guest writer: the bro
amanda has asked me to write a guest blog. despite my better instincts, i've agreed to provide her with a few written words describing the adventure we shared over 12 days in india. so many people have asked me about the trip. for once, i have a hard time describing my travels. mostly i just say "quite an experience." while this is true, it's incomplete. articulating all of the visions, smells, sounds and emotions are terribly difficult and quite taxing. the one line that keeps coming back to me was provided by our driver jaypal on multiple occasions when asked questions on why something was happening that didn't seem logical. his response: "this is india, brother." so correct. you can't just compare what happens in india to other places...it just is what it is. you just have to surrender to it and take what it offers. there's really too much to discuss, here's my best shot at some of the key moments.
where to begin? maybe the overwhelming feeling i had walking out of the airport when i saw thousands of people at one am all waiting to pick up international passengers. looking around i was lost, but knew amanda had to be in the crowd somewhere. i heard someone shout my name, but when i looked i didn't recognize anyone. once i finally saw her i understood why -- she was in full indian garb. four months living in the foreign country certainly had influenced her.
we raced around delhi seeing sites, ancient relics, markets, and cows. we ate at some local, tourist and fine restaurants. all of which i loved, but couldn't distinguish between. one night we made a special stop at the imperial hotel, an oasis of british raj calm in the madness, for some beverages and samosas. at that point i first realized the bifurcation of wealth in the subcontinent. not to bore you with statistics, keep in mind that one third of the planets poor lives in india; that's less than one dollar a day. $10 whiskeys never tasted so good and bad at the same time.
on day three we spent driving for over 10 hours. we left for agra before sunrise so we could take in the taj mahal before arriving in jaipur, capital of rajasthan. sitting in the back seat of a tata turbo diesel that tops out at 95km/h with some indian chundra music blasting on the stereo, i felt like i was watching a movie unfold in front of my eyes. the country side is beautiful, mostly filled with bright yellow mustard fields. on the road our trusty driver worked hard dodging camels, scooters, cows, buses, trucks, monkeys and people. the constant honking, as any good driver in india does to alert other travelers, became part of the sound track. despite seeing a wonder of the world in the taj mahal, the highlight of the day was playing cricket with village kids in its grand shadows. everyone - as friendly as can be - got a good laugh when i hit a screaming line drive at amanda's head who was photographing my athletic endeavor. other activities included feeding wild monkeys, drinking chai with farmers in rajasthan at a roadside stand, and amanda and i taking the wheel on the motorway. this day was the apex of the trip and our rooftop dinner in jaipur was well deserved.
jaipur is a crazy place. home to the famous pink city and many mountain top palaces, people describe it as the india you expect to see...and it certainly is. here you have camels in traffic alongside cars. produce markets are spread across sidewalks. palaces created with enormous wealth that have been left to decay. here, jaypal cooked mutton curry (picking up the meat at the local butcher is a story for another time not sure that my stomach can't handle a replay of it now) for us at his friends house. now when i say house, his friend's lived in a 70 square foot room, large enough to fit a queen size bed and not much more. the kitchen is outside and i couldn't tell you where the toilet is. the food was delicious, but i didn't quite feel comfortable enough to sit on their newspaper covered bed to eat with my hands. hidden away from 5-star hotels watching the local children flying their kites at dusk and eating dinner in the modest setting, there, that night i got a glimpse of the so-called real india. we finished our stay in jaipur with a monkey watching us eat our breakfast on our hotel's rooftop terrace, another one of many new experiences for me.
bombay was a welcomed change for us, or at least me. for the six days prior we had been running around non-stop. it was difficult to leave our comfortable beds each morning. we sat by the pool, had leisurely walks to the gateway to india, watched the sunset over the arabian sea, and sat in the oval maiden watching school boys play cricket in their white outfits surrounded by palm trees and grand european buildings. we discovered this cosmopolitan city's expat culture by dining at seafood, italian and japanese restaurants, chatting with americans and australians over cocktails in trendy bars and getting massages in our hotel's spa. more of a shock for amanda than i, we both greatly enjoyed some of the comforts we know so well from our western lives. in this aged colonial city we saw how a different part of india lived.
from bombay we traveled by overnight train to goa. the train ride was nothing like i was expecting. we had 2nd class tickets, b/c 1st class was sold out when we booked back in october -- i'll admit it, i'm a creature of comfort. my images of train travel were tainted by the recent movie "the darjeeling limited." our ride was nothing like that in the movie (shocker!). luckily our cabin mates were some friendly finnish travelers. unluckily the sheets were stained with filth and our compartment, if you want to call it that, was only sealed off by a curtain. this was quite a surprise because even when i've taken the over night train in china we were afforded that luxury. anyways, i digress -- after 12 hours on the train we arrive in sunny goa. in the former portuguese colony on india's west coast we met up with my friend craig and his band of merry b-school buddies to ring in the new year. the seven of us shared a cozy, colorfully-decorated bungalow near the beach. here we celebrated 2008 with a mixture of additional folks from bombay, delhi, turkey and america. making lots of new friends was a nice way to wrap up the trip.
i'll leave you with a few words that pop into mind when i think of my passage to india: chaos, filth, culture, spice, noise, animals, crowded, ancient.
Comments
Ah, David it's been a long time.
Ah, David it's been a long time.
whoops, i can't seems to get this right. both messages are incomplete. suffice to say, jerry and i loved hearing about your trip with amanda and your take on things, certainly a neat counterpoint to amanda's voice. both of you write so well. it is wonderful how close you guys are--something to cherish. hope all is well in ireland. maybe we'll get to see you next time you're alabama bound. love, debra