take at least another day. The fellow sitting next to us has been here 5 times before and he hopes today is his lucky day.
One interviewer starts doing interviews about 11:20, and Julie is the 2nd one called! Wahooo! It is a short interview, and I see her shaking her head and saying, you mean there's no other way? The interviewer shakes his head... she comes walking out... I have to get the visa processed in person, in my home country! So we have a valid passport and valid tourist visa to visit India, but must leave India, travel to the US, to apply in person to get the student visa, with the letter from the university showing their intention to offer her admittance if she has a student visa.
This is so crazy we are stunned... beyond belief. We ask the driver to take us to the market. Meanwhile, we're invited to the Rotary Club meeting tonight, and we don't have the address yet... so Julie calls Ashok her Delhi sponsor to find out about that and let him know what's just happened. It's at the Habitat Center, the big International arts and meeting place in the center of Delhi.. kind of like the Kennedy Center is to Washington DC, and it's formal attire, black suite, maroon tie preferred! And by the way, your dad is also invited..... I have khaki's, a "washed" (what they call used here) white shirt, and my scruffy brown suede shoes I've been wearing out here in Delhi they are filthy! Julie planned to wear a white shirt and khaki's as well.
So we are back to Lajpat Nagar market and do some decent shopping in 2 hrs we have clothes, my new black pants have been altered to fit, and I have a fresh haircut from the street barber who gave me the most thorough haircut, shave, head rub, face massage, neck and shoulder massage, back alignment, and neck crack I have ever had.
We get back to the room and try on our clothes and Julie' pants are a size too small... she told that guy 32 and he have her 30... oh is she steamed... and it's naptime we have a late night coming we must be there for the reception at 7:30 and dinner is 9:30... then the program?
While Julie naps I flag down a tuk-tuk in the pouring rain (did I mention the monsoons have started?) it's nice and cooler now... go back to the store slipping like crazy on the marble sidewalks now soaked in my slick new camel leather bottomed sandals. A thousand apologies from the guy at JCD department store that committed the screw-up... I said you are lucky Julie didn't come back here... she was too mad! They made good and there was a 1 rupee adjustment in the price for the larger ones... then I pick up a black belt and grab my favorite dish coconut rice at Sai Sarovar, with a veg chow mein to go and back on a tuk-tuk to East of Kailash. We pass the scene of the metro distaster where the column colapsed and the cranes got all messed up and the 200 tonnes of concrete and metal are all there they are cutting everything apart and removing it piece by piece... no shortage of bystanders either. So now we have 45 minutes to get ready before the driver shows up to take us to the habitat center for the big district meeting of Rotary International... more tomorrow... we don't know if Julie will have to come home to get a new visa or not... hard to imagine the government of India does not have the ability in it's capital city to issue a student visa, but we'll find out and report soon!
I am due to fly back next Thursday, Julie the following Friday, we set it up that way because we expected she would need more time to find out when she will finish school next year and change her return flight... anyway... things are very fluid here and my tour of India is not looking like it will happen we will likely be trying to get this thing straightened out here in one line or another begging for official receptionists and the like to stamp our forms and please help us find some sanity here!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Back in Delhi... still no admittance
We're on a turbo prop plane back to Delhi on Jet Airways, it's pretty uneventful once we clear security at Udaipur. A beautiful brand spanking new airport, clean as a whistle, 3 gates, only 2 flights happening anytime soon, ours to Delhi at 6:20 and one to Mumbai at 7:40. Security is extremely tight.. you drive up to a police checkpoint (they give Arunesh a good long lecture for rolling the police stop sign... yes sir, yes sir, I know... sorry sir... then there are two more checking passports and tickets to get into the airport.
When you check in, every bag gets a new bag tag, so they can rubber stamp it when you go through security. The first security guys check your id, ticket, and that you have a bag tag, then through the scanners and metal detectors, a thorough pat down, then they go through your bags and stamp stamp, your boarding pass is stamped twice. We wait to go out and board the plane (it's a small airport the airplane is parked on the tarmac you just walk out there and up the steps into the plane). But not so fast... your boarding pass is checked and you walk outside, another security checkpoint, this will make 3... and this one is the most thorough, inside your bag, body frisk, metal detector, and a screened area where women get a more thorough body frisk by a women officer... only then do you get the final rubber stamp on your bag tag. Monica is travelling with us and she questions the officers about why they are taking so long to look through Julie's bag.. and the next thing you know there are 4 officers in the conversation as they start boarding the plane! Finally the situation mellows out and we board. They pass out cool Limca to drink, the salty lime drink, then we are airborne. One thing about india i like, when it comes time to food, the options are always "veg or non-veg"? And the veg meal... now get this, comes with real silverware, including a metal knife! We're getting our bags checked for things like paper clips and ink pens then they give us knifes and forks on the plane! Crazy, after dinner read for a while we cruise at 21,000 feet for 1:20 and we are in Delhi. No security to get out with your bags, though the machine gun guys are everywhere... and there's Kuldeep waiting on the rail waving us over. We drop off Monica and arrange for Kuldeep to drive us all day Tuesday, when we will again attempt to get the elusive "Admission Certificate".
We're back in our old room at F4 East of Kailash by 10:00, and we laugh when we try to use the lift and for whatever reason it doesn't work and we hump the bags up to the 3rd (they call it 2nd) floor. While the guys put our bags back in the room and change the single bed into two doubles again we head down to fast food city for a pineapple cake and orange soda, and walk down to see the around the clock spectacle
of the elevated Metro section collapse... people galore watching, 6 cranes trying to pick up the 4 cranes that went down trying to lift up the concrete and steel girder that went down due to the cracked concrete cantilever.
Tuesday 14th: Breakfast at 8:00, 8:30 Kuldeep picks us up and we're across town to Delhi U and the foreign student registry office by 9:15, except, they don't open until 10:15 and probably won't see anyone til 11:00. We debate and Julie decides to wait it out, she was supposed to get an email today or yesterday but no nothing yet. While she waits I send Kuldeep for a couple bottles of water and wait outside, noticing through the iron fence the sewer is backed up and filling the courtyard to the left of the building with a bad smelling liquid. Kuldeep comes back and I run the water up to Julie, she's ready to leave it's so frustrating... the office workers start trickling in between 9:30 and 10:00, there is already a line of kids waiting, Julie and a Chinese fellow at the front. This is going to take a while so I have Kuldeep take me to look for some sandals but the shops are not open yet so we come back and I figure I'll go wait with Julie, as I get to the stairs Julie calls she needs a copy of her passport and visa, so I go back down the stairs and in the wall across the road from the Office there is a hole in the wall I see a sign copy? Yes, believe it or not... 1 rupee for each then I'm back with Julie... and we wait...
it's hot in the hallway, this is so exasperating! We first applied July 1, it's now July 14th, this is our fourth trip to this particular office... all we hear is "first you must obtain the certificate of admission, before you can apply to the college, or sign up for courses, or buy books, or apply to a hostel" 2 days still school starts. Finally, a little after 11 Julie comes out with a paper in her hand...
Nooooooo, it's not the certificate of admission, but it's a letter stating she will be admitted once she meets the following 3 conditions, among which are a student visa, which you can't get until you've been admitted... but this letter should help get that from the US Embassy... and the letter has a rubber stamp! even though it's dated July 10 they didn't email us or lett us know... so Kuldeep navigates the Delhi traffic from north Delhi to southwest Delhi... 35 mins of so, to the American embassy, we go through security yes we are american citizens so get the short line and the clerk happily gives us a sheet with the 2 addresses we need to go to, no they do not do anything with visas here... so we are off to the India Foreign Registry R something office, FRRO for short, where we enter a packed room of foreigners speaking all sort of languages and jostle up to the reception counter where we are told we first have to go to the other office and get a brown envelope with a stamp on in, before we can come back to this one and apply for the student visa. Unfortunately the other office closes at 12:30 and it's now 1:15, so we will have to go there tomorrow morning, then back to the FRRO (they are in the same area of Delhi, but not close together), then we will have maybe the right papers to take back to the University to get the Admission certificate. Remember, school starts Thursday! So my plans to have Julie in housing and all set for the first day of school so I could make my journey to Bodh Gaya and Patna and Kerala... may not be happening, the letters also tell her she may have to go to her home country to get her student visa processed?! And also to plan on making her own living arrangements changes are negligible she will be able to get into on-campus hostels.
We have Kuldeep drive us out to "Gurgaon" the new city, where Microsoft and Oracle and all the american companies are building the new office buildings and shopping malls and bowling alleys and liquor stores and stand here drink beer on the side of the road shops... we drive about 1/2 of it and we've seen enough, this place is sick get us out of here... we head to Lajpat Nagar, one of the best market area's in town, and at Sai Sarovar I have a great coconut rice dish with Panatte and Raisa's, with the chutney and spicy and cool sauces and a lime soda... great lunch then we shop and Julie gets shoes and earrings and a shirt and i finally find a decent pair of sandals that fit me in a style i can live with... genuine camel hide... 595 he says, ha ha ha, come on... do I look that stupid?... he misses the joke, after a few back and forths we settle at 400 i won't go a penny higher i start to put on my socks and old shoes and get up to leave and OK OK we're done and they're in the bag.
We're back to our room after an ice cream stop Kuldeep sees a vendor sleeping on his pushcart so we wake him up and he sleepily gives us two butterscotch cones (kindof like a nutty buddy), collects the 32 and goes back to sleep on top his cart. Monica is expecting us for dinner at 7:30 she's at D20 Pam Posh Place just time for a nap and we'll have more great adventure tomorrow. Kuldeep is driving someone to Agra to see the Taj so Raj will be driving us tomorrow, 9:00 pickup and we go insearch of the stamped envelope, student visa application, and admission certificate!
When you check in, every bag gets a new bag tag, so they can rubber stamp it when you go through security. The first security guys check your id, ticket, and that you have a bag tag, then through the scanners and metal detectors, a thorough pat down, then they go through your bags and stamp stamp, your boarding pass is stamped twice. We wait to go out and board the plane (it's a small airport the airplane is parked on the tarmac you just walk out there and up the steps into the plane). But not so fast... your boarding pass is checked and you walk outside, another security checkpoint, this will make 3... and this one is the most thorough, inside your bag, body frisk, metal detector, and a screened area where women get a more thorough body frisk by a women officer... only then do you get the final rubber stamp on your bag tag. Monica is travelling with us and she questions the officers about why they are taking so long to look through Julie's bag.. and the next thing you know there are 4 officers in the conversation as they start boarding the plane! Finally the situation mellows out and we board. They pass out cool Limca to drink, the salty lime drink, then we are airborne. One thing about india i like, when it comes time to food, the options are always "veg or non-veg"? And the veg meal... now get this, comes with real silverware, including a metal knife! We're getting our bags checked for things like paper clips and ink pens then they give us knifes and forks on the plane! Crazy, after dinner read for a while we cruise at 21,000 feet for 1:20 and we are in Delhi. No security to get out with your bags, though the machine gun guys are everywhere... and there's Kuldeep waiting on the rail waving us over. We drop off Monica and arrange for Kuldeep to drive us all day Tuesday, when we will again attempt to get the elusive "Admission Certificate".
We're back in our old room at F4 East of Kailash by 10:00, and we laugh when we try to use the lift and for whatever reason it doesn't work and we hump the bags up to the 3rd (they call it 2nd) floor. While the guys put our bags back in the room and change the single bed into two doubles again we head down to fast food city for a pineapple cake and orange soda, and walk down to see the around the clock spectacle
of the elevated Metro section collapse... people galore watching, 6 cranes trying to pick up the 4 cranes that went down trying to lift up the concrete and steel girder that went down due to the cracked concrete cantilever.
Tuesday 14th: Breakfast at 8:00, 8:30 Kuldeep picks us up and we're across town to Delhi U and the foreign student registry office by 9:15, except, they don't open until 10:15 and probably won't see anyone til 11:00. We debate and Julie decides to wait it out, she was supposed to get an email today or yesterday but no nothing yet. While she waits I send Kuldeep for a couple bottles of water and wait outside, noticing through the iron fence the sewer is backed up and filling the courtyard to the left of the building with a bad smelling liquid. Kuldeep comes back and I run the water up to Julie, she's ready to leave it's so frustrating... the office workers start trickling in between 9:30 and 10:00, there is already a line of kids waiting, Julie and a Chinese fellow at the front. This is going to take a while so I have Kuldeep take me to look for some sandals but the shops are not open yet so we come back and I figure I'll go wait with Julie, as I get to the stairs Julie calls she needs a copy of her passport and visa, so I go back down the stairs and in the wall across the road from the Office there is a hole in the wall I see a sign copy? Yes, believe it or not... 1 rupee for each then I'm back with Julie... and we wait...
it's hot in the hallway, this is so exasperating! We first applied July 1, it's now July 14th, this is our fourth trip to this particular office... all we hear is "first you must obtain the certificate of admission, before you can apply to the college, or sign up for courses, or buy books, or apply to a hostel" 2 days still school starts. Finally, a little after 11 Julie comes out with a paper in her hand...
Nooooooo, it's not the certificate of admission, but it's a letter stating she will be admitted once she meets the following 3 conditions, among which are a student visa, which you can't get until you've been admitted... but this letter should help get that from the US Embassy... and the letter has a rubber stamp! even though it's dated July 10 they didn't email us or lett us know... so Kuldeep navigates the Delhi traffic from north Delhi to southwest Delhi... 35 mins of so, to the American embassy, we go through security yes we are american citizens so get the short line and the clerk happily gives us a sheet with the 2 addresses we need to go to, no they do not do anything with visas here... so we are off to the India Foreign Registry R something office, FRRO for short, where we enter a packed room of foreigners speaking all sort of languages and jostle up to the reception counter where we are told we first have to go to the other office and get a brown envelope with a stamp on in, before we can come back to this one and apply for the student visa. Unfortunately the other office closes at 12:30 and it's now 1:15, so we will have to go there tomorrow morning, then back to the FRRO (they are in the same area of Delhi, but not close together), then we will have maybe the right papers to take back to the University to get the Admission certificate. Remember, school starts Thursday! So my plans to have Julie in housing and all set for the first day of school so I could make my journey to Bodh Gaya and Patna and Kerala... may not be happening, the letters also tell her she may have to go to her home country to get her student visa processed?! And also to plan on making her own living arrangements changes are negligible she will be able to get into on-campus hostels.
We have Kuldeep drive us out to "Gurgaon" the new city, where Microsoft and Oracle and all the american companies are building the new office buildings and shopping malls and bowling alleys and liquor stores and stand here drink beer on the side of the road shops... we drive about 1/2 of it and we've seen enough, this place is sick get us out of here... we head to Lajpat Nagar, one of the best market area's in town, and at Sai Sarovar I have a great coconut rice dish with Panatte and Raisa's, with the chutney and spicy and cool sauces and a lime soda... great lunch then we shop and Julie gets shoes and earrings and a shirt and i finally find a decent pair of sandals that fit me in a style i can live with... genuine camel hide... 595 he says, ha ha ha, come on... do I look that stupid?... he misses the joke, after a few back and forths we settle at 400 i won't go a penny higher i start to put on my socks and old shoes and get up to leave and OK OK we're done and they're in the bag.
We're back to our room after an ice cream stop Kuldeep sees a vendor sleeping on his pushcart so we wake him up and he sleepily gives us two butterscotch cones (kindof like a nutty buddy), collects the 32 and goes back to sleep on top his cart. Monica is expecting us for dinner at 7:30 she's at D20 Pam Posh Place just time for a nap and we'll have more great adventure tomorrow. Kuldeep is driving someone to Agra to see the Taj so Raj will be driving us tomorrow, 9:00 pickup and we go insearch of the stamped envelope, student visa application, and admission certificate!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Udaipur - Rajasthan
Udaipur July 11 & 12
Udaipur is a really cool place! Yesterday we went up into the hills to the Monsoon
Palace up on top the mountain, it is surrounded for miles by wildlife and nature
preserve so the views are unspoiled and it's very cool. They are in the process of
restoring the Monsoon palace but we saw a little of it and on the outside and entry
chamber it was really cool with fountains in both entry hall room bordered with 4"
high marble ledges. We enjoyed the views and cool breeze we are laughing to remember
how sweltering it was in Delhi now.. although we'll be back there in a few days! We
watched a huge storm dropping rain in sheets coming towards us as we sat on the
outside patio overlooking the valleys all around, til we felt the first drops then
scampered down the hill to the car just as the big drops started. We saw huge monkeys bounding across the road... Leugans or some such they were plentifl, also lots of goats, cows, water buffalos, donkeys, an elephant, some camels, as we drove around the lakes and hills.
Following a late authentic lunch prepared by Monica and her cook, we took a nap and
chilled out with the window open and hearing the silence and birds chirping. Dinner is quite late at Monica's as Arunesh is having some friends over and they will drink for a while before having theirs. We are there at 9 and it's decided to wait awhile and meet Arunesh's friends, which we do. Deepak owns the hotel we are in and also a
restaurant and has a contract with the concrete plant for materials. Sundeep and
Krupaj were not real talkative in English, most of the conversation was in Hindi so
after a few minutes we ate and they went outside to drink. We finished up by 10:30 and headed in for an early night of long rest... delightful! See you about 10 for
breakfast!
July 12
It's Sunday, and we enjoy an indian breakfast of tea, cheela's, which are kind of like pancakes made from chick-pea flour with thin slices of onions, coriander, green
peppers, and chilli peppers mixed in... you put a chutney of some sort on them and
they are fantastic! You eat 3 or 4 of those with fresh fruit pears, apples, bananas,
pomegranate and you are good to go! We have a second cup of tea and chat for a while, breakfast stretches out for about 2 hours! By now we decide to take a ride to old town and see the City Palace. Monica's family has been in Udaipur a long time, and her father in law had been the Maharana's family doctor, so she knows the family members going way back.
It takes about 2 hours to go through the palace at a rapid pace, Julie is not big on old buildings so she leads the way quickly, I am the dawdler reading every card and taking pictures of all the doors and archways... Arunesh is very well versed in
history, and he tells me many of the great stories of the Maharaja's of Udaipur, the
oldest continuous rulers in India, going back to say... 745 or so! In the genealogy
hall there are the photos of all of them, and a big chart of when they ruled, etc...
and he tells me the stories of the famous battles, and how the Rajputs were the only
ones not to submit to Akbar when he conquered all of India... the ruler went and lived in the woods until he would overthrow Akbar but he never did and died in the woods.. there was a famous battle where they were outnumbered and Akbar's army was on elephants so Maharana Prata had elephant trunk like things put on their horses so the elephants would think they were baby elephants and not attack the horses... the
elephants had sword blades attached to their trunks and they nicked Maharana Prata's
horse on the leg... the spirited horse Chetak turned around and bleeding, rescued the Maharana from danger and jumped the stream to safety... but, once reaching safety he expired. There is today in the center of town a big statue of the white horse in the middle of Chetak Circle. I know that name is familiar there is a scooter made by Bajaj, the Chetak, I saw one in the market later. A bunch of stories like these as we travel room to room seeing all the unbelievable architecture of white marble, glass, mirrors, inlays, doors, cupolas, little passageways, hidden courtyards, balcony's, fountains... war armor, swords, maces, you name it it's been saved and since the family still owns and lives in part of the palace, (another part is a 5 star hotel) many family photos and artifacts are on display as well.
We stop for lunch in the main courtyard, by now ac is welcome, and at a cool table
overlooking the front lawn discover it's Mexican day! After some insistent pleading on my part Monica and Arunesh allow me the honor of buying lunch, and a 5 course mexican meal follows, the food and service is perfect, and the chef comes out to make sure everything was OK. Following desert we take the car out of the palace and down a block or so into old town where we jump out to do a little shopping in the touristy area. We've seen many tourists today Arunesh says Udaipur is now one of the top tourist destinations in the world, maybe not in number of total tourists, but in the quality and value of the trip. You can get hostel rooms starting at about $1 a night, on up to $1300 for the top places.
It's pretty touristy so our shopping doesn't last long... we're going to do more
tomorrow but we'll go to the regular town market on Monday prices will be better.
Julie spots some headrags like I've been looking for the whole trip so Arunesh pulls
over and I jump out and walk back to the cart, where the guy sheepishly tells me the
large tie die's are 35 rupees (48 to the dollar), and the smalls are 10! 10! I say... 10! Yes he says, well, give me one of those, no make it two, and give me one of the big ones too. He looks at me? 35? this is 10? Yeah, Yeah, give me all three of them... crazy... american prices for lunch now 55 for 3 headwraps a couple blocks
away!
We're back to our room for a nap until dinner at 9 then tomorrow it's check out time, shopping, and to the airport for our 6:20 flight to Delhi, we should get to our room by 10 before enjoying the press and head of Delhi Tuesday morning, when Julie is supposed to finally get her admittance if she is going to, to Delhi U, then she can plead her case for Miranda house college and the on-campus hostel.
Udaipur is a really cool place! Yesterday we went up into the hills to the Monsoon
Palace up on top the mountain, it is surrounded for miles by wildlife and nature
preserve so the views are unspoiled and it's very cool. They are in the process of
restoring the Monsoon palace but we saw a little of it and on the outside and entry
chamber it was really cool with fountains in both entry hall room bordered with 4"
high marble ledges. We enjoyed the views and cool breeze we are laughing to remember
how sweltering it was in Delhi now.. although we'll be back there in a few days! We
watched a huge storm dropping rain in sheets coming towards us as we sat on the
outside patio overlooking the valleys all around, til we felt the first drops then
scampered down the hill to the car just as the big drops started. We saw huge monkeys bounding across the road... Leugans or some such they were plentifl, also lots of goats, cows, water buffalos, donkeys, an elephant, some camels, as we drove around the lakes and hills.
Following a late authentic lunch prepared by Monica and her cook, we took a nap and
chilled out with the window open and hearing the silence and birds chirping. Dinner is quite late at Monica's as Arunesh is having some friends over and they will drink for a while before having theirs. We are there at 9 and it's decided to wait awhile and meet Arunesh's friends, which we do. Deepak owns the hotel we are in and also a
restaurant and has a contract with the concrete plant for materials. Sundeep and
Krupaj were not real talkative in English, most of the conversation was in Hindi so
after a few minutes we ate and they went outside to drink. We finished up by 10:30 and headed in for an early night of long rest... delightful! See you about 10 for
breakfast!
July 12
It's Sunday, and we enjoy an indian breakfast of tea, cheela's, which are kind of like pancakes made from chick-pea flour with thin slices of onions, coriander, green
peppers, and chilli peppers mixed in... you put a chutney of some sort on them and
they are fantastic! You eat 3 or 4 of those with fresh fruit pears, apples, bananas,
pomegranate and you are good to go! We have a second cup of tea and chat for a while, breakfast stretches out for about 2 hours! By now we decide to take a ride to old town and see the City Palace. Monica's family has been in Udaipur a long time, and her father in law had been the Maharana's family doctor, so she knows the family members going way back.
It takes about 2 hours to go through the palace at a rapid pace, Julie is not big on old buildings so she leads the way quickly, I am the dawdler reading every card and taking pictures of all the doors and archways... Arunesh is very well versed in
history, and he tells me many of the great stories of the Maharaja's of Udaipur, the
oldest continuous rulers in India, going back to say... 745 or so! In the genealogy
hall there are the photos of all of them, and a big chart of when they ruled, etc...
and he tells me the stories of the famous battles, and how the Rajputs were the only
ones not to submit to Akbar when he conquered all of India... the ruler went and lived in the woods until he would overthrow Akbar but he never did and died in the woods.. there was a famous battle where they were outnumbered and Akbar's army was on elephants so Maharana Prata had elephant trunk like things put on their horses so the elephants would think they were baby elephants and not attack the horses... the
elephants had sword blades attached to their trunks and they nicked Maharana Prata's
horse on the leg... the spirited horse Chetak turned around and bleeding, rescued the Maharana from danger and jumped the stream to safety... but, once reaching safety he expired. There is today in the center of town a big statue of the white horse in the middle of Chetak Circle. I know that name is familiar there is a scooter made by Bajaj, the Chetak, I saw one in the market later. A bunch of stories like these as we travel room to room seeing all the unbelievable architecture of white marble, glass, mirrors, inlays, doors, cupolas, little passageways, hidden courtyards, balcony's, fountains... war armor, swords, maces, you name it it's been saved and since the family still owns and lives in part of the palace, (another part is a 5 star hotel) many family photos and artifacts are on display as well.
We stop for lunch in the main courtyard, by now ac is welcome, and at a cool table
overlooking the front lawn discover it's Mexican day! After some insistent pleading on my part Monica and Arunesh allow me the honor of buying lunch, and a 5 course mexican meal follows, the food and service is perfect, and the chef comes out to make sure everything was OK. Following desert we take the car out of the palace and down a block or so into old town where we jump out to do a little shopping in the touristy area. We've seen many tourists today Arunesh says Udaipur is now one of the top tourist destinations in the world, maybe not in number of total tourists, but in the quality and value of the trip. You can get hostel rooms starting at about $1 a night, on up to $1300 for the top places.
It's pretty touristy so our shopping doesn't last long... we're going to do more
tomorrow but we'll go to the regular town market on Monday prices will be better.
Julie spots some headrags like I've been looking for the whole trip so Arunesh pulls
over and I jump out and walk back to the cart, where the guy sheepishly tells me the
large tie die's are 35 rupees (48 to the dollar), and the smalls are 10! 10! I say... 10! Yes he says, well, give me one of those, no make it two, and give me one of the big ones too. He looks at me? 35? this is 10? Yeah, Yeah, give me all three of them... crazy... american prices for lunch now 55 for 3 headwraps a couple blocks
away!
We're back to our room for a nap until dinner at 9 then tomorrow it's check out time, shopping, and to the airport for our 6:20 flight to Delhi, we should get to our room by 10 before enjoying the press and head of Delhi Tuesday morning, when Julie is supposed to finally get her admittance if she is going to, to Delhi U, then she can plead her case for Miranda house college and the on-campus hostel.
Friday, July 10, 2009
It's still 1947
We're convinced we've fallen through a time gap on the plane over, and everything has gone back to 1947. The cabs, the lack of ac anywhere, none of the buildings, sidewalks, or roads have been updated since then. The Brits left it, and it's been straight down ever since. They are trying to do all these new things with the metro and new roads and sidewalks and green city... but just to come to central delhi around connaught place and try to walk down the sidewalk is a major hassle. If there aren't cars or motorcycles parked in the way, there are street vendors cooking or spreading out their wares, or like Julie is rolling her laptop bag along because we're headed for the train in a little bit and all of a sudden you come to an 18 inch concrete wall in the middle of the sidewalk that goes all the way across the parking lot, no way around it... so you jump that and another 10 paces there is a rounded only about 10 inch high concrete dome to navigate... that's not so bad, another 15 paces and the sidwalk turns to dirt, then a muddy puddle, and you have to tiptoe around that... you can see sidewalk, but it's on the other side of the railed off parking lot... aiiiiiii!
We packed up and checked out this morning.. our laundry still damp from the hand wash and press, and thought it would be nice to hang out in a cyber cafe and update our post cards and blogs.... the nearest place is Nehru place, a huge shopping area Kuldeep showed us on the way to the Lotus Temple. As we drove by he commented there was a McDonalds... all new, western shopping area.... so we're thinking AC, relax, post some cards, browse the web.... til the driver drops us off, on the backside away from that side and we could not find it for the longest time. It was so hot, and parking lot was dirt... since we're packed for 3 days on the road by train to Udaipur I have my backpack full, my shoulder bag as well, and Julie has her roller and a backpack. So I'm carrying the bag through the lot til the cars are parked so close together you cannot walk between them, on all sides? Backtrack.... some guy asks if he can help, as the indians will always do... and we said yes we want to find a nice ac place to sit down and eat... he shakes his head, but points over through that gateway, and he walks us to a pathway between the parked cars and a building. Did I mention it's oppressively hot and sticky?
It's cloudy today, which is great to keep the sun off you, but it's still high 90's already by 1:00... and the cloud cover keeps all the pollution down, it is stifling.
We get to the gate, up about a dozen stairs, and into a sweltering hallway of shops... where Julie buys some stationary she needs, and we continue, out into a huge plaza, broken tiles all through it turning to dirt, surrounded on all sides by 6-8 story buildings with all manner of little shops and offices... many eateries, all outdoor, no ac, stand up, and it is not quite wall to wall but throngs and lines and hustle bustle on every side. Julie is getting a little steamed by now, what the heck did we come here for?! Well, Kuldeep said... nice new wester modern... so we press on... see a french boulangerie in the distance, looks like sit down.... but when we get close enough...it's closed for renovation... around another corner, another plaza with a cast of thousands... and did I mention we are the only white people for miles? Everyone stops what they are doing to stare at us, (well not quite everyone, it just seems like it).... around another corner, past a gaggle of beggars laying on the tile screaming at us to give... then getting irate when we don't... and I spot the McDonalds sign. There's a small door leading into a tall office type building, up another 10 stairs or so, inside which is airport security type screening security... I am loaded with 2 bags so is Julie, and the guard is quite thorough... finally we get in, and see a RUBY TUESDAY'S!!! and a SBARRO! Never ever in a million years did I think I would be happy to see them, I avoid them like the plague at home... but AC!!! SIT DOWN SERVICE!!! I maybe can even risk a salad here... I haven't had one since the airport in Chicago 10 days ago.
We have a glorious meal and actually stop sweating... and get full, they had some great little veggie burgers and fries w ketchup, and the salad bar was wierd but some parts like brocolli, lettuce, and green peppers were familiar, the papaya, watermelon, and cucumber salad were hot hot hot spiced... thankfully they brought us a large mineral water at the start, (did I mention you cannot drink the water here?, or use it to brush your teeth, or your toothbrush, or eat anything like fresh fruit or vegetables unless you peel them yourself?) Anyway, it's only been 3 hours and my stomack is rumbling a little, we'll see what happens on the train tonight where another adventure is in store for us... almost time to head for the station... I may drop out for a few days, not likely there will be cyber cafe's in Udaipur, it's hard enough to find in the capital of the country... and Udaipur is not that. It's in Rajasthan, where the guys wear the turbans and grow the huge handlebar mustaches, and I think the women wear saries and salwar kameez...will be nice if the young people actually dress indian not in jeans and stupid looking american tshirts like most do here... anyway, we'll be back to Delhi Monday or Tuesday night, Julie is supposed to find out about her admission on Tuesday... then we'll see what's up with housing before school starts on Thursday and I maybe board another overnight train to Gaya... see how this goes first.
Catching an autorickshaw to Nizammudin station for the 2693 at 7:00...
We packed up and checked out this morning.. our laundry still damp from the hand wash and press, and thought it would be nice to hang out in a cyber cafe and update our post cards and blogs.... the nearest place is Nehru place, a huge shopping area Kuldeep showed us on the way to the Lotus Temple. As we drove by he commented there was a McDonalds... all new, western shopping area.... so we're thinking AC, relax, post some cards, browse the web.... til the driver drops us off, on the backside away from that side and we could not find it for the longest time. It was so hot, and parking lot was dirt... since we're packed for 3 days on the road by train to Udaipur I have my backpack full, my shoulder bag as well, and Julie has her roller and a backpack. So I'm carrying the bag through the lot til the cars are parked so close together you cannot walk between them, on all sides? Backtrack.... some guy asks if he can help, as the indians will always do... and we said yes we want to find a nice ac place to sit down and eat... he shakes his head, but points over through that gateway, and he walks us to a pathway between the parked cars and a building. Did I mention it's oppressively hot and sticky?
It's cloudy today, which is great to keep the sun off you, but it's still high 90's already by 1:00... and the cloud cover keeps all the pollution down, it is stifling.
We get to the gate, up about a dozen stairs, and into a sweltering hallway of shops... where Julie buys some stationary she needs, and we continue, out into a huge plaza, broken tiles all through it turning to dirt, surrounded on all sides by 6-8 story buildings with all manner of little shops and offices... many eateries, all outdoor, no ac, stand up, and it is not quite wall to wall but throngs and lines and hustle bustle on every side. Julie is getting a little steamed by now, what the heck did we come here for?! Well, Kuldeep said... nice new wester modern... so we press on... see a french boulangerie in the distance, looks like sit down.... but when we get close enough...it's closed for renovation... around another corner, another plaza with a cast of thousands... and did I mention we are the only white people for miles? Everyone stops what they are doing to stare at us, (well not quite everyone, it just seems like it).... around another corner, past a gaggle of beggars laying on the tile screaming at us to give... then getting irate when we don't... and I spot the McDonalds sign. There's a small door leading into a tall office type building, up another 10 stairs or so, inside which is airport security type screening security... I am loaded with 2 bags so is Julie, and the guard is quite thorough... finally we get in, and see a RUBY TUESDAY'S!!! and a SBARRO! Never ever in a million years did I think I would be happy to see them, I avoid them like the plague at home... but AC!!! SIT DOWN SERVICE!!! I maybe can even risk a salad here... I haven't had one since the airport in Chicago 10 days ago.
We have a glorious meal and actually stop sweating... and get full, they had some great little veggie burgers and fries w ketchup, and the salad bar was wierd but some parts like brocolli, lettuce, and green peppers were familiar, the papaya, watermelon, and cucumber salad were hot hot hot spiced... thankfully they brought us a large mineral water at the start, (did I mention you cannot drink the water here?, or use it to brush your teeth, or your toothbrush, or eat anything like fresh fruit or vegetables unless you peel them yourself?) Anyway, it's only been 3 hours and my stomack is rumbling a little, we'll see what happens on the train tonight where another adventure is in store for us... almost time to head for the station... I may drop out for a few days, not likely there will be cyber cafe's in Udaipur, it's hard enough to find in the capital of the country... and Udaipur is not that. It's in Rajasthan, where the guys wear the turbans and grow the huge handlebar mustaches, and I think the women wear saries and salwar kameez...will be nice if the young people actually dress indian not in jeans and stupid looking american tshirts like most do here... anyway, we'll be back to Delhi Monday or Tuesday night, Julie is supposed to find out about her admission on Tuesday... then we'll see what's up with housing before school starts on Thursday and I maybe board another overnight train to Gaya... see how this goes first.
Catching an autorickshaw to Nizammudin station for the 2693 at 7:00...
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