India Trip

Saturday 12th May

Wow, what an amazing day! I woke up, walked outside and it dawned on me... I'm really in India!

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My hotel here in Gurgaon is wonderful. I headed for breakfast, not knowing quite what to expect. I felt somewhat uncomfortable having so many people around me offering to do every little thing and bowing their heads at me all the time, but the staff here just love to serve and make everyone welcome.

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I started the day with a dosa for breakfast; it’s a kind of pancake filled with spicy potato and with different sauces to dip it in. After that I got into my cab to pick up my friend Sucharita so that she could show me around Delhi. After 10 minutes of talking with the cab driver I realized he didn't speak a word of English and just liked to nod when I spoke, to look like he understood me!

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Sucharita did an awesome job of showing me around Delhi’s places of interest;  the temples, tombs, shopping areas and other places of interest. There's no way I could have found my way around safely without her help. There's incredible beauty, history and culture here. The statues and carvings are out of this world.

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It’s difficult to put into words what this place is like. Cattle laying in the middle of the road, a family of four on a motorbike (man driving, wife holding a baby on the back, small child bent over the handlebars), two policemen on a motorbike late at night with no lights on and doing a U turn in the middle of the road, cars honking and flashing their lights, the smell of flower markets, the smell of spices, the bustle of the flea markets, monkeys looking at us from the sides of the road, the richness of big hotels, the poverty of crippled, homeless kids selling stuff on the streets, statues of goddesses made out of gold… the list goes on.

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In the evening we went to a restaurant and had some great local food. Nothing like Indian food in England or America - everything id so fresh and full of flavor. We had prawn curry (in a creamy coconut sauce), chicken tikka, basmati rice, naan, mango and banana lassi and the best gulab jamin I've ever tasted!

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Sunday 13th May

I walked around so much of Delhi today that I ended up with big blisters and had to buy a new pair of leather sandals with extra cushioning. We visited (amongst many other places) Red Fort, where apparently whoever gets to replace the Indian flag on the top of the mast, India is officially theirs. Now that sounded like a challenge to me… until I saw all the armed guards walking around!

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We also visited the Lotus Temple, which looks like… (of course) a big white lotus blossom, and much to my delight I found Mountain Dew being sold nearby!  Well, I did need the caffeine fix to keep me sight-seeing despite incredibly hot temperatures and no breeze today.

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We saw the India Arch monument, Parliament and where the President lives, the Gandhi memorial (where his ashes were laid to rest) and many places we visited I can’t remember the names of (or no doubt pronounce) along with a couple of large markets.

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I got to try another new experience… a public restroom. Not very exciting I hear you say. Well, it is here! You open the door, and there is just a hole in the ground, with little footrests either side for you to crouch down on! No toilet paper either… just a little hose to errr… wash those ‘important little places’! Then you have to pay a fee on the way out, to help maintain the place. Oh yes, and they also call it a ‘loo’ here, just like in England!

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In the evening, Sucharita’s mum and sister invited me round for dinner, where I was thoroughly spoiled with authentic Bengali dishes… mouth watering!

Many of the people working at the hotel know me by name now, and welcome me with “Good day Mr Gra-am” and big smiles as they place their hands together and bow their heads. I love these people!

 

Monday 14th May

Today I went to the office for the first time. I was flattered to be greeted at the door by a “Welcome Mr England” VIP board outside the front and was presented with a large bouquet of red roses.

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The classes I’m teaching range up to sixteen people, depending on the topic. Today the room was packed, and by the end of the day it was really hot – the air conditioning was no match for all the hot air I was producing!

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Tuesday 15th May

I keep seeing guys walking around holding hands, or with their arms around each other. At first I thought that maybe they were leading the blind, then I thought that maybe New Delhi had a high proportion of gay men, but when I plucked up the courage to ask and put my curiosity to rest it turned out that it’s not considered unusual for guys to hold hands walking down the street! Sounds odd to me, but there ya go...

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Work’s going well. It’s really tiring teaching almost non-stop for eight hours, but I’ve had nice feedback so far. As long as my sore throat doesn’t stop me from talking and my "Delhi belly" doesn’t keep me from lasting in the classroom!

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Wednesday 16th May

At breakfast this morning I noticed that almost everyone in the hotel dining room was British… wearing suits and ties, speaking "most proper" to one another, drinking cups of tea, reading their newspapers and biting into their toast and marmalade!  I felt like I'd gone back in time.

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At work things ground to a halt just before lunch – with network connectivity problems.  Then the air conditioning died… and slowly we all got more and more hot, sweaty and irritated. Then the lights in the office died (although that seems to be quite normal here, for short periods). Just as we were all able to start working again… the network died again. We decided to quit early and go home at that point!

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In one way I was pleased though because it meant I’d get an hour of pool time before dark, so I went to my hotel, got changed, grabbed a drink, set up by the pool, started to climb into the water and then… BANG! Down came the rain… then the thunder and lightning. People were all running around trying to get into the dry.  I packed up my stuff, sighed a deep sigh and went back to my room.  POP… out went the lights. A power outage. Is it Friday 13th?!

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As I write this I’m also gazing out of my hotel bedroom window at the downpour of rain, and tiny lizards scampering up the walls. I guess today’s not been the best of days!  Still, on the plus side, I had the best Indian kebabs I’ve ever tasted at lunch time! They just melted in the mouth.

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Thursday 17th May

The torrential downpour of rain last night damaged the power grid, so all of Gurgaon was out of electricity. The office where I am working has a backup generator that meant that all the computers and lights were running… but no air-conditioning… in 115 degree heat! Urgh!

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We had a team lunch at a really great restaurant and I got to try lots of different authentic dishes. In hindsight though, that wasn’t a good idea, considering my stomach was already feeling fragile.  Last night I had tandoori pizza with chicken tikka and I think that pushed me over the edge. My stomach keeps telling me exactly where I am… Guuuuuuuuurgaon!

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Friday 18th May

I woke up this morning and dived into the bathroom with my stomach feeling like a washing machine. I’m gradually working my way through all the medicine that I brought over, but nothing seems to be working. I decided to miss out on the usual cooked breakfast this morning, because I just couldn’t face it. Instead I ate half a packet of McVities Digestive Biscuits (yes they have them here in India as well as England).

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I arrived at the office and the team had big smiles on their faces as they asked how I was feeling. When I summed it up with "bleuch" they all laughed. They said they expected it because of all the different types of food I tried… hot and cold, sweet and salty, spicy and mild. One of the managers admitted feeling somewhat dicey last night too, so he knew that I must be feeling much worse, not being used to it.

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Around noon today, the whole building shook for a couple of seconds. I assumed that it was all the construction work going on around us but I later found out that I’d experienced an earthquake!!! Hang on, no-one told me about that before I came here.

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Saturday 19th May

Today I accomplished a lifetime’s dream… to visit the Taj Mahal. My dad served in the army (literally – he was a cook) in India during the Second World War, and he described how magnificent this place is, so it was awesome to see it through my own eyes and wonder what he must have thought being there all those years before.

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I was nervous traveling so far from the hotel after spending much of the night in the bathroom, still suffering from "Delhi belly", but Sucharita assured me that there would be hotels or restaurants on the way that would let me use a western toilet rather than the "hole in the ground and a hose to clean up after"!

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Our driver picked me up early in the morning, we picked up Sucharita and her sister Paromita, and then we set off on a four hour drive to Agra. Well, it would have been less time than that, but I spent a half hour watching the monkeys on the side of the road en route and taking photos. Mind you, the driver is getting used to me asking him to stop while I take photos of peacocks, camels, antelope, mango trees, lychee trees, banana trees, jack fruit trees, women carrying pots on their heads, mosques, tombs, temples, and, well, you get the picture.

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As you walk through the huge red gate into the grounds, you are hit by the spectacular sight of the Taj Mahal right ahead of you, shining pearl white in the sun, with fountains and pathways leading towards this most famous of tombs. It was built many years ago by the king as a fitting monument to his beloved wife when she died, but not long afterwards his son became king and imprisoned his father nearby in Fort Agra, where he spent the rest of his days gazing at the Taj through his windows and pining for his lost queen. Now how about that for a romance story?!

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The monument was once covered in precious stones, but these were stolen over time, mainly by the British apparently.  Next stop was Agra Fort itself. While I was there, a guy came up to me and asked if I’d pose for a picture with his father. Sucharita dived in to make sure he wasn’t a scam artist (she knows now not to let me out of her sight because I will instantly get into trouble), but he explained that he "loves the white man" and would like to remember this experience.  Looking at my legs, I guess they don't get much whiter than this!

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We also visited Fatepur Sikri (another tomb/monument not far away) and a mosque built as a replica of Mecca. It got very frustrating towards the end of our day though because the people trying to sell us stuff just wouldn’t take no for an answer, and became quite threatening in the end. Before I knew what was happening, Sucharita and Paramita were shouting back at them in Hindi, reminding them that they were in a religious place and that they should be disgusted with themselves. Sucharita may be small, but she’s pretty feisty when she gets going!

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I wasn’t feeling that brave personally, partly because I couldn’t understand a word that anyone was shouting and partly because I was wearing a skirt (lunghi) at the time… which they made me do on the way in to cover up my legs (not sure if it’s a religious custom or just that they weren’t used to such blinding white appendages).

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Within a few minutes there was a huge crowd around us, with everyone shouting and yelling at each other and I was just waiting for a riot to start. Fortunately an official stepped in and told them all to back off and let us leave, which they did. When we got back to the entrance Paromita filed an official complaint to the local police outside.

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After all that fun and excitement we drove back home and I got to bed around midnight… only to get back up three hours later to head off for an even longer drive; this time to the Himalayan mountains, as our final sight-seeing trip of my visit. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but WOW, this place is even more beautiful than the Taj Mahal.

 

We only had time to visit the lowest of the three Himalayan ranges, where we stopped to eat by Lake Nini (I think that’s what it was called) which translates to the lake of the eye… because it’s in the shape of an eye and (if I remember correctly) according to local myth it was a god that carried his dead wife back home over his shoulder after she had been chopped into bits… the eye landed here!

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Between emergency "potty breaks" we managed to visit a Hindu temple there, take a boat ride across the lake and even visit a local market for some more gift shopping. The drive home seemed to take forever and I eventually climbed into bed at 1:30 I think it was.

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Monday 21st May

My driver failed to show up to take me to work… he was still sleeping - I think we wore him out! I called Sucharita only to find that she was also still asleep, so class started a little late today!

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My stomach was so bad Sunday night I "upgraded" to my last line of medical defense… antibiotics to kill off whatever parasites are roaming around inside right now. I only have enough for 5 days, so I hope to heck this does the job. At lunchtime I actually felt perfectly fine for the first time in days… so what did I do? Yep, you guessed it… I was dumb enough to order curried kebabs, naan, parathas and gulab jamin. It wasn’t long before I realized that this was definitely a bad idea, and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening feeling rough again. I must remember to be more sensible tomorrow.

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Wednesday 23rd May

I looked in the mirror and I’m still as white as I came out here! Too funny.  

 

Today we took a team outing to see an Indian movie… they asked what I wanted to see and were surprised when I insisted it was a Hindi movie… I just love how upbeat and entertaining they are, plus I knew I’d have people around me that would interpret anything I didn’t understand. Hollywood could learn a lot from these movies… they are usually fun, happy and about families coming together.

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We watched a movie called “Ta Ra Rum Pum”. You’re not going to believe it, but it was one of the best movies I’ve ever seen… despite only about 5% of it being in English! The music and dancing was great. It was (strangely enough) all about NASCAR racing, but it was also a rom-com about a family pulling together so I (of course) had tears in my eyes at the end. I have to buy it on DVD when it’s available and then I will be able to see it again, with subtitles to catch the bits I might have missed.

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I was amazed by the movie theater too… the best I’ve ever been to. The seats are really comfortable and recline way back, the surround sound speaker system was AWESOME and had so much bass, and the screen was huge. Just as well though, because Hindi movies are typically over three hours long, with a 10 minute interval halfway through… I thought that concept disappeared from the movies back in the days of “Gone with the Wind”, but apparently not here.

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Afterwards we went to the food mall for lunch before returning to the office to carry on working. My stomach is FINALLY back to normal today, now that I’m on the antibiotics… and I have a lot of lost curry time to catch up on!

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I was so ill a couple of evenings ago that I called room service knowing I needed to have something to eat, but didn’t want to upset my stomach any further, so I asked what they recommended. They gave me minestrone soup, freshly baked warm rolls, and Kong Firin (a Kashmiri desert with semolina and saffron). They served it to my room complete with a rose in a single vase, and said the meal was a freebie, on them. How nice!

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Oh, you’re going to laugh at this…. I wondered why the class had been stifling giggles all week… my name sounds like "gurum", which is Hindi for "HOT"!!!! Thanks for that one Mum!

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Friday 25th May

After saying all my goodbyes at work, and a quick spot of final gift shopping, Sucharita’s family invited me over for some more wonderful Bengali food, and I had the opportunity of meeting her father too this time. He brought home some fresh lychees and mangos for me to try, which were really tasty. He gave me a box of extra mangos to bring back home with me too, which was very kind. Her family has made me feel very special.

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However, before long I was saying my goodbyes, and was soon on the plane heading back to the States.  The trip was totally amazing. I got to experience a culture very different to my own, and see incredible sights. But now I’m looking forward to arriving at Denver again, so that I can be back in the arms of my family.