The India Chronicles: Golden Triangle Trip, Letter #8

July 7^th,  2014

This past weekend we did the tourist thing. “The Golden Triangle” or Jaipur, Agra, and Delhi, in that order. It was interesting to see a different side to India (I think probably the side most people see, but very different from the slums of Hyderabad). Before I get into the trip—I learned that you can be comfortable anywhere in the world. Someone visiting the states in Beverly Hills vs. the inner-city Detroit would have a very different experience. I love high culture, I love Indian culture. I also love the slums, but for different reasons. I was grateful for the opportunity to see both I suppose.

 

Highlights from Jaipur:

We got into our hotel late Thursday night, and met an incredibly friendly man outside, with the biggest smile I’ve yet seen in India. He told us he could drive us around Jaipur for the day (for about $3 a person) and we didn’t have another plan, so we agreed. Turns out he was the sweetest man, Salim. He played our tour guide, and took us to some places we’d have never found on our own. He also showed us some great music. 

The day in bullet points: (a lot of the pictures hopefully to come)

•     The world-famous Lassi shop. Best Lassi of my life.
• A floating castle

•  Amber fort. (on the way we met a snake charmer)·             
• Elephant village (those pictures are coming, they were taken on a different camera) where we rode elephants!
•  One of the scariest/most awesome moments in my life was climbing an elephant by way of his trunk.
• My elephant’s name was Rangoli.
•         A Monkey Temple.

Monkey Temple

o      A post-apocalyptic image of what the world would be like if monkeys took over all our buildings.

       Not really…but a little bit.

·             A gorgeous royal cemetery

·             We watched the world cup match at our hotel and ate dinner on a rooftop restaurant riddled with international tourists.

·             Then we took a night/sleeper bus to Agra. That was an experience in itself. Just picture trying to sleep on a bus in India (remember what I told you about the buses?)

from the cemetery

cemetery 

Amber Fort

We arrived in Agra at 4:30 am. A little bit out of sorts, we had to kill an hour until the Taj Majal opened; we loitered in the lobby of a hotel with a backdoor open. Wandering around the surrounding city of Agra, I’ve never gagged so much in one setting.  It was a really interesting juxtaposition: this pristine city behind walls, one of the most beautiful sights in the world, next to the most foul disintegrating surrounding buildings. 

            The Taj Mahal itself was incredible. As incredible as the hundreds of years of conversations about its beauty; every moment of marveling is completely justified. You walk through the giant entrance gate and are just struck by this other-wordly beauty as the giant white temple comes into view. The building was erected as a monument to emperor Shah Jahan's wife, who died during the birth of their 14'th child, out of grief for his loss. 

  It wasn’t a fort for war, or a utilitarian palace, it’s sole purpose was to honor the love of his life. Isn’t that sweet? 

 I marveled.

 I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to stand in the midst one of the greatest wonders of the world We took a four-hour taxi ride. Stepped out of the taxi in Delhi into an OVEN. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that in Hyderabad it’s HOT, and HUMID—In Delhi, it’s WORSE. The air is oppressively thick with a heavy, moist, sweltering wall you have to slug through. One does not simply walk in Delhi, you trudge. Even breathing feels like a chore.

Also have I mentioned that Hyderabad is loud and heavily populated? Delhi is more so. The streets are packed with people; every corner, every crosswalk, every inch of sidewalk is just littered with bodies trying to shuffle from one side of the city to another. Your tolerance level for chaos shoots up very quickly, or else you are consumed by a sensory overload. I never thought I would miss Hyderabad; the heat, the trash, the noise, and the crazy death defying street-crossing acts, the underdeveloped roads and the lack of police attention; but initially walking around in Delhi I did miss it! Yes Hyderabad is dirty and hot and loud, but it’s my dirty and hot and loud. (There are advantages to underdeveloped roads and a lack of police attention, you can turn around quickly, and can fit as many people as possible into an auto.)

            We walked through a bazaar and soaked in the masses of people and spices and smells and shops. Now that I’m used to Indian markets, they’re kind of fun. You just have to be focused, and not look like a white person able to be taken advantage of.

            That night, it was the 5^th of July, the U.S. Embassy was throwing a party for American Independence day. It was quite the party. On the lawn of the embassy, (which is a baseball diamond) we sat and ate hamburgers and hot dogs and drinks, by far the most expensive meal I’ve had here. (Typical America.) There was a live band (which ironically was British) that played the all-American anthem “Footloose” during the firework show.            

My team is awesome. We danced with vigor and vim; Ashley and Ann sporting the greatest American flag leggings the world has ever seen. We took advantage of the children’s booths and got our fingernails painted (with sparkles of course) and our arms painted with face paint. I got a cool butterfly.           

 As the party was fading we met some people who worked for the embassy. They were incredibly friendly and wanted to invite us to watch the world cup game (Belgium vs. Argentina) at the Belgium Embassy. The only catch was they didn’t know if there was enough booze. When we told them we didn’t drink, we were enthusiastically welcomed! We were “cheap dates.” At the game, I met some of the most interesting people—a giant room full of political dignitaries, mediators, culture preservers, sous chiefs, foreign consultants, reporters, and artists, from all over the world.

Everyone was very nice, and willing to answer questions about their endlessly interesting lives. The butterfly “tattoo” on my arm got a lot of compliments at the party.
That lifestyle, the state department foreign diplomat, moving anywhere in the world and creating a network of interesting people for a few years, then living somewhere else, is so cool. Extremely glamorous, romantic, exciting, and interesting. And after having spent the evening with the group that I did, I think I could fit into that lifestyle. I don't know if I deserve to, but I could get used to it.
As I looked out among the crowd I was suddenly mingling among, I was struck with the simplicity of this party. Yes, we were at an Embassy in the capital city in India, and yes, it was wall-to-wall packed with wildly intelligent, impressive, and intimidatingly accomplished people, but everyone there was just sitting around watching a soccer game together. The same soccer game a large portion of the world was watching. It was poetic.

The next morning we went to church: a really incredible testimony meeting with the branch members in Delhi. It’s really pretty wonderful how the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the same anywhere in the world.

Lotus Temple

We then visited a non-denominational lotus temple. I love the tradition here of removing your shoes. It adds a level of connectivity to the place where you stand. I also love the way they greet and leave each other. Hands to a prayer at heart center with a small bow and a “Namaste” which translates to something like “my light honors your light” It’s peaceful and respectful; a lovely way to say hello and goodbye to one another, especially through a language barrier.

 Then went out to lunch again with one of our new friends in a hip part of Delhi, with modern shops and restaurants right next to some old beautiful ruins.

Because of the traffic (I’ve mentioned Delhi has a few people right?) and rickshaw problems, we very nearly missed our plane back. But when we walked into the airport, every single airport employee seemed to know we were late. “Hyderabad?” they inquired with haste and concern. When we nodded, they pushed us at the front of every line. With the personal escorts of a few Air India employees, some back “staff only” routes, and a good solid adrenaline rush, we made it onto the flight, and safe and sound back home to Hyderabad.

It’s kind of cool calling Hyderabad home.