How lucky am I? This has been something I ask myself about every 5 minutes while traveling in India.  Not only because of the incredible scenery and culture I am experiencing and learning so much about, but also due to the contrast between my life and the lives of so many Indians. Specifically with the poor, rural Indians. Their's are certainly simple lives in terms of material possessions, but not so in the terms of poverty, work, education, politics and soo much more. Everywhere we went, more so in Delhi, there were signs for " India's Time is Now" and "India Poised"  (check out www.indiapoised.com/ to hear Amitabh Bachchan (hero) recite this campaign message we heard everywhere).   The India Poised campaign is an attempt to identify how India can break out of their "third world / developing country" typecast and onto the international scene.  They say they will look at where India's strengths are and where its problems are and hopefully develop a road map to resolving the issues that have kept India back.  Can a population over 1 billion with such extreme poverty, environmental degredation, health issues and corruption be able to pull itself out of its own messes and participate on the world stage? I suspect that we will be seeing more and more of India in the news and media about business successes (>50% profits in the last quarter for InfoSys), but I suspect that nothing much will be done for India's poor or India's environment.  It is hearbreaking, and the optimist in me hopes they prove me wrong.

 

Speaking of optimism....our last day in India was a truly auspicious day. Maybe that rat running over my foot in Karni Mata (rat temple) outside of Bikaner really was the mode of good luck the Hindu's belive it is.  If so, then I cannot imagine how fortunate I could have been if I had eaten a portion of prasad (holy food offering) that had holy rat saliva on it. Yum. Tempting, but no thanks I already had lunch.  Back to out last day, well turns out that Samir has many family members who live in Mumbai.  After our sad goodbyes with Vaishali (she's heading on to Bangalore and Kolkata (formerly Calcutta just as Mumbai was formerly Bombay- many cities are restoring their Indian names from the English or British names) for a cousin's wedding until February-lucky! Samir's Uncle Chotu picked us up at the airport and took us back to his apartment to meet two other Uncle's and Auntie Nazi.  "By the way", Uncle C says, "Amit's engagement party is tonight and we are all going, so good thing your flight isn't until 2am"! Hello! Do you know how much I have heard about Indian weddings? And now we are invited to the engagement party? We could not have planned this better if we tried. I love these types of spontaneous surprises that only happen when traveling. I was so glad that I decided to stick with Samir for the day instead of going sight-seeing in Mumbai on my own.

 

Uncle C took us shopping to buy clothes to wear to the party (we had left our bags with all our "nice" clothes at the Left Baggage counter at the airport so we didn't have to haul them around all day). First stop was Fabulous India- local "ethnic" clothing in bright colors. I was not sure how formal the event was so I had three men: Uncle C, store clerk and Samir helping me pick out an appropriate outfit. Even lacking cultural knowledge, it probably wasn't such a hot idea seeking the advice of thee men. I should have asked Auntie N before we left the apartment about what to wear. Oh well, somehow I managed, despite the efforts of the gents to put together an ensemble in less than 20 minutes, not my favorite, but at least I wouldn't be showing up in crusty cords and a tee. 

 

Our next stop was the store that the family owns. Split by three Uncles and one Aunt they design, produce and sell traditional women's clothing at a great store called Gypsy Rose (named after the dancer Gypsy Rose Lee). They make exquisite Salwar Kameez's that I could not keep my hands off of. I tried on a couple Kameez's and fell in love with a bright blue one with white embroidery. Wish we had come here for our party outfits cuz this is something I could wear and feel comfortable in.   I imagine if they branched out to the international market they could do really well. I bought my Kameez for only 20 bucks, I bet they could sell in the states for $80 and up.  With out outfits complete we picked up the rest of the family and drove to the athletic club for the party.

 

We greated the growing branches of Samir's family tree, ate a ton of food, including PAN!!!! Vaishali had been describing pan the entire trip and now that she wasn't with us, there it was. I had two! Then some chicken tikki, fish, aloo and so many other wandering appetizers.  The bride arrived and the party all grouped around her as she and Amit made their way to the front of the room. From there they took about 1,000 photos for the rest of the night...cutting cake, with friends, with family, with more family... Pictures were taken all through dinner and I don't think either got a chance to eat. Samir and I were even asked to take a picture with the couple.  Oh, and they all thought we were married.  This has been a common perception of our relationship because in India women don't travel alone with men, unless he is her family or husband.  I suspect the women were a little upset with me for "stealing" from their biscoot bin.  They are going to be really shocked when Samir comes back to India in a few years to introduce the family to his real wife. 

 

The rest of the party was spent eating and eating and talking politics with family. Before too long it was time to go, change into our street clothes and head to the airport for the last long haul flights back to Seattle. 

 

I have seen a lot. I have learned a lot. There is still so much more to see and learn.  I love India and I hate India. and I will most certainly go back, just not to Agra.  Maybe next time I go, Amit and Nashareen will be having the wedding ceremony (usually held one year after the engagement)! How lucky would that be? You never know....

 Hello! Still in india, and still surviving. My love has been bruised a litte today because I think we have just experienced our most taxing day of all. It started last night when we boarded our night train to Agra from Bikaner. Now for those of you who have been on the India rail system know what it is like walking into those stations. The first thing one notices is a horrible smell. Turns out the trains have bathrooms but no resevoir for holding waste. So out it goes immediatly onto the train tracks. Literally, the tracks are covered in shite. Now and then you will see a kid run up to the edge of the platform and start peeing off the side. You see this is the streets too, men peeing on walls, in ditches, children pooing on the side of the road. wherever, no matter. when you gotta go....

 

The next thing you experience, and this is more so in the bigger cities (that's more than 2 million, folks) are street kids.  These are a particularly rough breed who are nitty and persistant as all hell. They will swarm you and stare and harass you repeatedly, as if you will forget that you just shared some spicy indian snacks and banana chips (thanks to Samir) with them about 5 minutes prior.  The third is the stares, which i think I already mentioned earlier. wow, am I white.  Hopefully, you will also be most fortunate of getting the opportunity to navigate the schedule. Not as easy as logic would have it but that is another story for another time.

 

We boarded our train and made ourselves comfortable (as much as you can in a freezing tin can). Our birth mate was a very friendly native traveling on to Lakshmi (I totally misspelled that). We talked with him for several hours all about india, the people, places to see and do, and his family. He was a great guy. His friend and he shared a huge spread of dinner with us too made by one of his ar's (friends). Samir will have to tell you what we had, but I think it was Aloo gobi (potatoes), parati, tandoori chicken and one other dish- the one with cheese. It was really good. Unfortunately, I have been hit with the delhi belly ( I think from a samosa (my first one in india) at the camel festival the day before) and it was a little hard to get much of it down.  What I could, though, it was delicious and very generous.

 

Our train arrived in Jaipur (for a layover) much ealier than we expected. So at 2 am sitting in a train station waiting for our connection to agra was a little brutal. I rolled into the second class waiting room, pulled up a chair between the hundreds of sleeping bodies sprawled all over the room and tried to sleep until 6 to catch our next train. Eventually, we laid out a thin little sarong and slept on the cold concrete. The next train was long about 4 hours and freezing. note to self, when in rajastan in DEcember or January bring sleeping bag and more warm clothing. It's the desert afterall and it gets really cold at night.

 

Agra is a really crazy city in comparison to either Jodhpur or Bikaner. I am confident it is less so than either Delhi or Mumbai, but we will have to wait to see.  The rickshaw drivers are ruthless, and the shopkeepers are annoying not to mention all the people trying to steer you into a certain shop, hotel or restaurant for a comission. Yuck. The Taj Mahal is beautiful, though and after a really hectic que experience that really took a toll on my love, we made it in. 

 

Wow, I am at the Taj Mahal! It is as beautiful as they say, if not more so in the fading afternoon sunlight.  We watched two Germans get engaged, and many couples get cozy amidst the millions of tourists mobbing the courtyard and gardens. I can't tell you how many pictures I am in with  Indians.  While standing there innocently shooting the Taj in the reflecting pool a whole Indian family came up to me and asked me to be in a picture with them. So one by one or in two's I took a picture with each member of the family. Young boys would try to sneak pictures of me, until I started telling them I was charging 50 rupies. They looked shocked and heartborken so I had to tell them it was a joke. Their smiles of relief were cute. Let me tell you, I would never want to be famous and have to deal with that everyday. Suck!

 

Now after a full delicous meal of foods I can't pronounce let alone remember later (despite the delhi belly- sorry taj toilet) I have just said good bye to our spanish friends Miguel and Malia whom we seem to run into everywhere since our meeing at the lasse stand in Jodhpur market.  The belly is wining and i think it might win.

 

Much love and talk to you soon. We head to Delhi tomorrow evening for a few days and then head south to warmer climes and relaxing rivers.  happy new year!

After more than 24 hours of travel time that included a stop over in London, I  have arrived in Jodhpur.  The blue city.  Most of the buildings in the old city are painted a bright blue color. This used to signify the color of a Brahmin (priest) but now anyone can paint there establishment blue. It is reported that the blue deters insects and is cooler in the summer heat. Whatever the reason, now it makes for an aestheticaly pleasing and unique experience.  Especially, set against a backdrop of drab desert colors. Jodhpur stands out as a truly amazing city. 

 

In the old city the streets are narrow. Fine for pedestrians, maybe some bikes or motos or an autorickshaw or two, but when the traffic starts flowing, you should see how many of each of these are crammed into these narrow stone alleyways. Today we walked in the direction of the fort which we can see from our balcony in the Cosy Guesthouse.  Meherangarh is a massive fort on the top of a rocky outcropping it stands above Jodhpur looking down on the new and old city with a royal eye.  We stumbled across a back access point just by  walking any which way down the tiny roads. Passing numerous cows, wild dogs, oh and piles and piles of sh@t. The streets remind me a bit of wandering through the streets of Prague. Inevitably you end up getting where you are want to go, but a map or following directions is useless. We spent much of the day at the fort, exploring the courtyards and their jali's (marble screens) and massive rooms.  Beautiful. 

 

Our guidebook pointed us in the direction of the Sadar Market to a restaurant well known for its lasse drinks. While walking to the market near the clocktower we wondered through various back roads, that seems like not many tourists make it to. Children ran up yelling Hallo! How are you? Fine. What is your name? And they shake your hand and just stare at you. Some even kissed my hand! so very cute. Samir even got stares. They are probably wondering what an Indian man is doing with a Western woman. As we are finding out this is not very common. Many smiles and Hallo's later we found the clocktower with the help of an eloquent 10 year old. His english was very good and he helped us navigate those crazy streets. All the while stares and stares and pointing and the hindi term for white person (agraze) thrown out in my direction. One girl even grabbed a bangle that a merchant gave me as a gift before we left the fort, to get a closer look.  The best of all white person experience so far was in the market, though.

 

Immedialty as we entered this chaotic square of shopkeepers and buyers the stares began and the Hallo's. One man even pulled my hair then laughed to his friend as he walked by. a glance back and he smiles a big grin knowing I had caught him and said Hallo with a big laugh and walked off. We decided to test our luck at buying bangles. Mistake no. 1. Do not let them squeeze bangles that are too small onto your wrist. It is a most painful experience and you will have a really hard time getting them off. needless to say I have about 50 on my wrist right now that are too painful to remove. They are just about starting to bother me, clanking all over the place and cutting off my circulation. I guess with a dead left hand, they will be easy to remove.

 

We found the lasse stand and I ordered one to go. Thanks to a shot of encouragement from two Spaniards we met in line. They highly recommended it since it was packed with native Indians. It was worth it too. Delicious! That lasse was the best one I have ever had!  

 

Tonight our Cosy Guesthouse is hosting a buffet for New Year's eve. We have invited our new Spanish friends and can't wait to eat some tasty Indian Food. Turns out there aren't that many restaurants in the old city so we've only eaten snacks all day. The rooftop restaurant is already decorated with balloons and lights and the chairs have all been set to the side, waiting for a dance party, I think.

                           

 

We have one more day in Jodhpur. It will either be spent on a camel trek, or touring several small craft villages outside.  I'll keep you posted. Thanks for taking an interest in my blog.  Hope you are having a wonderful New Year! Cheers!