Welcome to Delhi

After over 10 hours of trains through India we've arrived in Delhi. We (being me, Martyn and Karen, everyone say hi! We met at volunteering, she's a primary school teacher from Texas. We got on great so when she wanted to travel for another week we all decided to do it together) took the scenic "toy" train from Shimla to for 20 rupees (25p) each. It was filled with stunning views but after an hour and a half the views didn't quite make up for the long slow journey of 6 hours...!

In Kalka we grabbed a cup of chai and chilled in the executive lounge and waited for the next train. Thankfully we'd treated ourselves to "CC" class (see below) for the next part of the journey and it flew by!

Arriving in Delhi was just what we remembered when we arrived in India; hot, humid, noisy and crowded. Yet we were no way as phased as we had been before. Turns out 2 months in India does help you acclimatise! Although it was loud and busy, it was no longer threatening. Regardless we jumped into a taxi as we didn't really want to walk to the hotel with massive bags and in the dark.

We were dumped next to a poorly lit, sleepy crowded alleyway and just told to walk. Eep! We walked for a short way and did find the hotel. The guys were friendly and while we were checking in we met a guy from Swansea that was definitely overwhelmed. He was changing his trip to get out of Delhi asap.

We had a much needed early night and Karen got up at the crack of dawn the next day to go to Jaipur to ride an elephant. 

Meanwhile we had a lie in and went to explore the city. 

The Red Fort was huge. It's an amazing piece of architecture built by the Mughals. There are many smaller buildings inside, each with intricate designs. It's amazing to think it was all done by hand.

A few minutes walk from the fort is the Jama Masjid mosque, yet another amazing building. Its so imposing, cutting into the skyline, pumping out the call to prayer. At the entrance we were stopped by 2 guys who pointed out the rules to us, the whole time we've been in India I have always dressed respectfully, and definitely covered up. But the guys at the entrance decided I wasnt covered up enough and gave me a bright pink coverall. Martyn was wearing shorts and had to wear a sarong and then they searched our bag and charged us 300 rupees as we had a camera, even though we weren't going to use it.

In the mosque area we just felt uncomfortable. Several people actually laughed and pointed. We didn't go in the mosque proper as we just didn't feel welcome, which is a shame as we've been made to feel so welcome in every other religious place we've been, including other mosques.

To get back to the hotel and freshen up before dinner we hopped in a tuk tuk or autorickshaw and drive straight into rush hour traffic. There are horns blaring constantly and no such things as lanes. There were at least 2 occasions where we were nearly crushed by 2 buses pulling in towards us! It was a fun ride, even with the near death experiences ;)

To finish the night we stopped at a dhaba (24hr cheap diner) for a thali (mixed curry and rice plate), drank chai and watched the world go by.

What a hectic 24 hours! Who knows what the next 24 will bring...

Footnote:

Unreserved 2nd class: Wooden or plastic seats. Very full! Very cheap!

Sleeper class: Same as above but with triple bunk beds for overnight travel.

AC Chair (CC): Comfortable, reclining seats with air conditioning and food.

Air conditioned 3 tier (3AC): 3 tier beds arranged in groups of 6. No curtains.

Air conditioned 2 tier (2AC): 2 Tier beds that convert to chairs during the day. Curtains. Food.

Air conditioned 1st class (1AC): the best of the best. 2 or 4 bed/chair compartments that have locking doors and food.

Off Again

A quick post tonight. We'll be leaving Dharamshala in an hour, for an overnight bus to Shimla. We've picked up a travelling companion for the next few days- Karen, from Texas who we have been volunteering with. Next is a train ride to Delhi which is apparently beautiful.

We'll be in Delhi for about a week after that, so will try to update again then.

A little box of home

So we got a box filled with English stuff, that will definitely ease the disatnce from home.

Our uncle and aunty have done the whole being away from home thing and the letter that came with the package was filled with well wishes and words of experience.

It's nice to be thought of and especially nice to get presents! We really appreciate the thought.

Thanks Paul and Catherine (and boys).
Xxx

A Weekend at Rewalsar Lake

We spent last weekend at a lake near Mandi called Rewalsar. The town is built around the lake, which is sacred to followers of Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism.

The legend goes that Padmasambhava (aka Guru Rinpoche) fell in love with a local princess (Mandarava), and the king, disapproving of the match decided to burn his daughter and Padmasambhava alive.

When the smoke cleared, the fire had been replaced with Rewalsar lake, with Mandarava and Padmasambhava sat on a large lotus flower in the centre of the lake. The king changed his mind about the match after this.

The legend goes that Padmasambhava then went on to travel from India to Tibet, and spread the Buddhist religion there. For this reason, he is revered by Tibetan Buddhists, and a large community of Tibetans have settled at Rewalsar. In 2012, an enormous (40m tall) statue of Padmasambhava was erected atop one of the Buddhist temples there.


This was one of the views from our guesthouse - they love a good statue in India.

Four of us (Jess, Karen, Melanie and I) went for a quiet weekend away, and we found it. Rewalsar is so peaceful and relaxing, it was great. We got up early Saturday for a walk around the lake, popping into the numerous small Hindu temples along the way.

We then took a taxi up to a cave above the town where Padmasambhava meditated. The cave is pretty far up the mountains, so the cloud is really thick - it looked like we were at the end of the world!

After a good lunch of Momos (Tibetan dumplings) we headed for another stroll around the lake. Jess, Melanie and I went up to see the Sikh Gurudwara, and were promptly invited to sit and listen to the music being performed, and to visit the community kitchen there (all Sikh temples are open 24/7, with free food offered to all from the community kitchen). We were completely full of Momos, but out of politeness also managed to eat a place of Rice and Dal there too (like that Vicar of Dibley episode, anyone?). We were made to feel very welcome, and we all left with a fuzzy feeling inside (and a lot of rice).

Offers of free food continued as we visited a local fete, hosted by the Tibetan community in the town. We found out much later that it was to celebrate the Dalai Lama's birthday. The whole community had got together to put on music, food and dancing, throughout the whole weekend.

We returned at dinner time - to see more of the festivities and take up the invitation of sharing dinner with the local monks. The girls were in full flow, dancing and generally entertaining the large number of teenage monks from the local monasteries. The whole place was alive with energy, and it seemed like the entire community had come together for the celebration. They welcomed us, despite forgetting to bring our own bowls ("This is a community, and the community will provide you!"), and we enjoyed a massive, spicy dinner of noodles and tsampa (doughy bread).

The weekend was really fun. It was nice being in  small group, without the fuss of lots of people, and suiting ourselves. We also found the people in Rewalsar to be really kind and friendly , which made it such a good weekend.

 

Happy 4th July!

A lil post to wish all my American friends a happy 4th July.

We're having a party later, which I find quite surreal as we're in India but I'm sure it'll be fun.

Photos to follow!