Jan 1 - New Year's last night in Chiang Mai (northern Thailand) was really special. Nowhere else I would rather have been. Paper balloon lanterns and fireworks were beautiful. Happy 2012!! Thankfully not too tired this morning. Got up early for a cooking class. Made Panang Chicken Curry and Tom Kha Gai soup - my favorites! Unfortunately the results weren't quite as tasty as I'd hoped, but it was certainly operator error, so I guess that just means I need more practice. Definitely an interesting class though and I'm glad I got a chance to do it. Left Mom, Dad, Daniel and Jacob at the class and headed to the airport. Small airport, well run, so I got there way too early, but better safe than sorry, right? Uneventful flight to Bangkok. Found free internet kiosks in the international terminal of the Bangkok airport. Awesome. Relatively uneventful flight to Delhi, minus the airplane food not agreeing with me. The first thing I did upon arriving in India was throw up in the airport bathroom (sorry if that's TMI). An auspicious start to the trip, right? Found my airport transfer guy without any trouble, got to the hotel, and crashed.
Jan 2 - Freezing and no heat in the hotel, but I was tired enough that I slept fine anyways. Thought about exploring the area, but most things are closed on Mondays here and it didn't seem like the greatest neighborhood, so I opted to stay in, relax, and watch TV all morning instead. I'll have plenty of time for exploring later when I'm not alone anymore. Had our trip orientation at 2pm. Seems like a good group. 13 people and a local guide. People from Australia, UK, Denmark and US. Mix of couples, friends and single travellers. Took the subway with the group to see the "India Gate" (which wasn't particularly exciting). The subway was crowded but not as bad as I expected. They had separate men's and women's cars, which is actually pretty nice, particularly because there aren't many women on the trains, so the women's care are less crowded. Had a good group dinner (chicken and veggie dishes, rice, naan/roti, and Kingfisher beer) and made it an early night.
Jan 3 - Had to be up super early to catch an early morning train to Jaipur. Managed to get in a hot shower beforehand, which was nice. Getting on the train was pretty nuts. I'd hate to see the train station at rush hour. Uneventful train ride, arrived in Jaipur late morning. Took a rather harrowing tuk-tuk ride (motorbike pulling a seat for passengers) to our hotel, dropped off our stuff and headed out for lunch. Explored the city all afternoon with stops for chai tea and snacks, then had the opportunity to experience a Bollywood movie in an authentic Bollywood theatre. Even though it was mostly in Hindi, we were able to follow the plot decently well. For the most part, the movie was a surprisingly typical action flick. There was less singing and dancing than I expected, although our guide informed us there usually is more. The Indians in the audience still got really into it though! Maybe it's just because I hadn't seen a movie in a movie theatre for more than two years (!), but actually really enjoyed it. Fun experience.
Jan 4 - Had a leisurely morning and headed to the Amber Fort a little after 9am. Afterwards, had a nice lunch (lentil soup and garlic naan for me), then visited the Windy Palace and the Observatory and wandered the city. Quite interesting, but we were all pretty wiped by late afternoon. Headed back to the hotel to rest for an hour or two. About to go meet for an early dinner before making it an early night in preparation for another early morning train tomorrow to Agra. More to come later!
2 comments:
The train stations in India are unforgettable. I remember when Walter and I arrived at the station in Ahmedabad early in the morning after an overnight trip in the sleeper car. It is one thing to realize that children live in the station. It is another to see it. Then to exit the station we needed to walk (heavy bags and all) down a stair case in a river of humanity. I wanted to adjust a bag I was carrying over my shoulder and realized I needed to step outside the flow or I'd be crushed.
Enjoy the trip.
Debbie
Agreed! India is truly a place you just have to experience to understand what it is like. Love it or hate it, you definitely walk away with a unique perspective. As interesting as the past week has been, I have to admit I'm looking forward to heading to Nepal tomorrow, where it should be less crowded, less noisy, and cleaner.
I hope all is well!
Sarah
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