My first week in India

How do I put this first week into words?  Delhi is a cacophony of sounds, smells and sights . . . perhaps in that order.  When I was in Guatemala, I thought San Marcos was noisy - I devoted an entire post to it, in fact.  Sanny M has *nothing* on Delhi.  Horns are a constant discordant melody over the rumble of the traffic itself.  At night, it appears that Indians like fireworks almost as much as Guatemalans.  I haven't heard so many dogs barking - outside at least, although they are everywhere on the street.  Inside I hear dogs barking, mind you, as the guesthouse I'm staying in right now has two yappy little poms.

As for smells . . . the air here is so think sometimes I am amazed I can breathe.  I am starting to wonder if I will ever get the grit out of my eyes, or if it's permanent now.  My lungs yearn for BC's beautiful fresh air.  The smell is mostly not as bad as I expected - I was warned that I would find it intolerable getting off the plane, and really it hasn't been so bad.  It is interesting though how markedly stinkier the city gets after dark.  I'm not sure what that is . . .but it's a sickly sweet smoggy icky pungent aroma that seems to envelope the roads as the evening sets.   As always when I travel, I came down with a cold this week and it has almost been a blessing in that I can't smell much.  On the other hand, I have a hunch that the air quality didn't exactly help my healing process.  Fortunately I'm on the mend, although I still don't quite have my sense of smell back.  I'm counting my blessings.

Maybe sights should have come first on the list - there are so many.  It is such an interesting place to be witness to; the paradoxes and contradictions are everywhere.  Hindus, Muslims; happy, cared-for children, poor, dirty children with no shoes; women in fine traditional silks and saris, women in western business suits and stilettos; shiny BMW SUVs, beat up old suzuki hatch-backs; hundreds of homeless people and dogs, wealthy people with servants and spoiled fru fru dogs; tenement style concrete block buildings beside stunning palatial houses.  What's most remarkable to me is not that these contradictions exist, but how they co-exist in such proximity of each other.

Much to my surprise, I was here almost an entire week before I saw my first cow on the street.  Apparently they herded both the cows and the beggars out of Delhi for the Common Wealth Games in October.  I think the beggars have resumed their numbers more quickly overall.

The same day I spotted the cow - meandering through the market, I also spotted my first elephant, walking along a main road.  Her (I am assuming it's a girl, not sure why) face was painted with beautiful blue and gold markings and she carried a platform and rider. As we drove past her my host, Ashish, graciously stopped to let me get a picture.  Turns out they walk fairly quickly, as by the time I got my camera out I ended up with a fantastic shot of her rump walking past us.  We zipped ahead of her again and then had to stop for a light, so I hopped out to get another shot, but the light was fading, so it's not very good.  In the mean time, as we waited for the light, she pulled up behind us in the traffic line to wait for the light also.  Ashish hoped aloud that she wouldn't rest her trunk on our roof - as no doubt it would collapse. What an image to contemplate!!  Fortunately, she kept her trunk to herself until we had pulled away and then she used it to reach up for a snack as she walked under a big leafy tree. It was really quite an awesome sight.

Ashish also made sure to stop by a place known as the "Lotus Temple" en route to and from the office this week so I could take pictures.  Once in the morning and once at night.  It's Delhi's Baha'i temple, and the building is constructed such that it looks like a lotus flower. It's really quite a remarkable structure, and it's amazing all lit up at night.

I'm slowly getting to know the little area I'm in, although I think I'll be moving to another neighbourhood next week.  As lovely as my hosts here are, I've found another guesthouse that feels like it will better suit me for a long-term stay.  It's in a little enclave, with gardens and grass, and more independent private space, including a desk and sitting area.  Given that I'll be working primarily from home that feels essential. Sitting in bed working has a pretty limited novelty. Really, how many hours a day can you spend in bed??  Admittedly, I get regular tea service in bed here . . . but still, the novelty is wearing as my butt gets numb and I begin to develop cabin-fever.  My body and spirit need to have a dedicated workspace, if not in another room, at least one that requires me to stand up and move to another spot in the room. I'm positive it's better for circulation and sanity.


A quick end-note to sum up my first week.  I spent a fair bit of time driving around this week. (passengering, actually.  I don't think I EVER want to actually *drive* here)  Zipping around South Delhi, I discovered yet another fascinating facet of Indian road laws:  As I watched all the motorcycles and scooters zip by with women riding the back side-saddle, I discovered that not only is that legal (you can't possibly straddle a moto in a sari!!) but the law also holds that helmets are required for men, but not for women unless they are driving. (Apparently this decision was made to honour women - the decision makers felt that women wouldn't want the helmet to mess up their hair)  So, women passengers and the children all piled on the bike are not required to wear any kind of protective gear.  I totally see the logic: clearly the woman on the back sitting side-saddle with a baby in her lap is not only far less likely to fall off, but surely she won't crack her head if that should happen. And children are resilient, they'll bounce. Surely. ;-)  

Arriving in India

I arrived in Delhi, India about 36 hours ago, after a mostly-uneventful journey of over 24 hours.  I have already learned a few important lessons.  The first is that while Guatemala may not care if you have a ticket back out of the country, India does - they won't even let you on the plane without a return ticket.  So after much creative footwork by the sales agent, I have one, subject to change with a small fee (having picked an arbitrary date in April).   The second is that they are really quite strict about those weight limits - and the real reason one needs to arrive 3 hours ahead at the airport is because it will take that long to re-pack one's suitcases and move stuff around until they are sufficiently satisfied to let you on the plane.  Suffice it to say, I used the entire 'extra' time that I had, (having arrived uncharacteristically early) and I got on the plane at the last minute, a little harried with no coffee. I should point out, for those laughing at this image, that I had managed quite proudly to jam everything into 2 large suitcases - and only one was so far over-weight that they wouldn't accept it (even with a fee).  I still maintain that this is directly related to how heavy the suitcase is empty. The other bag was well within weight limits. So there. 

Once on the plane, I learned another important lesson.  If you are on a plane that is less than half full, and you have the misfortune to be traveling economy class, don't wait to move.  Grab that stretch of three seats IMMEDIATELY and hoard it, because it you will need it to sleep.  Don't contemplate the possibility - just do it.  I did not.  I also did not sleep.  13 hours later, I arrived, very tired in Hong Kong, where I stretched out on the waiting benches and snored for 2 hours. (PS: truly, I don't usually snore - but I swear I must have I was SO dry from the airplane air.)  Fortunately, on the Hong Kong  - Delhi leg of the trip I was so wiped I passed out there too for a couple of hours.  The upside to my difficulty sleeping in transit has been that upon arrival I have been able to switch my clock around quickly and sleep through the night, despite a 13 hour time difference. Sheer exhaustion is a powerful sleep aid.

I arrived in Delhi around 2 am, and navigated my way through customs and luggage retrieval, and then out to where a nice man had a sign with my name on it.  What a strange feeling.  He took over hauling my luggage and we pushed our way through the crowds, in and out of elevators and down and around parking lots, finally arriving at a little Toyota Corolla.  (rather than the Innova mini-van I was promised).  I mention this only because with 2 big suitcases, a carry-on and my laptop, the Corolla couldn't fit it all in the trunk.  This meant that I had to sit in the front seat for the drive to the hotel.  It provided a great view, but was a little unnerving, as the seat-belt was non-functional. I was very relieved to be doing it at 3am, when the traffic was light.  I don't think I could have handled that in full traffic.

Which brings me to my next lesson: Indian driving.  I still haven't figured out what purpose the lines on the road serve.  Unlike back home, drivers here feel no need to stay within them, but rather appear to take great pride in driving directly between two lanes.  It's bizarre.  And the horn is a VERY important part of driving.  What's remarkable to me is that it all seems to work. Really.  The  rule of the road here seems to be: honk and go.  Others will work around you . . . and they do. I found myself trying very hard not to laugh out loud today as my new colleague drove me around, drifting from lane to lane, across lanes . .. whatever worked.  There were some points where the lanes just disappeared altogether.  Truly confounding. I expect I have more to learn on this one.  It might even get it's own post at some point.  We'll see.  For now I'm simply grateful that I won't be doing any of the driving while I'm here.  I just don't think I'm that brave.

In the mean time, I'm settling in at my guest house.  I'm not positive yet, but I think I will likely stay here as my primary 'nest' for the duration.  As in Guatemala, it is taking some adjustment to adapt to the different standards of cleanliness and conductivity. (Electrical sparks? What problem?) But it's coming.  And the family here is lovely: warm, welcoming, helpful and eager to have me.  Apparently this is a hobby for them rather than a profession - which has both pros and cons.    The house is large and lovely, my room is simple, and faces an absolutely beautiful temple.  The noise here is constant, but that seems to be par-for-the-course in Delhi.  It's interesting for me to recognize how often I am seeing comparisons to my experiences in Guatemala.  I am so grateful for my time there- truly I think this journey would be much more difficult without that base. 

Now it's time for an afternoon nap.  Despite sleeping through the night, I still feel pretty whupped. They (whoever 'they' is) say that recovering from jet-lag takes a day for every time-line crossed.  I've got a few days to go yet.