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but i think we became friends; he gave me advice for my trip and my life: "only eat fruits and vegetables. everything else either has too much spice or too much oils - to make it taste good, but it's not good for the body." also, "take a tour bus to agra. why would you want to take a train? this is your vacation, and so you should take a tour bus with the other tourists and save the headache!" and finally, "you are not married? i am very upset now. you should put an advertisement in the newspaper. then meet her and decide if she can be your permanent companion." (this plan is already in the works for his oldest son, age 25.) in the end, he read sikh holy texts to me, and i was glad for the company.
my arrival in delhi was a bit more chaotic. i hate having to run through the gauntlet of touts at the airport. without a guide book or a native, i knew i would be cheated - so i didn't try to avoid getting cheated, i just didn't want to get cheated too much. and i did get cheated, but within limits. (i mean i paid way too much for that ugly hotel i stayed in, with no window and dirty sheets. and i paid way too much for the taxi to get there. i couldn't find the prepaid stand! i looked everywhere.) but it takes a bit of mindfulness to ride in the back of a tuk tuk through traffic with all the near misses - an experience like none other. i guess i just tried to believe that some reason and logic exists behind all the cars-weaving-in-and-out-of-each-other madness. but i did almost jump up out the tuk tuk at one point: we'd turned down this quiet street, and i was feeling that the worst was behind me - when this rabid-looking dog jumped up at me from the street. it was just like one of those horror movies when the monster jumps from behind the closed door. i think i yelped. and it doesn't help that the travel nurse told me to avoid dogs - which are everywhere. india needs to take a hint from vietnam.
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i made it to agra. but not by train; by bus. and that is always fun. but i found an india guide book along the way. a used 2007 lonely planet.
so i am here, even though its been an adjustment with the weather and the lack of preparation. but here are the top 5 reasons i know i am not in america anymore:
1. i paid only 25 cents for my "fast food" lunch (some meat pies that are to be dipped in curry; they were so good - and reminded me of why i came to india.)
2. when i walked out of my hotel this morning, the first thing i saw was a cow.
3. i don't see kids matching their nikes with their shirts and hats, but i have seen women matching their saris to the little dot on their foreheads.
4. my bus got stopped today by a herd of camels.
5. i went for 6 hours straight without seeing any white people - (until i got into this internet cafe.)
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5 comments:
Let the adventures begin!
you made it! any sign of Jenni? I'd love more food pictures, please. and cows.
I'm glad the dog didn't get you. I just read the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God and a guy in it ends up dying from a bite from a rabid dog...so keep watching out!
Dude, why the comment about Vietnam & dogs??? I am mortified!
Sometimes I wonder if we are truly related. I am SO not adventurous. I prefer to view the world via the Travel or Discovery Channel.
thanks for all the well wishes. and food, rabid dog pictures are sure to come!
and wl, ha ha ha. i thought you would be mortified. but to each his own. and india isn't adventurous, its the world!
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