India!!! What can I say! I still can't believe I am here! It's been a week and I don't think it has kicked in yet that I am here. It has been my dream to come here for as long as I can remember, and I am here but I hesitated about coming here.
During my time in Mexico I couldn't even think about India...I was so stressed out about coming here. I didn't know what to expect. I pictured heaps of people and craziness happening when I got off the airplane and just being hassled and getting overwhelmed. I truly thought that India was too big for me...even with all of my years traveling...I knew that India was something in itself...and I was right but wrong at the same time.
Getting There
I was in transit for 42 hours! A 4 hour flight from Cabo to L.A with a layover which was long and not bad but there was an issue with my bag because I was supposed to take it to the "transfer belt" to get it on to the next flight and they shut it down just before 7pm so there were all these people in transit that had to re-check their bags. Then I had to walk with all my stuff to the next terminal not really knowing where I was going...ughh ... ahh well, the joys of traveling. Then I had a 15 hour flight to Guangzho (China) with an awful layover. They were very rude and aggressive; not the best thing at 5am after a 15 hour flight. Then a 7 hour flight (I think) to Delhi.
I was tired and just wanted to get to my hostel. The airport was what had been stressing me out before I left for India...I had stressed myself out thinking how overwhelmed everything would be. However, the hostel I had booked into had offered an airport pick-up! So after an hour of customs and baggage claim - I was getting nervous because it took 40 minutes for my bag to come out. My heart literally lifted when I saw it come out...LOL losing it would not be fun.
I'm so glad I got a driver to pick me up...it made my life soo much easier and I was barely stressed.
To be honest ... it wasn't anything I expecting! Other than the wild traffic and random cows it was nothing like I pictured. It was a little disappointing. I don't know what I was picturing but this wasn't really it.
Feeling at Home
I met someone literally the minute I arrived at the hostel. It was a great place and an easy place to meet people ...probably one of the best hostels. It's nothing like the hostels in Mexico...cheap resort...this was average looking dorm rooms, a rooftop patio with chairs around a table, a grassed area where people sat and patio lanterns. Writing on the walls and a small social area in the main area. It was honestly a breath of fresh air. Don't get me wrong I love hostels in Mexico but this one was how I think hostels should be. The people I met were awesome. They are so different on this side of the world, they travel differently, they have a different air about them. Some took out guitars and started singing, very hippie and there were so many TEFL teachers!!! I couldn't believe it!!! I felt right at home! The guys I hung out with were all TEFL teachers...I have never met so many in one spot...however many TEFL teachers are on this side of the world because not only is it great over hear but it's cheap to live in Asia. It was great to talk about work and work experiences and expand my network!!! I felt right at home and knew very quickly coming to India was the right decision.
Angels - Little Women with Wings
Even though I was jet lagged like crazy I decided that leaving for the Taj Mahal at 5am the next morning with the guys after beers all night was a smart ideal. Front desk did have to wake me up but I made it ( a half our late.)
There were 8 of us so the guys and I grabbed one cab and the others grabbed one for them. Our first stop was a chaiwalla (I think that's the spelling). This is the best place in the world, but first let me explain.
Here in India Chai (masala) is tea with spices and hot milk, and tea is black tea with a tea bag. Chai does mean tea but you need to specify because if you ask for a chai tea you are being redundant. You are literally asking for tea tea. Back home chai tea is more of a flavour where as here it's a whole process in how they make it.
Chaiwalla is basically a small little .... hut, I guess you could say...where they make and sell chai for like 20 cents. This one was on the side of the road.
I took a sip of Jose's and it was like the sky opened and rays of sunshine started pouring into my life. It was to die for!!! I looked over at the little woman selling it and I swear big huge angel wings started sprouting from her back because what she was serving us was juice from the angels. This has literally become one of my favourite things in India... I call it my angel drink! We even learned how to make it today in our cooking class at the ashram. Seriously ... this stuff makes me so happy!
The Driving
I want to explain something to you. It makes no sense here. I have tried to make sense of things but I literally can not wrap my brain around how it works here. Three lanes of traffic can become six, they don't use the lines, pay attention to speed limits or use flashers. They honk to show they are coming or if someone is getting to close. People walk along the highway, even children coming home from school. There are cows crossing the street and tuk tuks on the highway. Cars have scratches and dents, there are families of 4 on their motorbikes with only the driver wearing a helmet. The women sit side-saddle on the back of bikes and the kids barely hold on to the adults while they are weaving in and out of traffic. You drive through areas covered in garbage and doors of run down buildings that are front doors to I think one room houses. Men and children are outside doing ... I'm not sure...while you barely see any women. However, everything runs smoothly without a question, it's an organized chaos that holds the oddest most senseless dereliction as no matter what the area looked like everyone was clean, nicely dressed with smartphones in their hands. It seriously makes no sense to me. When we got into Agra there was every type of transportation on road you could think of. Taxi's, trucks, tuk tuks, horse and carriage, bicycles...I can't wrap my brain around it...it's so confusing and fascinating at the same time!!!
The Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal. I know you're probably waiting for something big here. It was beautiful, I can't lie about that, it's definitely a beautiful sight and I am very happy I went but... it was very underwhelming. There was nothing WOW about it. I said wow because I was there...it was super cool that I was there but honestly I was disappointed. I think it's because I had high hopes and had bigged it up in my head. Having expectations can really create disappointment and unfortunately the Taj Mahal was one of them.
I did enjoy sitting outside of it with the crowd and just hanging out in the sun for a bit and taking it all in. It still hadn't kicked in that I was in India and I was still lack of sleep.
There was a family sitting close to us and the mother looked at my tattoos and said something to her husband so he looked over. Then their little girl started waving at us...she was super cute. When we got up and walked away she started crying and following us...the grandmother was smiling at us and the little one was just looking at us with tears...the parents looked confused lol.
Our Driver
When we got dropped off, our driver told us we had 2 hours. So we had honestly felt that we had been ripped off as we felt rushed and didn't see the other things on the grounds. When we got back to the car we headed straight back the hostel as he had even refused to take us to the view point.
The guy was an idiot. First off, on our way back, he wasn't paying attention and he hit a man and a woman on a bike (thank goodness it wasn't the highway). When we did get to the highway however he was doing 150KM an hour, he was passing everyone. When we went over a pothole it sounded like we hit something we were driving so fast. The guys were even freaked out and asked him to slow down. I even had to ask him to get off his phone and drive properly. Then, when we got off the highway he was driving like an asshole in the crazy Delhi traffic. It's crazy enough as it is and he almost hit 3 other cars.
Later that night we found out the other group toured around and saw other places. The didn't get back till 8pm ...we got back at 3pm. I spoke to the hostel about it. They were quite upset. Apparently, we were supposed to have the cab for the day. If we wanted to go somewhere he was supposed to take us and limiting us to 2 hours at Taj Mahal was not supposed to happen, we could've spent 4 hours there if we wanted. When they called the cab driver he lied and said "when they got in the cab they just wanted to go back to the hostel." "No" I told them "he refused to take us where we wanted when we asked him and he only gave us two hours...we were pissed off. He wouldn't take us anywhere so where were we supposed to go. Plus he hit someone and drove 150KM." He got fired.
Old Delhi
After our day trip to the Taj Mahal the guys wanted to go to Old Delhi the next day. "We want to see your face on the tuk tuk going through traffic!" I had sat in the front seat in the cab to the Taj Mahal. I was white knuckled and grabbing at things to hold on to and gave a play by play as my life flashed before my eyes so they wanted to see me stress in a tuk tuk...but we took the metro instead.
"Emmie, I want you to be the first to walk out of the station. I want to see the look on your face when you see the city for your first time." Jose said to me. I looked at all of them. "Why, am I going to freak out or something?" "Just go first."
I walked up the stairs out of the metro station. The first thing I saw was a homeless guy on the upper part of the stairs missing an arm...a sight I was prepared for as I had been told this is something I would see in India.
I kept walking and focused on the street that was beginning to come into view. I got to the top of the stairs and stood still in amazement. It was everything and more I had imagined India to be! It had crazy traffic like everywhere was but maybe more. Small alley ways had motorbikes driving through them and honking almost running people over. There was delicious street food, stores that I can't explain what they were, people walking, driving, sitting, smoking and staring...I'm so glad I was covered...the stares I got were very different to what I am used to and I am so glad I was with a group of guys.
I wish there were words to describe Old Delhi...It was a complete sensory overload and I actually teared up a little bit. I was so emotionally overwhelmed with everything. So many sounds to listen to while trying to weave our way in and out of the streets and traffic, trying not to get run over everything enveloped by smells. One underlying smell with a layer of food, pollution and human, goat and cow excrement. It was dirty and dingy with broken down buildings covered in a black lining of dirt that seemed to be permanent yet the colour of clean tasty street food popped out at you. It had a darkness to it yet it was colourful and bright. It had character to it a lot of it coming from the years of power lines that lined every street. 90% of them do not work, but whenever they need new ones they just put them up not taking the old ones down...I guess they don't know which ones are the good ones anymore. The only words I have to describe it is "a beautiful senseless dereliction in and organized chaos"...and I seriously thought it was beautiful. I know there are so many things I am forgetting to tell you but it was honestly so much to take in...so much so that after about two hours it was time to go. I was exhausted from all my senses and emotions being aware and the pollution was getting to me.
Adjusting
There are some things I am trying to adjust to...and it's not just the organized chaos. It's having to be in a separate line from the guys where ever I go, the staring here is weird and can be creepy, how everyone has a smartphone even in less fortunate places and the food. Everything is spicy but so tasty...yup I'm eating spicy food...I actually don't have much of a choice because the food at the ashram is all spicy and I am adjusting to it quite well and I have definitely adjust to life here in Rishikesh.
I have only been here a week and I am so in love with India even though it hasn't hit me that I am here yet. Even though I am at the ashram now I still don't think it has all kicked in.
I know you are waiting to hear how my yoga training is going but I am going to leave that for the next blog. It's India, you have to get your feet wet first, I don't want you to get to overwhelmed.
- My Beautiful Life -
No comments:
Post a Comment