India+Murphy's Law

Vıew from my fırst hotel-Chanchal Contınental
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For the past three year's I've been wanting to visit India.  After reading "A Fine Balance" by Rohintan Mistry, I've always looked forward to the day when I finally step foot in this diverse and colorful country.  When I landed at Indira Gandhi airport on August 2nd, I was ALL SMILES until I walked outside those double doors and saw a sea of locals staring at me.  I was slightly discombobulated not knowing what to do next.  I finally spotted the prepaid taxi stand and slid into one of those cabs.

Amber Fort ın Jaıpur
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My driver Manesh kept pushing a different hotel and told me that he wanted to take me to a tourist office- I know the taxi drivers get a percentage, which is why I was super skeptical about this.  I needed to book a tour for the following day anyway so I finally agreed.  Little did I know this was a blessing in disguise (more on this later).

On the long drive to Jaipur, the unthinkable happened - I was in a car accident.

Structure just outsıde Amber Fort
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After booking my 3 day/2 night Delhi, Jaipur, Agra excursion, I checked into the Hotel Chanchal Continental in Central Delhi.  I booked this via hostelworld and found it to be quite scary! Reminded me of San Francisco's tenderloin district.  I did not feel safe at all.  Plus, I didn't find another woman in the entire building.  I was greeted with PIERCING stares as if I were this alien being. In fact, I got this throughout my entire stay in India. I double bolted my hotel door and didn't feel comfortable enough to unpack or change clothes.  I slept on top of the sheets near the damp towel they provided me. I guess this is what $20 US buys you. Thank goodness for the 3-day tour, which started the following day.

My favorıte local shot
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I met my tour guide/driver the following morning.  We headed to Jaipur in Rajasthan, which is over 260km and 5 hours from Delhi.  There were MANY picture taking moments, but unfortunately I was trying to take snapshots in a moving vehicle and only have blurred images.  Bummer!

On the long drive to Jaipur, the unthinkable happened - I was in a car accident.  It's all a blur to me.  Still don't know what triggered the car to swerve uncontrollably.  My driver tried desperately to avoid the truck in front of him, but we hit it before it sped off (Found out later that most people don't want to deal with police, etc. since it's a hassle). Since the back seat didn't have seatbelts, I flew from the right-hand side to the left and slammed my forehead and shoulder against the window.  I was in such shock! The car was at a slight tilt over these small boulders. Had we stopped a few more inches to the left, we would have gone down the embankment and the car would have surely rolled.  Thank goodness for guardian angels.  After impact, we were immediately surrounded by 15+ witnesses - all men who wanted to help or were simply curious.  The car miraculously started and we crawled 100+ kilometers until we reached my hotel in Jaipur.  We were lucky! I only have a few bumps and bruises.

In front of the Taj Mahal
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I checked into this gorgeous hotel - Umaid Mahal - complete opposite of Chanchal Continental.  The decor is quintissential India with its beads, sequence, and gold/red accents throughout.  Took a 30 minute rest break while my driver swapped cars and placed his Ambassador car in the shop.  Afterwards, Sheikh showed me Old Town Jaipur, Jai Mahal (water palace), Amber Fort, and Silk Gram - a shop where all proceeds go towards preventing young girls from marrying at 13 and having kids at 14.

The Taj Mahal reflectıon ın my sunglasses
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After visiting Silk Gram, we hit another snag.  My driver went through a yellow light then he was immediately stopped by a traffic officer who falsely accused him of going through a red light.  He just wanted cash, but my driver decided to argue with him.  Sheikh leaves me in the car with the engine running and walks across the other side of the intersection.  In the meantime, men are peering into the car and tapping on the window.  After being completely rattled by the car accident earlier, I was FREAKING OUT!  I didn't know if someone would hi-jack the car while I was in it...so many thoughts racing through my mind at this point.  15 minutes later, Sheikh comes back and we're off...WHEW!

One of the many measurıng devıces ınsıde the Astronomıcal Observatory
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The following day, we're back in our original car -miracle that it didn't need major repair work- and on our way to Agra (about 200km away). We quickly stopped by the Astronomical Observatory, where they have numerous instruments used to locale celestial beings, and the City Palace.

Seeing the Taj Mahal, the 7th world wonder, completely blew me away.  I had a guide named Bablu with me the entire time explaining every single detail and also taking photos along the way. The Taj Mahal is best known for its incredible symmetry.  It was built by Emporer Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz - the lady of the Taj.  It took 22 years and 20K people to build this architectural masterpiece. What a spectacular site!  This day made up for yesterday!  After visiting the Taj, I went to the UP Govt. Marble Training School Demo Center, where they showed me the painstaking marble inlay work, the same process used when carving marble for the Taj Mahal.

Insıde Shalom wıth Dushyant and Lızum
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I also saw Akbar's temple, which is similar to the Taj Mahal in terms of symmetry.  The entry gate is quite interesting since it fuses symbols from 3 different religions: Christianity, Muslim and Hindu - Akbar had three wives, each with a different faith.  On the grounds, I saw deer and baboons.  What a combination!

On August 5th, we're back in Delhi and I thankfully checked into a different hotel/Maurya Heritage in East Delhi.  That night I took a cab to Greater Kailash Part 1 in South Delhi to meet with my friend Dev's brother and sister in law (Dushyant and Lizum Khare).  They treated me to Shalom for a mojito, a mediterranean sampler plate and shish kabobs - the company, the conversation and the atmosphere were superb.  I saw a different side of Delhi - one that was much more modern and developed than other parts of India. On the taxi drive back to my hotel, I passed by Parliament, India Gate and Khan Market.

My last day in Delhi was spent reflecting on what I've seen these past few days.  Here are some observations:

1. Driving in many places reminded me of critical mass, where pedestrians, camels, cows, sheep, motor bicyclists, cyclists, tri-shaws, tuk-tuks, tractors and vehicles fight for lane space.  Quite comical!

2. Where are all the women?  The ratio of men to women is 70 to 1 (probably more than this) in many parts of India.

3. Nobody uses turn signals - From what I've experienced, I don't see the point.  It's organized chaos in most parts. Drıvers also LOVE to use theır horns. Good thıng I had my ıPod to drown out the cacophony.

4. Three people have told me I look Indian. Most thought I was in my EARLY twenties. YEAH!

5. Men like to STARE and also take pictures of me and with me.  A foreigner traveling on her own- I stuck out like a sore thumb.  A little un-nerving.

6. Abject poverty in many pockets of the country.  Even though I expected this, I was quite saddened by it.

7. India is a colorful country with many wonderful people.  My driver, Sheikh, told me about his arranged marriage and the chaos leading up to his wedding day. He also filled me in on Bollywood star gossip.  Pretty fascinating stuff.

8. In Agra, we hit a bicyclist who didn't stop to yell at my driver. Is this common?

9. My drıver told me that cows are consıdered holy ın Indıa. Then he asked me..So do you eat cows?  Is thıs a rhetorıcal questıon?  I was afraıd to answer that ın case he takes offense and drops me off ın the mıddle of nowhere.

One final memory:  On the way to the airport my final night, I get into a cab at 11pm to catch my 4am flight to Istanbul.  5 minutes after we leave the hotel, my taxi pulls over with a FLAT TIRE!!!!  Hahahahaha!  He quickly replaces the tire, but then has to patch the other tire in case we hit another snag on the way to the airport.  After 5 minutes, we pulled up next to this make shift tire repair site on the side of the road.  This was directly across a homeless camp.  Waited in the car for 30 minutes (almost midnight) completely unphased. I was actually smiling and laughing about all this - It can only get better from this point, right?  Murphy's Law or a simple case of bad luck - You decide.  At least it made this blog much more interesting.

On my way to Istanbul, Turkey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!