Travel Log: Days 16 - 20
Day 16: May 28th
I got a decent amount of sleep, finally, though I still kept waking up every few hours. Mogget also has a maid who comes at 7:30 in the morning everyday, but who needs to ring the doorbell to be let in. Since Mogget can sleep through anything, it fell on me to get up, though I did try to ignore it the first few times she rang. Of course the maid also speaks no English, so all of our limited communication was done through obvious hand signs. She did her few daily tasks (cleaning floors and dishes), and let me feign sleep for another hour.
When Mogget did get up, it was only to go to work and hand me the keys. I ate breakfast, got ready, and went walking in town by 11:30. I had a destination in mind: a market not too far away which Mogget insisted had a coffee shop/wireless hotspot called Barista. It was a pleasant enough walk, despite the blazing sun and dusty busy roads. I refused several rickshaws, both auto- and cycle-, on the way.
The market consisted of several blocks of tiny shops peddling the standard wares: random trinkety things, clothing, fruit, etc. After a few laps, I found the coffee shop, but they had no clue what I meant by "wireless." I ordered an iced tea anyhow, and sat down with an EE textbook. I put in a few hours of decent study (I can do Delta-to-Y conversions now, yay!), then sought out the internet cafe one of the Barista's baristas told me about. When I found th place, I asked about wireless internet, and the guy actually laughed at me as he shook his head. Not wanting to pay 30 rupees an hour for something I'd have for free at home, I retraced my steps back to Mogget's apartment. I did stop for lunch first, though: some nice Paneer Tikka Pudina, which is basically lumps of soft cheese covered in salty mint paste (yum!), and some garlic nan.
By the time I'd made it back, I noticed that I'd gotten a bit of sun exposure, having neglected the sunscreen this time. Being as pale as I am, this is not exactly the best place for me to be (or the best time of year). Still, it doesn't feel like I'm actually burnt, so I may actually come home with a slight bit of color!
I lazed the rest of the afternoon away on Mogget's slow internet connection, and waited for her to get back from work. When she finally did come home, though, she was too exhausted to be particularly interactive. We ordered a pizza, which was rather sub-par, and wings, which were oh so drool-worthy. Then I played more on the laptop while Mogget chatted with her "hearties" (yarr?).
All-in-all, a pretty uneventful day, but at least it was somewhat relaxing, and all of my stomach problems were gone by the end of the day. Oh, and there was the good news: Mogget's working extra hours today earned her tomorrow off!
Day 17: May 29th
Today's morning visitors came at 6:30, 7:15, and 8:30. The first was a guy who wanted to wash Mog's car, inside and out. I failed to give him keys, these being locked in Mogget's room, so he left. The second was the maid again, who this time added laundry to her daily chores. The third was another maid, who seemed somewhat confused when all of the work she thought she'd be doing was already finished. If I knew more than a few words of Hindi, or she any of English, I'd have provided an explanation.
Sleepy Mogget stumbled out of bed an hour or so later, and we made ready to paint the town red, or something. First stop was the Delhi's Baha'i temple, The Lotus Temple, which has architecture reminiscent of the Syndey Opera House. The temple is surrounded by well maintained lawns and gardens, and the entryway takes you past an information center built into the ground that reminded me of an ancient burial mound. Before being allowed into the temple itself, we were required to deposit our shoes at a locker built underneath the footpath. This left us with a few hundred meters to walk barefoot (or with socks for those who were wise enough to bring any) across the burning hot stone walkway leading up to the building. I think of it as a sort of trial by fire.
At the door to the temple, we were instructed to remain silent at all times within, and to respect any of the other people involved in prayer. I could immediately see why: the inside of the temple is simply a massive dome formed by the marble petals of the Lotus. The whole thing is open, with complete octagonal symmetry, save for the marble benches set in the center which all faced in one general direction.
This architecture made for some incredible acoustics. Any sound anywhere within the building carried a very long distance, disturbing the otherwise complete silence. This was acceptable when it was a minah bird that had gotten inside, as the sounds were natural and peaceful. I don't think they really should allow children into the place, however. They disturb the aura of the place: a complete serenity I rarely find except in places very far removed from human development.
Fortunately, most people did a simple walk through, glancing around and reading the few quotes by Bahá'u'lláh that were posted on plaques at the eight corners and then leaving. Few people, including Mogget and myself, actually decided to experience the place. The acoustics made for an excellent place to just sit and meditate, something I don't do too often, but probably would if I had this place readily available to me.
After half an hour or so, they had a brief prayer service, which basically consisted of three members of the church individually stepping up to a microphone and singing a short hymn. While the singers were totally and painfully off-key, the building covered for them. The harmonics they produced in the echoes were indescribably beautiful, even when their voices cracked or when they mangled a note.
I realized on our way out that I had gotten far more out of this temple than I had out of any of the monuments or ruins I'd visited. I made the decision that I would forgo the Taj Mahal and its fading beauty and crowds of 50,000+ people. This made scheduling for the rest of my time in Delhi far easier, because we were able to put off some of the sights for the next day and have a more relaxed time.
Still we had plenty more to do, with business first, then lunch, then some ancient ruins. We visited the IDP office, which is an organization made solely for the purpose of facilitating study in Australia. I made an appointment with a counselor, who will be able to tell me what are the best schools for a masters in EE and what are the best ways to find funding. IDP exists in the US as well, but there are no offices that I'd consider "local" and they didn't respond to my several email inquiries. This is just one bonus of my trip here.
The ruins we went to are called Qutub Minar, and they are the remains of one of the first Muslim presences in India. They include the first Indian mosque, which was built out of the stones stolen from 27 Hindu temples that had been destroyed by the invading Persians for this purpose. Most impressive, however, is the massive 73 meter red sandstone tower, built there as a victory marker some 700 years ago. While many of the buildings in the area have fallen or cracked due to earthquakes and time, the tower stands tall and intact.
Also within the area is the 7 meter Iron Pillar, an artifact from an ancient Hindu temple, inscribed with a prayer to Vishnu. The pillar has survived exposed to the elements for at least 1600 years and has not a hint of rust, due some strange properties of its construction. It is said that if you can stand with your back to the pillar and completely encircle it with your arms, you are granted good luck. Unfortunately the pillar is now set behind gates so no one can try.
As I was in Teotihaucan in Mexico, and in the Red Fort, I was inspired by these ruins to try and imagine what life would have been like when this place was alive and bustling with people. It's the kind of archaeological detective work my father would be proud to see in me: a partially crumbled doorway here indicates that people could once walk on the tops of these walls; a depression in a wall indicates where a statue may once have sat; now-dry channels show how water was made available in different parts of the complex; etc. In fact, I'm noticing a common theme in these places, the absence of water. It's like instant civilization, just add water!
The remainder of the afternoon was spent negotiating traffic and doing one last bit of shopping: my father requested that I find a new sheet on which he could meditate, one that has a printed pattern of concentric circles. Such things are typically done by hand as block prints in true Rajistani fashion, so the crafts market, Dilli Haat, seemed the ideal place to look. Unfortunately, while we could find thousands of prints, some of them not entirely hideous, none of them really matched what I recall my father using in the past. My guide and savior Mogget came to rescue once again, however, when she suggested that what I really wanted was made far more cheaply as factory knock-offs of block prints. We went to Central Market and found what I needed within the first 2 minutes, for a couple bucks cheaper, as well. It actually took us longer to park!
Tired from a long day, we went home and crashed for a bit, and I did my requisite techy thing by installing the new RAM chip Mogget had picked up at market while I was in IDP. Making her computer run a lot faster is hardly adequate repayment for all the time and effort she's put in to make this trip awesome for me, though she does spend an awful lot of time on it when she can (almost as much time as I typically spend glued to a monitor and keyboard). Geeks of the world, unite!
Mogget's sister's boyfriend showed up in the evening, and we ate and chatted and played Uno and Set into the wee hours. To counter Saturday's get-together, this time I was the only one with a drink, but I was determined to get at least one night of good sleep here. This was later denied to me, however, by our inability to use the air conditioner. From somewhere outside flooded in the stench of burning rubber, facilitated by the AC's fan, and the necessity to breathe superseded the need for cool air. I was strangely reminded of Terre Haute.
Day 18: May 30th
I think I was ready for this trip to end yesterday. Mogget certainly was. It was hot, hot, hot today, and there were still a few things in town I wanted to see. So, a tired Mogget drove me around again, though her exhaustion greatly limited the scope of her conversation all day.
First site on the list was the strange Jantar Mantar. This was a place built some 300 years ago as an astronomical observatory. The main feature in the area is the King's Sundial, a massive right triangle of red sandstone in a large basin, which apparently can measure the time of day with half-second accuracy. There are a number of other odd sundial buildings and a building designed to track that movement of other celestial bodies. This was by far the weirdest place I'd been in India. The instruments feature random uneven staircases going to nowhere or under and into the open-roofed structures, plus a plethora of wonderful hiding places, if you were to get a game of supreme hide-and-seek going. Well worth the visit, as it was rather memorable. And no, don't poke me and say, "you went to that instead of the Taj Mahal?!?" I'm pretty sure Mogget was too tired to handle a six hours of driving anyhow.
Next stop with the National Museum. Its exhibits display artifacts dating back to the earliest inhabitants of India, all the way up through the 9th century. I'd just read a brief history of India that morning, in a book Mogget showed me, so I had at least the bare minimum of an idea what this was all about. I was amused by some of the 3000 year old toys they had, including a little buffalo statue in which the head was hinged, and you could pull a string on its back to lift the head. It's like a stone age action figure. There were countless statues and reliefs of deities and prominent historical figures as well. I could only show the barest appreciation of the fact that, while the rulership of India has changed every few hundred years for the last three millenia, the religious artifacts still depict the same Gods, with some minor stylistic changes.
More impressive than the statues, though, were the miniatures. Miniatures are paintings in a particular style, in which all of the brush strokes are done with extreme precision and tiny brushes, sometimes no wider than the hair from the squirrel's tail. This creates some amazing effects when you look up close: first, I swear that Indians invented microprint, those tiny letters you might see somewhere on a dollar bill that prove it's authentic. What appears to be solid color with a bit of shading actually turns out to be a thousand ultrathin lines of similar colors. While the style ignores conventional perspective and images appear flat, they can be strikingly detailed and complex. The larger miniatures have so much going on in a scene at once, they can only be described as uniquely Indian.
After the museum, we went for lunch, and then Mogget dropped me off at IDP. I filled out a form and waited until a counselor could see me. When one finally became available, it became clear that it was very odd for me to be dealing with them. IDP is an international organization, but the counselor had never dealt with any cases in which a tourist from the US wandered into his office looking for schools in Australia. When he tried to find me the address of the US branch of IDP, he discovered that it had been closed down. Still, he was able to help by listing some of the top schools in Australia and giving me a few brochures. He assured me that all of the details of getting into school in Australia were ten times easier for me than for his typical cases; Indian citizens have to take an English test and a few other exams just to be able to apply for a visa, and then they have to wait 8-12 weeks for that visa. US citizens can forgo all these tests, and will get a visa within 2-4 days. All in all, I don't think that IDP will be able to do very much for me, but at least if I have any troubles, I can email this guy for help.
With all that business taken care of, there is very little left for me to do in India. I've packed away most of my things, and I'll be prepared to get up at 3:00 AM just to be able to get to my morning flight on time. I'm looking forward to getting back into my regular life, even if it does mean I have a lot of work to do again. Plus, it should be a long time before I complain about the smell, filth, summer heat, or driving in Terre Haute!
Days 19-20: May 31st - May 31st
Sleep, yeah, I remember that. It's a terrible thing when you're trying to squeeze in a few hours of sleep, when you know you'll have to get up at a ridiculous hour. I think I got maybe 2 hours before I decided it was pointless to try. I got up at about 2:00 and watched Mogget play Puzzle Pirates for about an hour, when my cab arrived. I was all packed and ready, so I said goodbye and clambered out into the quiet night.
The cabbie was very clear as to his prices ahead of time, and I thought I had well more than enough for the ride to the airport. When we arrived at the terminal, however, I discovered that the distance was a bit greater than I'd expected (or the guy uses undersized tires to inflate his prices. I paid him exact change for his fare, and had only 20 rupees left, 15 of which went to getting me that oh-so-necessary bottle of water, and 1 of which went to a phone call to Mogget to let her (and whatzme too, via her SMS) know I'd checked in without issue and was ready to leave the country. The driver actually went so far as to ask for a tip, but having no currency on me, I could not oblige. He gave me one of those oh-so-Indian head wiggles, which apparently can mean anything from "Yes" to "greetings" to "I suppose I have no choice but to accept."
I was extremely early for my flight, as it turns out. I had about two and a half hours of downtime in the airport, some of which was spent at my gate, watching a sparrow that had gotten in. I also managed to pick up some food at a Subway shop, which accepted my credit card. Perhaps they should start offering the "aloo patty" in the Us Subways.
I turned out to be a flight of fantastic coincidences. An hour or so before boarding, I noticed a pair of cute white girls arriving at the gate. (White people stand out in India, all the moreso if they're attractive, too.) I thought it might be nice to be seated next to them for my 17 hours of flight time. When we finally boarded, it turned out that I actually was! Heading to my seat, I passed by one of my single-serving friends from my flight into Delhi, who recognized me and said hello. Seated nearby was a woman with her two children who I swear were also on my flight from Delhi to Bangalore some two weeks earlier. They were memorable inasmuch as her boy (about 6) and girl (a chubby girl, about 10) were rather bratty on that flight. The boy was restless most of that flight, running up and down the aisle and throwing stuff. He also discovered that if he stood on the seat, or got a boost from his sister, he could reach the air nozzles and such, and he nearly managed to operate the tab that released the emergency oxygen masks before someone stopped him.
On this flight, he wasn't quite as bad, but he was still annoying. Still, I had pleasant enough company next to me; we found it quite entertaining to point out to one another some of the oddities of Indian culture we'd experienced. Later, we even played cards to kill time. At the one hour layover in Frankfurt, the other four Americans in my age group on that plane joined us in similar threads of conversation, and they had plenty of interesting stories to share as well. Just before we re-boarded, one of the guys handed us each a tiny ceramic head he'd made. He said he gave these out to people he thought were cool, or to beggars to get them to leave him alone.
All in all, it wasn't a bad pair of flights. This time the in-flight entertainment system was working fine, the overhead lights all worked, and the AC was comfortable (most of the time). I managed to doze a few hours on the first leg of the trip, and I also saw a movie I'd never heard of but really enjoyed: Wil Smith's "Pursuit of Happyness." In Chicago, it felt good to see the airport clean and organized and relatively friendly, even if everything costs way too much and my flight to Indianapolis was delayed for an hour. I very much enjoyed my trip, but there are a lot of comforts (such as regularity) that we take for granted that I'll appreciate. I'm not sure I could manage what one of those American couples had been doing, traveling for 7 months straight, but it does seem like it'd be worth a shot if I didn't have to do it alone.
After all that, the one hour flight from Chicago to Indianapolis was child's play. I could see how the pilots could have a lot more fun with these smaller jets, which move far more gracefully and dexterously than the big lumbering giant that was my home for most of my extended May 31st. I met hippophobia at the airport, and we stayed up chatting for a few hours, until I didn't even have the energy to play Mario Party 8 on the Wii. I crashed on the couch and got far more sleep than I usually get when I stay there, thanks to fewer disturbances from the 2-year old who thinks bedtime is 5:30 am!
And thus ends my Indian adventure. When I've rested, I'll probably write an "impressions of India" post, to summarize all of the interesting bits of culture I absorbed there that I may have neglected to mention here. I may also sort through the 570+ photos from this trip and post a selection via Google Picasa. But first, I shall sleep!