India - I made it!
Well, looks like I made it!
After nearly 9 months of preparation and anticipation, I have finally landed in Delhi. At present, Im sitting in the office of my kind host Vishal (who runs Royal expeditions - DI's gound handler here in India) sorting out the rest of my exciting itinerary. I have been staying at Vishal's house with the family and three crazy (lovely) Australian Yoga teachers.
The flight from London was painless, although sitting next to a strange UK lecturer gentleman made for a little interest. He was coming to India to recruit students for Reading University business school. Seemed a little creepy to me, and I was a little suspicious of him, so I plugged in and pretended not to hear his wheezy snufflings next to me....
On arrival in Delhi, the baggage reclaim took on a surreal feeling, as they piped strange lift music through the polished white marble halls. The baggage carousel had only a few pieces of luggage on it (including mine) and the whole thing seemed a bit like the end of a game show, where you had to memorise everything passing by.....and the cuddly toy.
Anyway, then I trollied out towards the meet n greet area, and braced myself for a whole lot of mauling, shouting and pawing, which is totally what I was expecting. Only to be greeted with a few smiling people holding plackards with names on...and not another soul to be seen! Wierd. I was met like clockwork by a lovely driver who swished me through the city to Vishal's house.
Although it was 10 am here in Delhi, to me it was about 3am, and I was wasted - so the drive through the city seemed dreamlike. Saw my first (and second and third) sacred cow in the street. very pleased!
Even taking into account my hazyness, I still managed to notice how peaceful the city was, and that most of the shops were shut. On asking the driver about this, he told me that the people of the city centre have been protesting about the number of shops which are operating illegally (and this is about 2/3 of the shops in the city) meaning a large amount of traffic and confusion. The government then took the initiative to ask them all to shut and move to the suburbs - and if they dont, the shopkeeper will go to jail! Drastic action! Anyway, the shopkeepers are striking for a couple of days in protest. Meaning my initial introduction to Delhi is a place with peaceful streets. Lets see how long that lasts....
Yesterday at Vishal's house, we shared a lovely supper with the Aussie Yoga ladies and a family friend called Mary - or rather Guru - who is now a follower of a Sikh guru from the US. Apparently Mary first visited Vishal and his family when she was an accountant working at Meryll Lynch...she then embraced Yoga and Philosphy and took up with her Guru. She now wears a turban and all white robes....all the time. Vishal told us her story...laughing at the part when he mentioned that her "guru" used to be a customs official in Delhi airport, and that he made up a hybrid of Sikhism, which is ONLY followed in the US and UK. Also that female Sikhs do not wear turbans in India - only with this sect... Ahh my first of the India travelling crazies.
After supper of chapati, dahl and veg, I retired to bed early, and fell asleep listening to car and scooter horns and firecrackers still being let off after Diwali last week.
This morning brought bad news from the UK. Poor old gran passed away last night. Of course mum is in bits, but she has told me not to make moves to return home. Although its a big shock (I thought she was on the way to getting back on her feet) I think its been a long time coming. Also Mum and Dad were by her side when she went. I will be thinking of her.
Today is a sorting day, tomorrow I depart for Pushkar.
Will report more when I can.
After nearly 9 months of preparation and anticipation, I have finally landed in Delhi. At present, Im sitting in the office of my kind host Vishal (who runs Royal expeditions - DI's gound handler here in India) sorting out the rest of my exciting itinerary. I have been staying at Vishal's house with the family and three crazy (lovely) Australian Yoga teachers.
The flight from London was painless, although sitting next to a strange UK lecturer gentleman made for a little interest. He was coming to India to recruit students for Reading University business school. Seemed a little creepy to me, and I was a little suspicious of him, so I plugged in and pretended not to hear his wheezy snufflings next to me....
On arrival in Delhi, the baggage reclaim took on a surreal feeling, as they piped strange lift music through the polished white marble halls. The baggage carousel had only a few pieces of luggage on it (including mine) and the whole thing seemed a bit like the end of a game show, where you had to memorise everything passing by.....and the cuddly toy.
Anyway, then I trollied out towards the meet n greet area, and braced myself for a whole lot of mauling, shouting and pawing, which is totally what I was expecting. Only to be greeted with a few smiling people holding plackards with names on...and not another soul to be seen! Wierd. I was met like clockwork by a lovely driver who swished me through the city to Vishal's house.
Although it was 10 am here in Delhi, to me it was about 3am, and I was wasted - so the drive through the city seemed dreamlike. Saw my first (and second and third) sacred cow in the street. very pleased!
Even taking into account my hazyness, I still managed to notice how peaceful the city was, and that most of the shops were shut. On asking the driver about this, he told me that the people of the city centre have been protesting about the number of shops which are operating illegally (and this is about 2/3 of the shops in the city) meaning a large amount of traffic and confusion. The government then took the initiative to ask them all to shut and move to the suburbs - and if they dont, the shopkeeper will go to jail! Drastic action! Anyway, the shopkeepers are striking for a couple of days in protest. Meaning my initial introduction to Delhi is a place with peaceful streets. Lets see how long that lasts....
Yesterday at Vishal's house, we shared a lovely supper with the Aussie Yoga ladies and a family friend called Mary - or rather Guru - who is now a follower of a Sikh guru from the US. Apparently Mary first visited Vishal and his family when she was an accountant working at Meryll Lynch...she then embraced Yoga and Philosphy and took up with her Guru. She now wears a turban and all white robes....all the time. Vishal told us her story...laughing at the part when he mentioned that her "guru" used to be a customs official in Delhi airport, and that he made up a hybrid of Sikhism, which is ONLY followed in the US and UK. Also that female Sikhs do not wear turbans in India - only with this sect... Ahh my first of the India travelling crazies.
After supper of chapati, dahl and veg, I retired to bed early, and fell asleep listening to car and scooter horns and firecrackers still being let off after Diwali last week.
This morning brought bad news from the UK. Poor old gran passed away last night. Of course mum is in bits, but she has told me not to make moves to return home. Although its a big shock (I thought she was on the way to getting back on her feet) I think its been a long time coming. Also Mum and Dad were by her side when she went. I will be thinking of her.
Today is a sorting day, tomorrow I depart for Pushkar.
Will report more when I can.
posted by Abster at 4:57 am
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