Zoe's India Adventure

The mobile way

Small Worship site on the streets of Chennai

Ok, it's happened. I tried a pair of pants on this morning that I brought with me specifically to wear when I lose weight. They don't fit....so much for losing weight on this trip. Have I mentioned the food is wonderful!!

Good news, as a group we are about 90% healthy today, as opposed to the 25% overall health we've had in the last few days. My stomach is still holding strong and I've been able to eat all the traditional Indian food. Oh, and I've discovered Kingfisher strong beer, yummy.

I am truly enjoying the visits to entrepreneurs, schools, and businesses we are visiting this year. Our first visit today was to India Institute of Technology, it's the Indian version of MIT. The folks at this school had a vision to put a telephone into every home in India, including in the rural villages (quite a vision). They soon realized that hard line telephones were too expensive to install, so they decided to go wireless. I won't get into the details, though they are interesting (you can read those on the other blogs), the long story short is, due to some innovative inventions, they made mobile phone service available for about 1 to 2 cents a minute, as opposed to the 10-12 cents we pay. And the have found a way to make mobile services available in the very rural of communities in India at a low cost. Suffice to say we found out why it seems that everyone in India owns a mobile phone, they do. Cell phone sales in India are currently increasing by about 6 million a month.

Another part of the trip I am really enjoying is driving from visit to visit in the bus. It is interesting to see the different parts of Chennai, the shrines, the shops and street vendors, the people and their reaction to us. Here people wave and smile at us, bang on the bus to wave when we are not paying attention, and, though we are an anomaly to them, treat us with grace and good humor. There are many parts of Chennai that are under construction, as they were in Delhi, but Chennai feels different, the whole area feels more positive.

Chennai

Gardenia bud necklaces and hair pieces

A couple of logistical notes...All the gatorade powder and other sports drink stuff I brought has really come in handy. The heat really got to us yesterday and we're having a little stomach discomfort. Another note, I brought the Tide packets designed for travel with me last year, forgot them this year and this year I brought fewer sets of clothing...what was I thinking.

I learned a lot on the way to the airport this morning; first, we've been staying and traveling through old Delhi, which is far more impoverished than New Delhi. It was nice to see some more prosperous areas of India. The trip to the airport made me realize we had a very skewed view of Delhi because of the area we were staying in. That was quite a relief. Second, Delhi is scheduled to host the 2010 Commonwealth games. Driving through New Delhi you can see all the improvements they are making. It's obvious the games will be a boon for the entire city, and I'm betting that's why they are making so many improvements in Agra. I didn't realize how much a large athletic event can effect an entire region and not just the host city.

The flight to Chennai was uneventful, the food was wonderful (never thought I'd say that about plane food). The first thing we noticed when getting off the plane was the high heat (41 C) and the really high humidity (I'm sure it was at least 200%). The ride to the hotel was very different than the rides through Delhi. There were far fewer people sleeping on the street and there were many more women walking around, we saw very few in Delhi and Agra. Is this a regional or religious thing? The people were happier, I saw people smiling and laughing, better fed, and there were more shops as opposed to street vendors. There were also fewer wayward animals roaming the streets, I counted only 1 cow, 1 goat, and a few dogs. The dogs here are much better fed as well, there are fewer of them, and they are treated more like pets. I saw one curled up on a pillow laying just inside a small shop. I also noticed that Catholicism has a good foothold here.

This was the first day we've had some free time and I took advantage of it. I decided to take a walk and see what was around the hotel. Dodging the cabbie that wanted to take me for a ride, I walked down the street. Being a pedestrian in the traffic I'd been witnessing was interesting. One guy coming out of a drive saw a tourist walking and decided to have a little fun. He won, I flinched, but barely.

The first direction I headed started looking a little seedy, so I turned around. Dodging the same cabbie outside the hotel I headed in the other direction. This was a much safer looking area, I even found a crosswalk with a street light!! Crossing the street I found a grocery store to poke around in. The grocery stores here carry just dry goods, no perishable items, which was unfortunate because I was hoping to find dinner. I did find some unique sweets, and, for those of you acquainted with my office chocolate jar, some new chocolate treasures for those bold enough to try them (I haven't tried them yet, but they look good).

Striking out at the grocery store, dinner was spent at the bar. What a treat!!! Kingfisher Strong (6% alcohol) and Tandori chicken, which was delicious. Four drum and thigh pieces and a 22 ounce beer for about 10 dollars.

The Taj Mahal

Yes, that's me at the Taj

First, please note the picture link on the right. I'll update that regularly too. On to the Taj...

After very little sleep and a 2.5 hour train ride, we arrived in Agra. Agra looks much the same as Delhi did, but there was more evidence of progress. There are shopping malls, big hotels and other amenities moving in. In a couple of years agra will be a very comfortable tourist attraction year 'round. The big difference between Agra and Delhi was the children begging for money. It's very difficult not to look at them and give them something, which causes a minor riot and then they really won't leave you alone, and it's also difficult to ignore them. One youngster was very adept at turning cartwheels and doing back flips. They were everywhere and it got pretty tiring by the end of the day.

A short bus ride from the train and we arrived at the Taj. It was 9:30, we were all very well hydrated, had our sunscreen and hats on and bottles of water tucked away in our packs. We were ready to see the Taj.

Our guide took us on a short walk through some vendors to the entrance of the Taj. Now I must digress here for a moment. On our walk through the vendors we were hit by the usual onslaught of people trying to get us to buy their goods. One of the things that struck me was, when we told the children no thanks we weren't interested, the children introduced themselves, pointed out their store, asked us to return on the way out, and gave us BUSINESS CARDS so we wouldn't forget them. Business cards, what a novel ploy.

Stepping through the gate to see the Taj Mahal is unlike anything I've ever experienced. Whoever designed that first look was a real showman. You walk through an archway to see an expanse of manicured grounds with the Taj standing majestically at the back. The contrast of the green grass and the white marble of the Taj is truly impressive.

Once you get closer to the Taj Mahal you notice intricate art work covering the building. This art work is found inside and outside the Taj and is very impressive. The Taj was built out of marble and all the art work is hand carved marble inlaid with precious stones. This was done entirely by hand without the aid of power tools. This practice of marble inlay is still being practiced by a few people in the area and the prices for their work reflect the amazing amount of time and craftsmanship it takes to complete one piece. For me, the most amazing thing about the art work at the Taj was looking at the flowers (see the pictures I posted in India day 1 and 2) and realizing how tiny the pieces are and that some of the flowers held up to 64 pieces of stone.

Tradition and more food

At our next stop we received a very special welcome. The stairs walking up to the school were decorated with flowers, as is traditional here for good blessings (see my flicker account for more images). When we entered the building we were greeted with a ceremonial circle created from sand and flowers (also traditional with religious meaning). Notice the 2 spots unadorned by flowers, those are purposely left blank so someone can kneel and pray. In the center is a religious symbol surrounded by some kind of nut. Ok, you caught me, I haven't had time to research the exact meaning of all this, but I know it was a blessing on all who enter, and a very elaborate and beautiful presentation.

Just past the circle we were greeted by a small choral group who welcomed us with traditional songs. Once inside the classroom there was a short, but special, opening celebration where we were invited to help light a ceremonial lamp.

SO next was dinner....have I mentioned yet that there is no way I'm going to lose weight on this trip....the food here is phenomenal! This was a farewell dinner, we would be parting with Daniel and our new Korean friends. We were treated to a marvelous buffet that featured many different dishes and desserts, some of the desserts are pictured above. It was here I tried squeezing a slice of a lemon...lime(it looks and tastes a lot like a Key lime, but I've no clue what it really is) on my cucumber and carrots. It was wonderful, I can't wait to try it at home

A world of diversity

I'm writing this at Amity University in Delhi. They have an open wireless network that I am taking advantage of. I learned last year that you take advantage of every internet opportunity because you don't know when the next one will come along.

I'll let you read the other blog's about where we've been and what we learned, I want to focus on what we've seen. Traveling through Delhi is a dichotomy in lifestyle. There are areas that have beautiful brick walls surrounding them and a peek to the other side shows manicured lawns. These areas are all gated and protected by security. Outside the walls is an illustration of the abject poverty we hear about. Rubble and shanty towns are everywhere. Piles of garbage that people are picking through to find anything of value. People sleeping in the median of very busy streets, and of course the cows. In the fields, in the medians and in the streets.

The dichotomy continues with the means of transportation. Bicycles, mule driven carts, tractors, thousands of scooters (did you know a scooter can easily transport a family of 4), trucks, trucks and more trucks, and busses jammed to the gills with people. We even saw on person herding a pack of mules through downtown Delhi.

As I mentioned in yesterdays blog, the traffic is amazing and, something to note, none of the cars hold only one person. They are usually stuffed with people. Did you know a car the size of a PT Cruiser or HHR can hold an entire extended family. One other thing I noticed about the drivers here, everyone has a cell phone, but not once have I seen anyone using it while they are driving. They come out when traffic is stopped, but quickly disappear when traffic begins moving again.

One exciting thing about today is that we have been able to reunite with some of the folks from Hoseo University that we met last year. Daniel has a group of study abroad students with him from his university in Korea. We spent the day with them today and will have dinner with them tonight.

We've arrived

We've arrived safely. The trip wasn't as bad as last years flight to Korea, though it could be because I slept the whole way.

One of my favorite parts about discovering a new culture is discovering their food. I am an avid cook myself, so trying new herbs, spices and food preparations is exciting to me. The flight over was one small step in that direction. I think the airline did a good job of accommodating American and Indian culinary tastes. They had veggie or non-veggie dishes with every meal (we had 2 meals and a snack) and the condiments that came with the meal reflected both cultures. With each unfamiliar condiment I found myself staring closely at the ingredients (most of which I couldn't read because I didn't have my glasses on), gently tearing open the package and sampling the product. At one point at breakfast I looked over at the young Indian lady sitting next to me and noticed she was doing the same thing I was. I was scrutinizing a pack of savory herbs (it turns out they are to aid in digestion) and looked over to see her doing the same thing for a pack of Texas Pete!! I found that very funny.

The other comical part of the trip so far has been the way people drive. I won't go into detail here now as I'm sure some of the other blog's have mentioned it. Suffice to say it is truly amazing that more people don't get hurt driving around here.

Advise from a friend

Pre-Trip Preparations