My alarm was set for 6:30 but I was wide awake at 5. I sent some emails on my kindle. For about 10 seconds my phone got connected to wifi. It was enough time for me to open a message Ian had sent. He sent me a picture of himself. That's literally what I used my 10 seconds of wifi for. To look at Ian's picture.
I noticed there was a wifi for the lobby and asked the front desk if they would give me that and they did. And I had wifi! I had several emails and snapchats to receive that weren't just my brother so that was nice.
Breakfast was at 7:30 in the hotel.
It was really good. I had fruit, a hard boiled egg, tea, water, some breakfast type naan, this french toast tasting thing, some rice porridge, and some spicy potatoes. I read the paper. There were 6 different reports about a woman being raped. Obviously I don't want anyone being raped. I thought it was interesting that it was being recognized in the paper. People get raped all over the world, America is no different. I just don't pick up the paper and read about rapes in the US (unless there's something special about the case). To see it in the Dehli paper was positive in that it is being recognized and not swept under the rug.
After eating I had a cup of chai. I'm not a huge fan of US chai because of calories and it's so sweet. This was very good chai though.
I met 2 more people from our group who arrived late last night. Now the gang is all here! Sam is still the only dude and I'm still the whitest white.
At 8:30 we all met up in the lobby. We got on our bus and drove around Dehli.
One thing I was surprised by is Dehli is a lot more green than I expected. According the Abhi this is because a lot of trees were planted in the past 20 years to combat some of the smog. The smog really wasn't that bad either. It was on par with Manhattan.
While we drove around, Abhi talked to us about Hindu gods. There are over 330 million Hindi gods, basically one for everything you can imagine.
A shirtless guy in orange baggy pants was walking by. He had dreadlocks and was carrying a trident. I thought he was some crazy dude but Abhi said he was a man who worshipped Shiva, the god of destruction. The dude also probably smokes a lot of weed because Shiva smokes weed.
We got off the bus at a small red temple.
I don't know what it was. Then we walked around Dehli! We walked down side alleys and it was really cool. There are many food vendors-
And lots of people.
Abhi pointed out these chillies people have hanging over their doorways. There are 7 chillies, one for each day of the week.
So scientifically the chillies and lemon keep bugs away. Spiritually there's this demon that breaks into your home and eats you so they leave chillies outside for her to munch on instead of your sweet tangy flesh. We also saw monkeys! I about lost my mind this was so exciting.
Abhi stopped us by another corner street to point something out. There are Hindu gods on the wall. He said they are placed there to stop people from peeing on the walls. People don't want to pee on the gods and can't turned around to pee on the opposite wall because the gods are watching.
We got back on the bus and drove over to Jama Masjid Mosque.
It was hotter than hell outside. Abhi was talking to us on the steps of the temple before we went in. I have no idea what he was saying, I was trying not to pass out from the heat.
We had to take our shoes and socks off to go inside. We also weren't allowed a phone unless you paid a picture fee. MJ paid the fee and brought her phone, I left mine behind, then she sent me her pics.
I wore my scarf but we also had to wear these robes.
It's a big open area. There are people sleeping near the walls, it's very peaceful. As soon as we walked in, a little boy went up to Mary Jo and asked if she would take his picture. She did,
Then he asked for money. She told him "No rupees" and then he asked for dinero. He followed Mary Jo and I around. Homeboy was hustling.
While we were taking pictures, a man approached MJ and started speaking to her. He asked if we would like him to translate for the little boy then he gave Mary Jo a blessing. He said stuff like "You will be successful, your family will be successful" and a bunch of other things. He had her repeat a prayer. I thought it was chill. MJ really enjoyed it and felt at peace after.
Anyways it was hot. We were barefoot and it hurt to walk in the sunlight. They have cloth walkways to step on but it was still so hot.
You could get a better view of Dehli from the temple.
The little boy was still following MJ. Sam said he saw the kid go over to a man and hand him over 200 rupees. And that's why we don't give children beggars money.
Two little girls started following MJ around (I think it was because she brought her phone, the kids saw her and thought they could break her down). She told them "No rupees" and they repeated it back. Then they asked for chocolates. They were pretty cute. They would say "Misso, misso" which means "mine, mine" like they want us to take their picture. Take my picture, take my picture. So MJ got out her camera to take their picture and they sat right next to Sam and smiled. It was cute! The children are so precocious.
After that, the guy who blessed MJ came back and tried to give Sam rupees (which he declined). We asked Abhi about it later and he thought it was strange. He thinks the guy was a holy man.
We left and picked up our shoes and socks and phones.
We got back into the sweet AC of the bus and hit the roads. By now it was 10:45.
That was a Hindi temple we had been to. Later on we would go to a Sikh temple but before that we went to Mahatma Gandhi's resting place.
Gandhi wasn't shot here, that happened somewhere else and to be honest I don't care. It's like going to where JFK was shot. Gandhi was cremated at this place.
We went into the park and had to get our bags scanned. There was a separate area for men and women to enter before we were led into a nice park.
People were watering plants and there were these birds hanging out. Abhi said they were crows.
To get into the garden area where Gandhi is, we had to take off our shoes. The tile was hot so our group gathered under this shaded cove type where we could hear each other. I stood on the outside, close to the grass and under the sun while everyone else was inside the cave thing.
Abhi talked about Gandhi. I was half listening, it was really hot. What happened next occurred in about a 4 second period so it happened fast.
The first thing was one of those crows flew close, too close, overhead and we heard something hit the hard tile. I saw the lady next to me jump back suddenly and then something crawled up my leg. And I don't mean crawl like a spider on your leg or a fly on your arm. I mean crawl as in a fucking mouse on your body. I looked down and saw something tan ran around my legs and I screamed.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" The critter was so fast. I kicked my legs to get it off me, which made it fly off and into my group and sent everyone into chaos. I just ran away.
It was a lizard the size of my fist and I'm not exaggerating (although I do have small, presidential hands). I was pretty shook and apologized to the group for saying, nay, screaming fuck in Gandhi's burial grounds. Sam was dying laughing and I was in tears and the group was still trying to get away from the lizard and the crow was trying to get the lizard and Abhi was trying to get us back to talking about Gandhi.
After that we went up the Gandhi's cremation tomb and it was so anti-climatic after that lizard running up my legs.
The garden area wasn't very big. I walked around and looked at things but a lot of it was in Hindi. There was some English.
There wasn't much to look at. I saw the bastard lizard again and took his picture.
It got really crowded as we were trying to leave. We got our shoes and it took longer to get out then in.
I was walking next to Diana who is middle aged and has white blonde hair. She looks like a Beverley Hills wife, I think she's pretty. A young girl was in front of us and kept trying to get pictures of Diana. The girl laughed and sorta put her phone away when we caught her. It was harmless but I think Diana was exasperated.
We got out of there at 11:45 and got back on the bus. We drove for 15 or 20 minutes.
We got off the bus to walk over to the Sikh temple. People on the streets try to sell us stuff like peacock feather fans, postcards, these jewelry headdresses. No one bought anything. Here's a picture of a stray dog.
The dogs in Dehli all look the same. Medium size, slender built, short haired, white to tan colored. They all ignore us and seem well behaved.
We arrived at the Sikh temple around 12:30. We went into a building and Abhi talked to us about Sikhs. They're a religion of sharing. Sikhs are the guys who wear turbans. Abhi seemed to really like Sikhs and have a lot of respect for them (Abhi is Hindu). We had to wear headscaves and take off our shoes again.
We went back outside and first had to wash out feet.
The reason you don't wear shoes is because your shoes are filthy. Secondly is because when you walk in holy areas, you receive the energy through the soles of your feet. It's actually kinda fun.
Then we walked up the steps to the temple.
I didn't take pictures inside because people were worshipping but it was a really beautiful area. They had a big chandelier in the centre and 3 men with microphones and instruments playing what was probably a prayer but sounded like music. It was very colorful, all the women have bright outfits and it was visually appealing.
Once you get outside, there is a big pool to cleanse in.
I didn't plan on going for a dip but I wanted to get close to the water. The ground was so fucking hot I had to run to the water it hurt my feet so bad. Only MJ joined me, the rest of our group stayed on the cloth walkways.
There are big koi fish swimming in the water along with many many tiny fish. It was a hub of activity.
You can't swim in the water but you can bathe or cleanse in it. I saw some guys doing that.
We left the pool and went to another area. There were two lines but I could see they both ended up in the same area so I just got in one. The line I did not get in took you to the langar kitchen. The line I was in had someone at a booth make me cup my hands and they put a glob of what looked like fat into my hands.
Everyone else was eating their fat so I ate mine. It was sweet but mostly flavorless and greasy. Abhi said it was made from chickpea flour, sugar, more sugar, lots of butter, and love.
Before we went back inside, we walked by people cutting up tons of mangos for the langar dining.
The langar kitchen is a really cool place. It's a huge room where everyone sits on the ground and eats together. Langar dining means community dining. Rich or poor, everyone sits on the floor together and eats as equals.
There was so many people.
Abhi took us to the kitchen where they make food. We were still barefoot. There was people mixing a huge batch of sauce, rolling bread, and making food for the people.
I washed my hands and helped roll naan dough.
The guy next to Mary Jo taught her how to roll the naan because we were doing a pretty shit job. He was very kind! After MJ had it down he taught me. When it was time to go we both put our hands in a prayer type position and dipped our heads. There's this whole acupuncture thing where you touch your fingertips together and it activates the memory part of your brain. It helps you remember a persons face.
At 1:10 we went back to the entrance and collected our shoes.
I had some water on the bus. I'm so thirsty! Not hungry though.
We had lunch at 1:30. I didn't feel like eating so Mary Jo and I split a dish and Sam had a mutton and kidney dish.
We had garlic naan and rice too. The rice was gross, I'm not sure what spice it had. There's a spice I keep tasting and it's nasty. I need to learn what that is. The naan was delicious and so was the vegetable and cheese dish MJ and I got.
I had a sweet lime soda to drink. It was good! Sam had a ginger ale that was pink and MJ had a mango lassi.
Abhi exchanged our dollars for us. I exchanged $100 USD for 12,000 rupees. After dinner we were given sugar cubes and fennel.
We left the restaurant around a quarter to 3.
We drove over to the Indian Gate which has the names of all the fallen soldiers of the Indian war.
and what I think was a government building, but I can't remember.
Then we drove around more.
We stopped at a park to look at the qutab minar complex.
I thought the park itself was more interesting. There were lots of families having an outing and Dehli dogs hanging out.
By now it was almost 4. We went back to the hotel and relaxed. I showered and got caught up on my kindle. Around 6 or 7 half of us met up in the breakfast area to hang out and have snacks. Sam ordered these fried foods that had onions, cauliflower, and cheese. It was good, although a bit American. Everyone talked and it was fun. We're going to be riding an overnight train and we wondered what it would be like. Dad said to sleep with one eye open so I want my expectations to be lower than low. But I keep daydreaming it will be really beautiful like the Darjeeling Limited movie. Who knows!
I went to bed at 10:30.
I noticed there was a wifi for the lobby and asked the front desk if they would give me that and they did. And I had wifi! I had several emails and snapchats to receive that weren't just my brother so that was nice.
Breakfast was at 7:30 in the hotel.
Got myself a newspaper too
It was really good. I had fruit, a hard boiled egg, tea, water, some breakfast type naan, this french toast tasting thing, some rice porridge, and some spicy potatoes. I read the paper. There were 6 different reports about a woman being raped. Obviously I don't want anyone being raped. I thought it was interesting that it was being recognized in the paper. People get raped all over the world, America is no different. I just don't pick up the paper and read about rapes in the US (unless there's something special about the case). To see it in the Dehli paper was positive in that it is being recognized and not swept under the rug.
After eating I had a cup of chai. I'm not a huge fan of US chai because of calories and it's so sweet. This was very good chai though.
I met 2 more people from our group who arrived late last night. Now the gang is all here! Sam is still the only dude and I'm still the whitest white.
At 8:30 we all met up in the lobby. We got on our bus and drove around Dehli.
One thing I was surprised by is Dehli is a lot more green than I expected. According the Abhi this is because a lot of trees were planted in the past 20 years to combat some of the smog. The smog really wasn't that bad either. It was on par with Manhattan.
While we drove around, Abhi talked to us about Hindu gods. There are over 330 million Hindi gods, basically one for everything you can imagine.
A shirtless guy in orange baggy pants was walking by. He had dreadlocks and was carrying a trident. I thought he was some crazy dude but Abhi said he was a man who worshipped Shiva, the god of destruction. The dude also probably smokes a lot of weed because Shiva smokes weed.
We got off the bus at a small red temple.
I don't know what it was. Then we walked around Dehli! We walked down side alleys and it was really cool. There are many food vendors-
And lots of people.
Abhi pointed out these chillies people have hanging over their doorways. There are 7 chillies, one for each day of the week.
So scientifically the chillies and lemon keep bugs away. Spiritually there's this demon that breaks into your home and eats you so they leave chillies outside for her to munch on instead of your sweet tangy flesh. We also saw monkeys! I about lost my mind this was so exciting.
Look at their lil bums!
Abhi stopped us by another corner street to point something out. There are Hindu gods on the wall. He said they are placed there to stop people from peeing on the walls. People don't want to pee on the gods and can't turned around to pee on the opposite wall because the gods are watching.
Piss Piss Bang Bang
We got back on the bus and drove over to Jama Masjid Mosque.
It was hotter than hell outside. Abhi was talking to us on the steps of the temple before we went in. I have no idea what he was saying, I was trying not to pass out from the heat.
We had to take our shoes and socks off to go inside. We also weren't allowed a phone unless you paid a picture fee. MJ paid the fee and brought her phone, I left mine behind, then she sent me her pics.
I wore my scarf but we also had to wear these robes.
It's a big open area. There are people sleeping near the walls, it's very peaceful. As soon as we walked in, a little boy went up to Mary Jo and asked if she would take his picture. She did,
Serving face
Then he asked for money. She told him "No rupees" and then he asked for dinero. He followed Mary Jo and I around. Homeboy was hustling.
While we were taking pictures, a man approached MJ and started speaking to her. He asked if we would like him to translate for the little boy then he gave Mary Jo a blessing. He said stuff like "You will be successful, your family will be successful" and a bunch of other things. He had her repeat a prayer. I thought it was chill. MJ really enjoyed it and felt at peace after.
This kid wasn't begging, she was just really cute
Anyways it was hot. We were barefoot and it hurt to walk in the sunlight. They have cloth walkways to step on but it was still so hot.
You could get a better view of Dehli from the temple.
lol my outfit is a fucking trainwreck
The little boy was still following MJ. Sam said he saw the kid go over to a man and hand him over 200 rupees. And that's why we don't give children beggars money.
Two little girls started following MJ around (I think it was because she brought her phone, the kids saw her and thought they could break her down). She told them "No rupees" and they repeated it back. Then they asked for chocolates. They were pretty cute. They would say "Misso, misso" which means "mine, mine" like they want us to take their picture. Take my picture, take my picture. So MJ got out her camera to take their picture and they sat right next to Sam and smiled. It was cute! The children are so precocious.
After that, the guy who blessed MJ came back and tried to give Sam rupees (which he declined). We asked Abhi about it later and he thought it was strange. He thinks the guy was a holy man.
We left and picked up our shoes and socks and phones.
We got back into the sweet AC of the bus and hit the roads. By now it was 10:45.
That was a Hindi temple we had been to. Later on we would go to a Sikh temple but before that we went to Mahatma Gandhi's resting place.
Gandhi wasn't shot here, that happened somewhere else and to be honest I don't care. It's like going to where JFK was shot. Gandhi was cremated at this place.
We went into the park and had to get our bags scanned. There was a separate area for men and women to enter before we were led into a nice park.
People were watering plants and there were these birds hanging out. Abhi said they were crows.
To get into the garden area where Gandhi is, we had to take off our shoes. The tile was hot so our group gathered under this shaded cove type where we could hear each other. I stood on the outside, close to the grass and under the sun while everyone else was inside the cave thing.
Abhi talked about Gandhi. I was half listening, it was really hot. What happened next occurred in about a 4 second period so it happened fast.
The first thing was one of those crows flew close, too close, overhead and we heard something hit the hard tile. I saw the lady next to me jump back suddenly and then something crawled up my leg. And I don't mean crawl like a spider on your leg or a fly on your arm. I mean crawl as in a fucking mouse on your body. I looked down and saw something tan ran around my legs and I screamed.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" The critter was so fast. I kicked my legs to get it off me, which made it fly off and into my group and sent everyone into chaos. I just ran away.
It was a lizard the size of my fist and I'm not exaggerating (although I do have small, presidential hands). I was pretty shook and apologized to the group for saying, nay, screaming fuck in Gandhi's burial grounds. Sam was dying laughing and I was in tears and the group was still trying to get away from the lizard and the crow was trying to get the lizard and Abhi was trying to get us back to talking about Gandhi.
After that we went up the Gandhi's cremation tomb and it was so anti-climatic after that lizard running up my legs.
Sorry for the swears Gandhi.
The garden area wasn't very big. I walked around and looked at things but a lot of it was in Hindi. There was some English.
There wasn't much to look at. I saw the bastard lizard again and took his picture.
Godzilla in India
It got really crowded as we were trying to leave. We got our shoes and it took longer to get out then in.
I was walking next to Diana who is middle aged and has white blonde hair. She looks like a Beverley Hills wife, I think she's pretty. A young girl was in front of us and kept trying to get pictures of Diana. The girl laughed and sorta put her phone away when we caught her. It was harmless but I think Diana was exasperated.
We got out of there at 11:45 and got back on the bus. We drove for 15 or 20 minutes.
We got off the bus to walk over to the Sikh temple. People on the streets try to sell us stuff like peacock feather fans, postcards, these jewelry headdresses. No one bought anything. Here's a picture of a stray dog.
Dehli dog
The dogs in Dehli all look the same. Medium size, slender built, short haired, white to tan colored. They all ignore us and seem well behaved.
We arrived at the Sikh temple around 12:30. We went into a building and Abhi talked to us about Sikhs. They're a religion of sharing. Sikhs are the guys who wear turbans. Abhi seemed to really like Sikhs and have a lot of respect for them (Abhi is Hindu). We had to wear headscaves and take off our shoes again.
We went back outside and first had to wash out feet.
The reason you don't wear shoes is because your shoes are filthy. Secondly is because when you walk in holy areas, you receive the energy through the soles of your feet. It's actually kinda fun.
Then we walked up the steps to the temple.
I didn't take pictures inside because people were worshipping but it was a really beautiful area. They had a big chandelier in the centre and 3 men with microphones and instruments playing what was probably a prayer but sounded like music. It was very colorful, all the women have bright outfits and it was visually appealing.
Once you get outside, there is a big pool to cleanse in.
Maybe I should have taken those malaria pills
I didn't plan on going for a dip but I wanted to get close to the water. The ground was so fucking hot I had to run to the water it hurt my feet so bad. Only MJ joined me, the rest of our group stayed on the cloth walkways.
There are big koi fish swimming in the water along with many many tiny fish. It was a hub of activity.
You can't swim in the water but you can bathe or cleanse in it. I saw some guys doing that.
We left the pool and went to another area. There were two lines but I could see they both ended up in the same area so I just got in one. The line I did not get in took you to the langar kitchen. The line I was in had someone at a booth make me cup my hands and they put a glob of what looked like fat into my hands.
Doesn't that look appetizing
Everyone else was eating their fat so I ate mine. It was sweet but mostly flavorless and greasy. Abhi said it was made from chickpea flour, sugar, more sugar, lots of butter, and love.
Before we went back inside, we walked by people cutting up tons of mangos for the langar dining.
The langar kitchen is a really cool place. It's a huge room where everyone sits on the ground and eats together. Langar dining means community dining. Rich or poor, everyone sits on the floor together and eats as equals.
There was so many people.
Abhi took us to the kitchen where they make food. We were still barefoot. There was people mixing a huge batch of sauce, rolling bread, and making food for the people.
I washed my hands and helped roll naan dough.
The guy next to Mary Jo taught her how to roll the naan because we were doing a pretty shit job. He was very kind! After MJ had it down he taught me. When it was time to go we both put our hands in a prayer type position and dipped our heads. There's this whole acupuncture thing where you touch your fingertips together and it activates the memory part of your brain. It helps you remember a persons face.
At 1:10 we went back to the entrance and collected our shoes.
I had some water on the bus. I'm so thirsty! Not hungry though.
We had lunch at 1:30. I didn't feel like eating so Mary Jo and I split a dish and Sam had a mutton and kidney dish.
Lunch
We had garlic naan and rice too. The rice was gross, I'm not sure what spice it had. There's a spice I keep tasting and it's nasty. I need to learn what that is. The naan was delicious and so was the vegetable and cheese dish MJ and I got.
I had a sweet lime soda to drink. It was good! Sam had a ginger ale that was pink and MJ had a mango lassi.
Abhi exchanged our dollars for us. I exchanged $100 USD for 12,000 rupees. After dinner we were given sugar cubes and fennel.
Not candy
We left the restaurant around a quarter to 3.
We drove over to the Indian Gate which has the names of all the fallen soldiers of the Indian war.
and what I think was a government building, but I can't remember.
I need to start paying attention more
Then we drove around more.
We stopped at a park to look at the qutab minar complex.
I thought the park itself was more interesting. There were lots of families having an outing and Dehli dogs hanging out.
By now it was almost 4. We went back to the hotel and relaxed. I showered and got caught up on my kindle. Around 6 or 7 half of us met up in the breakfast area to hang out and have snacks. Sam ordered these fried foods that had onions, cauliflower, and cheese. It was good, although a bit American. Everyone talked and it was fun. We're going to be riding an overnight train and we wondered what it would be like. Dad said to sleep with one eye open so I want my expectations to be lower than low. But I keep daydreaming it will be really beautiful like the Darjeeling Limited movie. Who knows!
I went to bed at 10:30.
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