I'm Now In India!
We arrived safely in India Mondaay night at 9:00 p.m. Indian time. The flight took 14 long hours flying at 600 miles per hour at 36,000 feet. It was dark when we left Newark and was immediately fed supper on the plane. Then three or four hours later we were served a snack. At 2:00 a.m. N.C. time the sun came up. At five 0'clock we were fed breakfast. The daylight only lasted for about 6 hours and it was night again. We were greeted with thunderstorms and rain at the airport in New Delhi. And was it ever hot and humid. I thought we had turned around and went back to North Carolina!
We were met by our tour guide and bus driver. They are really nice people. They placed a lei of orange marrigolds around our necks. The hotel was nice in Indian standards. The air conditioner was barely working but it finely cooled off during the night. Supper was good but HOT! Whoever said that Indians eat a lot of currie and spice are correct. I developed a stomach crossing the Atlantic. I'm getting tired of this. The same thing happened on the way home froom Ghana last summer. Anyway with Immodium I finally pulled through and am back to par.
Yesterday morning we visited lots of places in New Delhi. We went to a Seekh (forgive the spelling). This was extremely interesting. We had to remove our shoes and socks in order to go into the place of worship. Surprisingly they allowed us to take photos inside. It's nothing like a Baptist service at all! LOL! There were worshipers praying and others looking at the holy book. Outside there was a huge pool in which people cleansed themselves. Back to the bus. Then we went to a huge Arch which is a memorial to fallen soldiers in various wars. It loooked almost just like the Arch de Triumph in Paris, France. Then we went to the site of the tallest free standing stone tower not only in India but in the whole world. It was also the site of the ruins of the first masque in India. Next we went to IIT, Indian Institute of Technology where we saw a presentation by an administrator at the school telling us about the seven ITTs in India which are the top rated schools in the country.
By this time it was HOT! It has been hotter here than anytime that I have been in Africa. Go figure! Next we went to a large shop where they sold the most beautiful Cashmere (spelling) carpets that I have ever seen. We saw how they are woven using single knots of silk. These are considered to the be most beautiful silk carpets in the world. Oh by the way, did you know that silk is the second strongest fiber in the world? Guess what is first? Spider webs! If anyone wants me to buy you a rug let me know. They range from $400 to $15,000.
The currency here is called ruppies. It's fairly simple to keep up with. One hundred US dollars equals approximately 40 ruppies. So one ruppie is approximately $2.10. The daily exchange rate changes everyday. Things here are priced relatively well. Lots of buying going on by the members of my group.
Finally we left New Delhi for our six hour bus trip to Jaipur, the pink city. It is said to be one of the most beautiful cities in India. We're touring it today. They are keeping us on a very tight schedule and when they say be ready at 2:30 they mean 2:30. But we are seeing so many wonderful things. Yesterday I saw a herd of camel and one was walking beside the road. There was a large traffic jam yesterday because of a cow in the middle of the road. Cows here are sacred and can not be injured. Oh I saw a McDonalds' yesterday. Wonder what they make their hamburgers out of since they don't eat beef here. Maybe that's why they raise camels! LOL!
I can't believe that I am still waking up at my regular time - 5:00 a.m. It doesn't matter if there is nine and a half hours difference in our times. We are nine and one half hours ahead of N.C. time. I have tried to call make a phone call with no luck. I haven't seen a pay phone yet and I bought two $20 international phone cards. Oh well!
The people here are so friendly and helpful. All of them don't speak English but speak Hindi, their native language. I noticed that some men wear turbins and long thick beards. I found out why. These people belong to the Seekh religion and it is forbidden for them to cut their hair or beards. Our bus driver is Seekh and I'll share a picture of him with you later. Well I guess I"d better be going. It's almost time for our bus to depart for the day. I wish you were all here with me. I'm having the time of my life and this group is one of the best that I've ever traveled with. Take care everyone and let me hear from you all.
Larry
We were met by our tour guide and bus driver. They are really nice people. They placed a lei of orange marrigolds around our necks. The hotel was nice in Indian standards. The air conditioner was barely working but it finely cooled off during the night. Supper was good but HOT! Whoever said that Indians eat a lot of currie and spice are correct. I developed a stomach crossing the Atlantic. I'm getting tired of this. The same thing happened on the way home froom Ghana last summer. Anyway with Immodium I finally pulled through and am back to par.
Yesterday morning we visited lots of places in New Delhi. We went to a Seekh (forgive the spelling). This was extremely interesting. We had to remove our shoes and socks in order to go into the place of worship. Surprisingly they allowed us to take photos inside. It's nothing like a Baptist service at all! LOL! There were worshipers praying and others looking at the holy book. Outside there was a huge pool in which people cleansed themselves. Back to the bus. Then we went to a huge Arch which is a memorial to fallen soldiers in various wars. It loooked almost just like the Arch de Triumph in Paris, France. Then we went to the site of the tallest free standing stone tower not only in India but in the whole world. It was also the site of the ruins of the first masque in India. Next we went to IIT, Indian Institute of Technology where we saw a presentation by an administrator at the school telling us about the seven ITTs in India which are the top rated schools in the country.
By this time it was HOT! It has been hotter here than anytime that I have been in Africa. Go figure! Next we went to a large shop where they sold the most beautiful Cashmere (spelling) carpets that I have ever seen. We saw how they are woven using single knots of silk. These are considered to the be most beautiful silk carpets in the world. Oh by the way, did you know that silk is the second strongest fiber in the world? Guess what is first? Spider webs! If anyone wants me to buy you a rug let me know. They range from $400 to $15,000.
The currency here is called ruppies. It's fairly simple to keep up with. One hundred US dollars equals approximately 40 ruppies. So one ruppie is approximately $2.10. The daily exchange rate changes everyday. Things here are priced relatively well. Lots of buying going on by the members of my group.
Finally we left New Delhi for our six hour bus trip to Jaipur, the pink city. It is said to be one of the most beautiful cities in India. We're touring it today. They are keeping us on a very tight schedule and when they say be ready at 2:30 they mean 2:30. But we are seeing so many wonderful things. Yesterday I saw a herd of camel and one was walking beside the road. There was a large traffic jam yesterday because of a cow in the middle of the road. Cows here are sacred and can not be injured. Oh I saw a McDonalds' yesterday. Wonder what they make their hamburgers out of since they don't eat beef here. Maybe that's why they raise camels! LOL!
I can't believe that I am still waking up at my regular time - 5:00 a.m. It doesn't matter if there is nine and a half hours difference in our times. We are nine and one half hours ahead of N.C. time. I have tried to call make a phone call with no luck. I haven't seen a pay phone yet and I bought two $20 international phone cards. Oh well!
The people here are so friendly and helpful. All of them don't speak English but speak Hindi, their native language. I noticed that some men wear turbins and long thick beards. I found out why. These people belong to the Seekh religion and it is forbidden for them to cut their hair or beards. Our bus driver is Seekh and I'll share a picture of him with you later. Well I guess I"d better be going. It's almost time for our bus to depart for the day. I wish you were all here with me. I'm having the time of my life and this group is one of the best that I've ever traveled with. Take care everyone and let me hear from you all.
Larry
posted by lhewett | 7:11 PM
1 Comments:
I am so glad you're having fun. Don't eat too much of that hot food or your hair will sweat too much. Get you a "washrag" like we talked about at supper that night! LOL Love you!!!!!!!!!!!
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