NO WAY... we have Internet?! I tried to believe Father Creamer when he told me Internet access would be easily available here... but I have to honestly admit that after arriving here, I had my doubts. Alas, here I am in this downstairs hotel office by myself with a perfectly working Internet connection. Awesome!!
It has only been two official days since we've landed in Delhi but it already feels like it's been at least five days... or more! One thing is for sure: our tour bus driver is extremely skilled at maneuvring the enormous bus through nooks and crannies, between pedestrians and various other small vehicles extremely efficiently! Our tour guide has more knowledge about Indian architecture, history and gods than I could ever remember... but he must also be skilled to fit in such a packed itinerary over such a short period of time.
Already we've explored what feels like over half a dozen temples, masoleums, and mosques -- more than I could ever really fit into a post like this and in the little time I have here (we have to be on the bus by 7 am tomorrow morning and already it's past 11 pm) -- that is, if I want to enjoy my time in Agra tomorrow.
Yesterday, we were lucky enough to attend an English mass at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral after having a well-made breakfast provided at the hotel. When we arrived at the Cathedral, I witnessed Indian children begging for money for the first time. It pains to see them walking around on the debris-laden streets of Delhi with no shoes on... but after hearing many stories and after having recently watched Slumdog Millionaire, it was a little easier to refrain from giving any money. Of course as tourists, we're going to be naturally pegged as walking money trees to the local folk here -- especially obvious with drastically varying prices in restaurants or entry ticket prices.
We ate our first Indian lunch at the Imperial Hotel for a price that would feed me for at least four meals even in Winnipeg, and certainly a meal I couldn't afford to keep up for the rest of the trip. I suppose Father Creamer wanted us to notice right away the stark contrasts between the rich and the poor around here... and it was a point well noted! The hotel was 'fit for a king' and the food and services certainly felt like it too. Not to mention some of us caught Drew Barrymore coming out of the hotel after lunch, so we walked amongst the rankings of celebrities that fine day...
With the remaining part of the day, we visited the marvelous Swaminayan Temple of Akshardham and I believe the second one was the Hanuman Temple. Both temples were amazing in their own way with the colour, architecture, and extraordinary details. It doesn't take a foreigner very long to see that religion and spirituality is something that is held at the utmost importance to people in India, and the level of respect, worship, and dedication they have toward the spiritual aspect of their lives is nothing less than absolutely remarkable. The policies and procedures for entering the temples were quite stringent on not allowing us to bring in any cameras and capture photos of the amazing inside of the temple for security and respectful reasons. This just means anyone reading this should probably consider booking a tour of India so that you too can appreciate it! :) Many of us have never been frisked before, but we're all here for new experiences... so there we go! Also... upon entering the temples, we quickly learned that out of respect, everyone is required to remove their footwear and also to dress as conservatively as possible (ie. the less skin, the better!). Although I daresay, with the temperatures and humidity they have here, I am so impressed with how well they can survive with long pants, long sleeved shirts... the works. Us Canadians know nothing about heat! Although, the climate is growing on us as the days go on and I'm sure we're all learning to cope somehow. For most of us, it means copious litres of water all the time, umbrellas to shield the sun, layers upon layers of sunscreen, and thank goodness for air-conditioned buses between sites!
Our first day ended off with a trip to the markets where Father Santi took us girls under his wing in finding cultural Indian salwar kameez suits in the lively night markets a short walk away from our hotel. Walking through the streets of India for the first time on foot was an interesting experience as we dodged oncoming vehicles that kept honking and many, unyielding to pedestrians! Homeless dogs were spotted along the garbage and debris-laden alleys between rickshaw drivers retired for the day and random carts selling miscellaneous goods. "Buy... buy...", a man holding bejewelled necklaces along his arms would come to us.. and many other folk offering their goods for a 'special price'. Some of us were lucky to find some salwar suits for a decent price, as we plan on trying our hand at "blending into the crowd" for once during our visit to the Taj Mahal tomorrow. Until then, we've all be sticking out like sore thumbs with "forgeign tourist" written across our foreheads. In fact, after our visit to the very colourful marble Sikh Temple of Gudwara Sis Ganj Sahib, our group encountered some curious local school boys in uniform. They all shuffled closer until their posse met ours. We were so busy being fascinated with the local people and places we were visiting that we forgot that we were also equally as intriguing to them. So, they pulled out their camera phones and began snapping pictures of us... and of course as tourists, we whipped out our gear and began taking pictures of them taking pictures of us. Stay tuned for pictures to be posted soon after the trip? We definitely felt like zoo animals in Exhibit A: The "Whoa-what-are-they-gotta-have-a-picture"'s!
The most enjoyable part of the trip thus far in my opinion was our rickshaw ride through the busy smaller streets of India that brought us to the Jama Masjid Mosque. Observing the people and having that glimpse of their way of life as we rickshawed through those alleyways was perhaps one of the closest encounters we had to experiencing India in all its glory-- no... poverty. I realized how efficient it was to travel by rickshaw, as it maneuvred very well through the busy congested traffic. There were food stops along the way where people ate baked goods along on the spot and shops selling wedding things. It truly was an experience that is difficult to put into words. The telephone and electrical cables criss-crossed in a huge massive mess above us between the two narrow limits of the buildings.
Our visit to the Jama Masjid mosque was memorable too as we were able to climb one of the minarets (again, for a special tourist price... :P). The clustered spiral stone staircase we had to climb left us feeling like we lived in the medieval ages, checking through holes in the walls to monitor potential invaders... an experience in itself! The top of the tower allowed us to look at Delhi and New Delhi in all its breath-taking vastness... and the cool breeze up there made it easy to take it all in. From a distance, the streets certainly aren't as gritty-looking... and the view of the square rooftops of different colours form a mosaic image that is simply awesome.
We later visited the the Qutab Minar, containing the tallest brick minaret in the world. We learned of the remarkable architectural brilliance of the arch design as well as the history of the site. And of course... the marvelous settings never cease to excite our camera hands from snapping, posing... and jumping. Father Santi knows what we're talking about....
And so... it is now 12:35 am and perhaps I should give some explanation to the bizarre title of this extremely long post. This was one of the first remarks Kathy made on our taxi ride from the airport to Metro Heights Hotel (which... by the way though a great, clean and accommodating place -- it actually looks very .. very different from the pictures we found on the Internet :P). The highways were so modern and advanced... who knew that just around the cornerblock from our hotel were none other than cows chillaxing on the side of the street at midnight. Don't let this limit your imagination though... there are also dogs, goats and monkeys that roam around during the daytime too.
