All of Delhi

Hey all.

I'M EXHAUSTED! Two of the four things that we chose to do today were an equidistant 60 minute ride from each other and where everything else is. So we went to Jantar Mantar (a giant sundial [think 3 story building kinda big] and other building-sized instruments to measure calendar days and when eclipses should come made in early 1700's) and Laxmi Narayan Birla Mandir (a huge Hindu temple). Then a 60 minute ride in a rickshaw (think covered moped that comfortably sits 2 in the back - we sat 3 uncomfortably) to Qutb Minar (ruins of the first mosque in India and the minar (think of a cooler and smaller Washington Monument) which is still in tact and a pure iron thing [apparently no one knows how they got the thing so pure of iron as they did not have the tools that we now do - but really, it was just an iron thing jetting out of the ground]). Then a 60 minute uncomfortable rickshaw ride to the Baha'i Lotus Temple. This was AMAZING! It's a gigantic building in the shape of lotus flower. And, of all the temples I've been to so far, this one was by far the most peaceful. Absolutely fantastic. This experience was only hindered by the trip home afterwards. Apparently, the rickshaws outside this temple like to screw over the whiteys by asking way too much money and making you stop along the way at shopping centers (they get a gas card if they drop off whiteys). So we did a lot of haggling, yelled/spoke sternly to a few of them, got a little worried that we pissed all of them off, then couldn't find one to take us home. But just as we were about to go back and apologize, a nice rickshaw came along. Thank goodness we still have our pride in tact. :) That was a joke: please laugh. Then 60 minutes home and here I am.

Oh, and have you heard about the traffic here??? It's absolutely crazy! Apparently they are supposed to drive on the left side, and most of the time they do, but sometimes they don't actually care. Running red lights is also something to be expected. We have decided that when we get in a rickshaw, we just need to go limp and actively not worry about the traffic headed right for us - nothing we can do about it once we're in the tangled mess they call traffic.

Anyway, to give you a quick overview of the last few days:
We saw Old Delhi - really crowded, more than anywhere else
We toured the Red Fort - huge; made of red sandstone in the mid-1600's
We went to Humayun's Tomb - also huge; built in mid-1500's for the second Mughal emperor
Went to the Lodi garden - absolutely beautiful and huge garden with tombs scattered in it

That's all I can think of. I saw an elephant on the highway, face painted. I saw a billboard of Bear Grills (I don't even care enough to find out if that's how you spell his name) of the show Man Vs. Wild (this sentence was added for Kimber's benefit - everyone else can disregard).

I'm going to Jaipur tomorrow where the 3-day wedding will begin tomorrow night. I'll be sleeping in a palace and not paying for it - so that's kinda cool. The groom might come in on an elephant (or horse or camel).

Alright - I'm going to go now. I'm hot and tired and hungry, but we're waiting on Anil's friend to come in to the hostel any minute.

Tootles.

Getting to India

Hi all.

I'm in New Delhi! Very exciting. Everyone got here without a hitch. Well, I was the only one with 2 small speedbumps, but I'll tell you about that in just a bit. I'm here with two friends of Peace Corps Burkina: Anil and Tyler. For those of you in the know, Tyler is Tyeliah's boyfriend/finacee.

I flew out of Dulles (DC) and arrived in Heathrow (London) about 7-8 hours later. My seat really sucked as I was in the very last row next to the window. It stank of the bathrooms for about the first hour or two, until I got used to the smell. Because I was against the wall, my seat did not fully go back into a restful position. I got no sleep and was extremely tired by the time I landed. But hey, I got to watch 'He's Just Not That Into You', so that's a bonus (that was sarcasm for those of you who don't know the movie).

London was fantastic. This may seem strange, but I was most shocked at the English cars. I've seen them in movies (Bourne Identity) and thought that they used more modern cars now. Oh well. I was also shocked by their subway - DC subway is SO much better (discounting our latest accident). The Underground was so very slow, the lights kept on going out, and it has the seating capacity of about 1/4 of the DC metro.

Anyhow, I went to the Tower of London first. First built around 1000AD - prisoned, tortured, and killed many. Royalty in the past lived there. This is where Ann Boleyn was beheaded by King Henry VIII

Then I went off to St Paul's Cathedral. It is absolutely beautiful. Then went to Westminister Abbey which was less beautiful, but A LOT more dead people. In St Paul's, all the dead were down in the crypt, where one expects to find dead people. At Westminister, they are everywhere. And they are WAY more famous. Queen Mary I, Queen Elizabeth I, King Richard III... and also non-royalty famous people like Laurence Olivier, Lord Byron, and Handel. It was pretty freaking cool. Then I saw Big Ben and the Parlament and walked to Buckingham Palace. Picture are to come.

After this 10.5 mile trek through London (on no sleep, mind you), I was on my way back to India. This time I got a better seat and could sleep a little better, but I was probably out for about 2-3 hours. So this means 2-3 hours sleep in about 36 hours. I was also able to watch a better movie: Gran Torino.

I arrived in India around noon yesterday (June 26) and realized I had no money. This is the first hitch mentioned earlier. I spent all my cash in London (I was expecting to use my card everywhere) and I tried to withdraw from an ATM at Heathrow, but it didn't work. So I got to India and the first money exchange guy told me to try the ATMs just outside. This didn't work. I saw an American guy that had been on my plane and I begged 2 dollars off of him. Tried to get this exchanged along with the 1.5 pounds that I had left from London, but he wouldn't take it. He called his supervisor and got permission for someone else to take my credit card. So we had to go back inside the airport (after the money guy had to convince the armed guard to let me back in - those pesky AK-47s). It turned out fine and got enough money to last my trip.

Got in a pre-paid taxi and, of course, it turns out that the taxi driver (who said he knew where he was going), didn't know where he was going. 2 hours later, I arrived safely at the hotel. Tyler was already here - I took a shower and slept for about 6 hours. We woke around 8pm and headed out for a scrumptious authentic Indian meal. Came back and found Anil had arrived, then slept more.

And now here I am. It's 8:30am. I need breakfast. We're going to Old Delhi today and some temples and palaces tomorrow.

I've written enough. Hope everyone is well.