Michelle Lindsay's Blog

I just posted the last photos of my trip… enjoy!  Sorry no post about Jaipur and Agra (Taj Mahal)… I will possibly get to that at some point.

I am hoping I will survive this plane ride!  Haven’t eaten more than 2 bananas in 45 hours… not good.  Anyway, check out the photos in the gallery, or visit my flickr site (link on the gallery page) for more description and a slide show.

While in Agra (where the Taj Mahal is) and Jaipur (where we spent the night on Wednesday) I didn’t have a computer to update the blog… sorry!  And yesterday I got very sick!

It must have been something I ate on Thursday night because I started feeling nauseous during the last hour of our cooking course.  Then on the way home, I had to ask the driver to pull over so I could deposit everything in my stomach on the side of the road… the rest of the day I laid in bed, waiting for the cipro to do it’s job.   Overnight I was able to take small sips of water every half hour and I got 2/3 liter down.  I am feeling much better this morning, but still weak and a little achy.  I have an appetite but even juice made me have to run immediately to the bathroom, so I’m going to stick to water.

The cooking course teachers were really thorough!  We mostly just watched them and followed along the recipes.  Then at the end we got to construct the stuffed parathas and fry them, and try frying a dosa (which is a very involved batter of fermented lentils and rice that I’ve tried to make before and failed).  Unfortunately I didn’t eat very much since I started to feel sick, but I’m glad I got it all in so I know how to cook this stuff on my own!

So I am hoping to be able to get downtown to go shopping today but I will have to figure out a solution to keep the diarrhea in control…

I’ll try to get some pictures up too!  I leave in 15 hours…

Today we toured Old Delhi with Rajat.  I’m glad he came because we didn’t get hassled as much as we would as just two white women.  We went to the section of Delhi that the British didn’t mess with as much, so I felt much more of an “Indian” culture there.  I followed the Fodor’s recommendation for a walk through Chandni Chowk – the crazy main bazaar with lots of narrow crowded channels.  I didn’t see anything I wanted to buy, but just walking through there was a bit of a rush, having to dodge rickshaws and motorcycles.  I didn’t see any white people back there either.

The Red Fort, where Shah Jahan built his Moghul paradise, was interesting but not as well preserved as it could be.  It made it harder to imagine as a really nice place to live for the kings and princes and all their ladies.  Even the river that it used to overlook isn’t there anymore, and it’s a really busy road instead…

We saw Jama Masjid, the giant mosque in this section of town.  We had to cover up with a gown thing and to get up in the tower, we had to have a guy with us.  The stairs to the tower were very tight and steep with no handrails.  A little clausterphobic!  But it was a neat view from the top of the streets below.  

We ate at a famous restaurant called Karim’s.  We had naan and roti with Shahi Paneer (red creamy sauce with cottage cheese cubes), and dal.  We also ate jalebis off the street – they are like funnel cake, deep fried, but greasier, and it has syrup all over it.

Then we drove to Karol Bagh market and walked a bit, I visited the Roopak’s Spice shop I wanted to go to for some cheap good spices.

After unwinding at home for a bit, we got some sweets at the sweets shop then went to Flavor of the Mughals restaurant and shared Paneer Palak (spinach and cottage cheese) with 3 types of Naan/roti.  Then a dessert that was like a pistachio rice pudding, I think it’s called Keer.  It was good, but I definitely ate too much too late at night…  but that’s what they do here, dinner is at like 10:00 at night.

OH YEAH I forgot we went to a Sikh temple the first thing we did.  It was kinda cool to see how everything works there, and it was really busy with people coming to pray.  You buy this greasy sweet stuff resembling greasy applesauce called Halwa on a big leaf, then you take it to this guy that scoops a handful of it out into a big barrel.  It’s supposed to be like an offer to the gods.  It tasted good but dang was it greasy!!

Tomorrow, or I should say, in a few hours, we are leaving for Agra by train.  We are taking a taxi to the station at 5:00am, and it’s now 1:00am, so I should get to bed.  I don’t know if I’ll be able to post later, but we’ll be in Agra tomorrow, training to Jaipur to meet a friend and stay with him and touring Jaipur all day Thursday.  Then we’ll catch a midnight overnight train back to Delhi.

Sorry I didn’t get photos up on Flickr from today, there were absolutely too many to upload and write descriptions for, so you’ll have to ok with a few right now. 

Holi is a celebration of the upcoming spring celebrated in some South Asian countries, including India. I was really lucky to be here during Holi because it was fun to play Holi with them. To play Holi, you have to wear clothes you don’t care about, then go to a party where they throw colored powder paint on you then you are sprayed with water (or beverages). The party we went to was held at a sort of resort thing next to a hotel. It had a big field that they set up a dance floor in with a DJ and big speakers and a stage. It was a full-on concert set up where you go home and your ears are still ringing. They were blasting Hindi music and American pop/dance songs. There were unlimited drinks and catered Indian food. A particular drink I only had a sip of – the “tea” made with bhang which is essentially marijuana. I tried a gol gappa which is a fried shell with spicy water in it, and you put the whole thing in your mouth.

The dance floor was unique in that it had a shower shooting water at each corner so everyone was dancing in the rain. I don’t usually get into dancing but the Hindi music is catchy!

I think I especially enjoyed this party because I felt like I got a real taste of Indian life, and although Marielle and I were two of maybe 6 white people, it was still a welcoming environment.

First of all, please check the link for the India Photo Gallery on the left - it’s from my Flickr account. Even though you can see all the photos, I’ve added some descriptions that you can’t see, so maybe it’s worth a visit to the actual Flickr site if you’ve got the time

I woke up yesterday too early… I could only sleep for 4 hours! Marielle made eggs with onions and peppers for breakfast and I had some tea made by boiling the leaves straight in the water. Their driver came for us at 1030. I had a list of sites to visit, and we handed that to him. We made mistake #1 by assuming he could read/knew the best route to go to hit all the sites. So we wasted some time but we ended up going to Raj Ghat (where Gandhi was cremated) and that wasn’t in the original plan. IT was fun because there were a ton of young school kids (on a Sunday?) and I got their photos and took one with Marielle in it. And they touched her butt which was funny for me, but she shouted “Stay back!” that’s why the kids all looked scared of her in the photo

After some confused discussion with the driver, we got back on track. First to Purana Qila – Old Fort – where Moghul leader Humayun was first kicked out, then reclaimed and eventually fell down the steps to his death. It’s really old, like from the 1500′s, and so only 2 buildings are left. Before going in there we got some snacks from a street vendor – some triangular fried layered dough with some lentil, potato, corn (maybe) stuff in the middle. It was 6rs for 1, and somehow 20rs for two..?

After that we drove to Humayun’s Tomb which was huge and beautifully made. A bunch of other people are buried there too. Humayun’s wife made it for him.

Then off to Gandhi Smriti memorial. It was confusing for the driver because there is another museum for Gandhi. I’m glad we finally got there though because it was quite the museum with interactive videos and multimedia. The free tour guides were attentive and informative but sometimes difficult to understand.

Then a little ways to Indiri Gandhi’s (Gandhi’s daughter in law) house and museum. She was killed by her bodyguard here, and they lined the path of her last steps with crystal. She did a lot for India, quite an incredible lady.

The last thing downtown we saw was the India Gate and the park surrounding it. I think a lot of locals come here to hang out on the weekends. We got hassled by a couple groups of younger guys wanting photos. I ate some ice cream on a stick. It was called Pista Kulfi (pistachio ice cream),yummy!

We went to 4 malls in Gurgaon (where Marielle and Rajat live) to find clothes for Holi because we need white clothes that will get colored water all over them. We had a snack first – sweet lassi and Papri Chaat. The lassi is a yogurt drink and Papri Chaat had these crackers on the bottom with layers of yogurt, chutney (like salsa), chickpeas, spicy stuff, corn, potato chunks. It’s cold. I liked it, it wasn’t very spicy though.

We got home then walked to a place nearby for dinner. I got a Special Thali meal (dal, sabzi, raita, rice, 3 parathas, salad and achar). I’m not sure what all that is, like the sabzi and achar. I opted for no salad because I was worried about the water on veggies. The dal and rice and parathas (flat bread) was good.

After showering and eating, we went to Rajat’s friend’s house for a surprise party that his friend’s wife was putting on for them. Rajat and his friend are upgrading to captain status and they just passed a flight sim test. We had appetizers and drinks (no alcohol for me! I was tired enough!) This was like 930 to 1030 or so and I was really tired, so they took me home early. IT was a long day! Last night it was 48 hours since I left home and I only slept 5 or so hours!

Today we are going to a farmhouse for Holi celebration with Rajat and Marielle’s friends. We have special clothes and are ready to get dirty!

Mainly just photos… enjoy! We are heading out to Central Delhi in about an hour.

Hi!  Airplanes aren’t THAT bad… I traveled for almost 24 hours and I have finally arrived in Delhi.  First flight I was stuck on the window side next to a guy who slept the whole 7 hours – except when the flight attendent ran into his knee and when I had to pee.  I watched The Blind Side which I really liked.  Very touching.  A true story!  Anyway we got to Amsterdam, where I asked the transfer desk guy how easy it is to go into town when you have a layover and he said it’s 20 mintutes to downtown on the train, you’ll have plenty of time in 8 hours.  Yay!

Then the second flight to Delhi was mostly Indians (duh).  It was a little longer, maybe 8 1/2 hours, and I was sleepy because I only slept an hour on the first flight.  I slept some and planned out my plan of attack for touring Delhi with Marielle.  Once again I got more food than I could eat, so I have some American food to contribute to Marielle’s kitchen since I didn’t need all that I brought.

Marielle and Renu picked me up at the airport and I wasn’t hassled at all! It went very smoothly.  It was an interesting ride back, lots of traffic even at midnight.  And the smog!  Dang.  Never experienced that before.  They live in Gurgaon which is outside Delhi to the south.  It has a lot of big flashy malls.  They live in a tall apartment complex.  The apartment has 3 bedrooms just for 2 of them!  So I get a room all to myself, which has a bathroom attached.  They’ve really set me up nicely.  Thanks Marielle and Rajat (who I still haven’t met because he is off learning to be a captain pilot).

I should really go to bed, it’s 2am and I haven’t slept much in the past couple days.  We have a big day planned tomorrow!

Less than 5 hours until my plane takes off!  I’m running around at home (went to my morning class) and wanted to post a picture of what I’m bringing (minus the stuff for Marielle, which includes active dry yeast and chocolate chips!).

I’m going to try to get away with not checking my backpack.  Carry-on is so much easier!

Decided to skip the computer.  Thanks Mark.

Cold/allergic reaction to vaccine made me a mucous-ey sneezing mess on Monday, but Tuesday and Wednesday I felt MUCH better.  My car died yesterday so I had to deal with that ($800 to fix, dang.) plus trying to focus on studying for a midterm.  I’ve taken over our living room with my stuff carefully laid out so I can make final adjustments as necessary.

I’m leaving for school early so I can sit in the library and focus for an hour or two before my midterm.  It has been quite exasperating studying for this exam.  In a few hours, it will be over and I’ll have nothing to worry about except the final prep for Friday afternoon’s flight!

It’s Sunday night at 10:30 pm, and I should be getting ready for my mental health clinical and going to bed (I leave with my mom for the hospital at 5:30 am!)  BUT I thought of a great idea to set up a blog to keep you all updated with my trip to India – leaving on FRIDAY! Ahhh.

I’ve been scouring guidebooks from the library and making my plans and deciding what to take with me.  The only setback I’ve had this weekend is a nasty head cold.  I think it could be either a cold or a side effect to the oral typhoid vaccine I’m taking for 8 days.  I hope it’s the vaccine.

Anyway this was a test post.  Stay tuned!

PS – if anyone hasn’t heard of the floods in Madeira in Portugal, check this out.  It’s tragic!  What a nice place – I won a world championship title there  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8526288.stm