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| A WORD FROM ALUVA A correspondence from a Young Adult Missionary in India Issue 9 May 1006 CHAR’S AMAZING ADVENTURES IN INDIA A Stressful Start It was 2:30 in the afternoon on Tuesday, April 18. Becca, Heather, and I were wasting away the hours at Chacko Homes while waiting for our 6:40 train, when Becca suggested that we check the ticket just to make sure 6:40 was the actual time of our train’s departure. I retrieved the ticket from my suitcase, found the departure time typed neatly on it, blinked several times to make sure I wasn’t seeing things, and looked again, while the other two watched me silently. “What?” their eyes seemed to ask, as I tried to make sense of what I was reading. “Uhhh,” I said, fairly calmly, considering how anxious I felt at that moment, “16:08 means 4:08, yes?” The other girls looked up with wide eyes. “You’re kidding, right?” asked Becca, the group’s Queen of Sarcasm. “No, I’m actually not…see for yourself,” I replied, as I threw the ticket into Becca’s hands and made a mad dash for the office, where I called the train station, hoping to learn from them that the Kerala Express train to Delhi would be arriving late. Any other time, it would have been; but we had no such luck. “The departure time is 4:10,” the woman said kindly, without a clue that I was about to freak out. I ran back to the room where Becca and Heather were now bustling about and shouted frantically, “Guys, the train’s on time, and it leaves at 4:10!” Into the next hour, we fit everything we’d been meaning to fit into the next four. This included packing, showering (which was really important considering it would be at least two more before we had another opportunity and it had already been several for some of us – not mentioning any names), putting away laundry, sending last-minute emails, saying goodbye to friends, and calling Jenika to make sure she knew what time to meet us at the station. By 3:30, we were out the doors and in a rickshaw, willing him to hurry up and get us to the station. “Why didn’t we check the time sooner?” we berated ourselves. “Well, we thought we knew the time,” we said, figuring blaming each other or ourselves would be the least productive thing to do at that point. The rickshaw driver went as quickly as his little rickshaw would allow him to go, and we ended up making it to the station with just enough time to purchase snacks and water and laugh at ourselves. Then we boarded the train (which was not on time, but close), and, exactly 47.5 hours later, we arrived in Delhi… Delhi With a population of over 10 million within the city limits and 17 million within the surrounding metro area, Delhi can be described as one big mess of people (or, simply, one big mess, but we’ll get to that). From the moment we stepped off the train and into this entirely different world, we were battling crowds. We looked up, we looked down, we looked from side to side and back again, and we saw people absolutely everywhere. The crowd in the train station and out on the street in front of it was simply unbelievable. And, as we made our way through the people, we noticed the types of things that seem to go along with massive crowds, such as massive amounts of garbage and pollution. We did our best to step around the garbage (although, as you may have figured out by now, space is limited), but we had to breathe in the air. Delhi is a dirty city. In fact, it was once cited as the fourth most polluted city in the world. You can literally feel yourself breathing in that polluted air as you walk down the garbage-lined streets. You don’t want to breathe through your mouth, but, at any given moment, the air can smell of a hundred different things – none of them too appealing – so you don’t want to breathe through your nose either. Delhi is crowded, smelly, dirty, and, hoping I can say this without offending anyone, disgusting. It is like nothing I have ever experienced. Upon arriving in the city, we found ourselves experiencing culture shock all over again. We’d been in India for eight months by that time, but Delhi is a completely different India from the one we have come to know. We were told this would be the case, but no mere words could have prepared us for what were to see, hear, and smell. But as we took it all in, we tried to embrace it. When I talked to my mother the day of my return to Aluva, I recalled that I never necessarily liked Delhi, but I did have a good time there. She said she felt much the same way in regard to this city. And despite its flaws, there is a lot to be said Delhi. Over the next several days, we saw much of the city. In Old Delhi, we toured the Red Fort, built by Shah Jahan – the same man who built the Taj Mahal – which is most amazing because of its massive size. We toured a Muslim mosque, as well as Jain, Hindu, and Sikh temples, all within mere meters of each other. And, as if we weren’t having enough trouble breathing already, we made our way to Asia’s largest spice market. I forgot for a few minutes how tired of Indian food I am, and I bought enough Indian spices to make my suitcase noticeably heavier. In New Delhi, rather than forts and temples, we found streets lined with shops and restaurants, and we made good use of our time in as many of these as we could. By our third day, I’d come down with a bad case of Delhi Belly, and I was not able to enjoy North India’s cuisine (which, for us, was a great reprieve from the tedium of South India’s) for several days following. I was, however, just well enough to buy as many souvenirs as I could carry – which became a problem when I realized we’d only just begun our tour. I managed to get it all packed up, and on we went… Haridwar We spent only one short day in Haridwar, but that was all it took to see its one notable site – the Ganges. The city of Haridwar is actually the most popular pilgrimage site to the Ganges for Hindu worshipers. They come from all over India to bathe in the sacred waters of this river, which is also the site of many Hindu cremations (after which the ashes and unburned body parts are dumped into the water to be washed away. Haridwar is not overrun with tourists, which was fortunate for us, as we were able to witness the sacred rituals of the Hindus in relative peace. And we, too, were able to put our hands and feet into the sacred waters. At one point, someone in our group asked the rest if we’d ever heard that the Ganges is the dirtiest river in the world. Yes, we had heard, but from where we stood at that moment, we could see only beauty. We could not stand too long, however. There was much more of India to see… Shimla Shimla is a hill station at the foot of the Himalayan Mountains in the Northern state of Himachal Pradesh. It was the summer capital of India when the country was still under British rule, and it has retained much of its British heritage. With a cooler climate (still hot in the day, but pleasantly cold at night) and a more European than Asian feel, Shimla was quite the retreat for we Western tourists. But all of the fun began even before we got there. Because this city is a hill station and is located at the foot of a huge mountain range, it is relatively difficult to get to Shimla. You can take a train, but it’s not a direct route. You can also take a bus, but that means spending a ridiculously long time being hot and uncomfortable. Alternatively, you can take a car; this, however, is quite an expense. But, because we’d been finding such cheap places to stay (for instance, 10 dollars per night, divided by five people), we decided to spend the money and get to Shimla as comfortably as possible. Well, all is relative, right? The only car we could honestly afford was a five-seater. There were five of us, plus a driver. Too many. We decided to go for it anyway. We put three girls in the back and two girls in the front, along with our driver, Johnny. I was the one chosen to sit in the middle. That meant putting my butt on the e-brake and allowing Johnny to shift between my legs. He was a right gentleman about it, though. After about an hour in this position, my bottom went completely numb, and, relieved that I could no longer feel the e-brake pressing into my skin, I sat back to enjoy the rest of our six-hour journey. I was not comfortable, but I kept my spirits high by telling myself how great a story this would be someday. After one scheduled stop for breakfast and one unscheduled stop to check on the overheated engine, we arrived at our destination. One of the first things we noticed upon our arrival in this quiet town was its state of cleanliness. We couldn’t find litter anywhere, and we saw garbage cans everywhere we looked – exactly the opposite of the rest of our Indian experiences. As we strolled through the clean city streets, we noticed posted signs stating that littering and spitting are illegal practices and those caught doing either would be fined. This was a welcome change after the shock of Delhi, and we spent much of our time in this city simply taking in its clean, cool air and its immense beauty. Shimla is set up on a series of hills, and we walked those hills time and time again, going from shoe shop to dress shop, restaurant to bakery, and movie theater to tourist attraction. On our way, we tried our best to avoid the pesky monkeys wandering around the city. These creatures were the only downside to Shimla. Believe me – they are not cute. We spent four wonderful days in Shimla before taking a small “toy train” back down the hillside to a town called Kalka, where we caught a normal train back the real world. Comfortably cool and both well rested and well fed (Delhi Belly was eventually taken over by cravings for cake and other goodies from the lovely local bakery we happened upon), we might have stayed in Shimla for the remainder of our trip. Except for one minor thing – we hadn’t yet seen the Taj… Taj Mahal, Agra I think a lot of people expect the Taj Mahal to be just a whole lot of hype. But I tell you now, from my very own experience, that there is absolutely nothing like standing in front of this monumental structure and taking in its beauty with your very own eyes. This is one experience I have always dreamed of having, and after being there, I can tell you that, if the Taj has been hyped up, there is a good reason. We arrived at the Taj Mahal’s gate around 4:00 in the afternoon. It was dreadfully hot in Agra that day, but we did not let that put a damper on our excitement. We bought our tickets, hired a guide (who, over the next three hours, did little more than tell us where to stand for the best pictures), and walked toward our destination. Without sounding overly dramatic, I must admit that, at my first glimpse of the Taj Mahal, tears threatened to spill from my eyes. As I walked toward it, closer and closer, I kept asking myself if I was really, truly there. I could barely believe that it was real life, but I knew I wasn’t dreaming. If I had been, I might never have wanted to wake up. What else can I say about this great monument, built by Shah Jahan for the wife whom he loved so much? I do it an injustice by calling it beautiful, but it’s too much of a cliché to say it was breathtaking. Still, that’s just what it is – beautiful and breathtaking. And, as the hot afternoon became a still-hot evening, the Taj became even more beautiful and breathtaking. With the sun setting in the distance, the white marble of the Taj Mahal appeared orange; the building changed colors right before our eyes, and we just sat there, staring at it in awe and wonder. Weeks later, I am still in awe and wonder. Before I even knew where the Taj Mahal was located on the world map, I wanted to visit it. But never did I actually think I would have the opportunity to do so. Now that I have, I only want to do it again. The Taj Mahal was, without a doubt, the highlight of our trip around India. But it wasn’t the end of the trip. After bidding the Taj goodbye, eating a lovely dinner, and sleeping for only a few short hours, we were on our way to our next destination… Jaipur Jaipur is known as India’s “Pink City,” although the “pink” buildings it was so-named for are more orange than anything. Located in the state of Rajasthan, this is another completely different world. Although Rajasthan is only a few hours by train from both Delhi and Agra, by the time you get to the city, you have entered India’s desert. As often as we see elephants in Kerala (which is quite often), we saw camels in Jaipur. Some of them were pulling carts full of people, and some of them were dressed up and decorated. Regardless of their appearance, though, we silly American tourists were as fascinated as anything to see them. At one point, we even asked our rickshaw driver to stop so we could all get out and take a photo of the camel-drawn carriage that was traveling behind us. But besides harassing camels, we had two missions in Jaipur: 1) see the city that so many people had told us was “unmissable” and 2) buy a beautiful wool carpet, size 8 x 10, for Becca’s mom. We spent the entire first afternoon on the second mission, but we left each carpet store without having spent a dime (not that you could buy one of these carpets for a dime). Becca was nervous that we wouldn’t have time to search every last carpet shop in this city of three million people – and perhaps as many shops. But we encouraged her to take a break and see the city with us the next day. Jaipur is quite a fascinating city, and we enjoyed a guided tour of some of its attractions. We saw a temple, a palace, and a fort, as well as a medieval observatory built between 1728 and 1734. The grounds looked a bit like some sort of deteriorating modern art exhibit, but many of the instruments are actually still functioning and useful in predicting when the monsoon will arrive and how hot the summer will be. Knowing how hot the summer was right at that moment (44 degrees C, or 111 degrees F), we moved on from there quickly. When our tour of the “Pink City” was over, we had a hearty lunch at Subway (YES! The Subway), then went back to searching for the perfect carpet for Becca’s mom. By the time we were hungry again (and we certainly had our fill at Subway), we had found that carpet and nearly signed away our lives for it. To celebrate this success, we ate our dinner at Pizza Hut – but not before the rest of us had done a little shopping of our own. After all, besides being “pink,” Jaipur is famous for its shopping experience – gems and jewelry, clothing and shoes, carpets, of course, and on and on and on. The next morning, we hefted our overloaded bags and headed to the train station. We boarded an overnighter and woke up, once again, in a new world. This time it was called Bombay… Bombay Bombay was a short stop, and it would have been nice to stay a bit longer, as there is much to see in the world’s second largest city. With a population of nearly 13 million within city limits, Bombay is second only to Shanghai, China; but it may not stay second for long, as thousands of people from all over India push their way into the already crowded city every single day. As well as being a city of great crowds, Bombay is a city of great paradoxes. India’s commercial capital, as well as home to Bollywood (a larger film industry than Hollywood, by the way) and all of its stars, Bombay is known to be the richest city in the country. Despite that fact, however, between one-third and one-half of Bombay’s residents are forced to reside on the streets. Wherever there is not an apartment building or a shopping mall, there are slums. You can see them from the air when you fly into the city, and you can see them right in front of you when you walk Bombay’s streets. We kept off the streets as much as possible, though. By this point in our trip, we were worn out and worn down, and we wanted nothing more than to enjoy a Bollywood blockbuster, eat at a Mexican restaurant (which turned out to serve what was basically Indian food in the form of burritos and enchiladas), and sleep in the following morning. We did manage to see the Gateway of India and the legendary Taj Mahal Hotel (where one night would have exhausted our entire trip budget and one meal would have come close). Then we drove down what I now like to think of as India’s Lakeshore Drive and saw Chowpatty Beach, before heading out of the city and on to the real beaches of India… Goa Goa was chosen as our final destination, in part because it’s fairly close to home (only a 14-hour train journey; remember, all is relative) and in part because we didn’t trust ourselves to pack up and leave the place once we got there, even if there was a Taj Mahal to see. This ended up being a wonderful plan, as Goa was the perfect place to spend our last few days of holiday. A tiny state located just above Karnataka, which is the state just North of Kerala, Goa is far enough to the south to have a climate similar to Kerala’s (though not quite as humid) and familiar scenery (palm trees and such). These traits make Goa perfect for beachside resorts and restaurants, and the state has become a tourist trap both for foreigners and Indians. We stayed in a place called Colva Beach, simply because it was near the railway station. While this is certainly not Goa’s cleanest or prettiest resort town, it was convenient and affordable. And, because Goa is so tiny (you could probably drive the coast in three hours), the beaches we’d read about in our guidebooks were within easy reach. One day, we went to a beach called Palolem, famous for its dolphin tours, according to those trusty guidebooks. When we got there, however, there were no dolphin tours in sight. We ended up taking a ride on a small boat, driven by a cheerful man who promised that, even though his was not an official tour, we would see dolphins. He wasn’t lying, but it turned out that he had a different idea than we did of what seeing dolphins entails. We meant to see entire dolphins – not just dolphin tails. Still, besides trips to Sea World, this was the closest any of us had ever gotten to a dolphin, and at least we could go home to say that we saw the dolphins at Palolem Beach. They even sell shirts that say that, although we resisted that temptation. Feeling a little let down, and more than a little hungry, we walked along the edge of the beautiful beach in search of a restaurant suitable for our lunch. When we saw one claiming to be in the midst of its Happy Hour, all four of us had the exact same thought at the exact same time. We ate fresh salads and fried noodles, drank strawberry daiquiris and pina coladas, and simply watched the beautiful world go by. In time, full and happy once again, we went for a swim in the crystal clear blue waters of Palolem Beach. It was gorgeous, and, despite the dolphin mishap, it turned out to be quite the perfect day. We spent a little more time at our own beach the following day, but by this point, it was time to start thinking about home. We ate one last really yummy meal, and then we packed our bags and loaded up our hands with the items that no longer fit in them. With minds full of incredible memories, we boarded our last overnight train. The next day, we woke up in Kerala, and, as hard as it was to watch our vacation come to an end, it was incredibly comforting to be home. After disembarking from the train, I stopped at my favorite bakery for a mid-afternoon snack and then found a rickshaw to take me back to Chacko Homes. Letting it hit me that my friends were gone and the big trip was over, I was feeling a little lonely and a little sad. And then I realized that the rickshaw driver had driven me right up to my door, before I’d even mentioned to him just where I wanted to go. I smiled and said thanks, handed him the money, and decided that I liked being home just as much as I liked being on vacation. |