Taj Mahal Hotel New Delhi

When we look back on Mumbai in years to come, it will without a doubt equal Jetlag...at its finest, we tossed and turned each night we were there, ate at ridiculous hours or not at all and somehow managed to drag our bodies around the city on our last day, if the truth beknown we actually had to check out at noon, lazed in our rooms till then, then heaved ourselves into the nearest cafe for some coffee, lemon tea - known locally as chai and omlettes! Mumbai was a pretty city, the harbourfront...

Back to Delhi and we booked into the same hotel called "Cottage Yes Please". Don't know where they came up with that name, maybe it has something to do with cottaging?? Anyway, Rachel was still sick and i will the perfect, patient nurse looking after her every need. I even brave the streets of Delhi alone, to find her some toilet roll. For our new years celebrations, we moved into the 5 star Taj Mahal hotel. It was a really nice hotel but the swimming pool was closed for maintenance and I nev...

Greetings from India! I arrived in New Delhi at 9:15 PM on Monday, November 26, fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. Considering that my flight from New York was delayed into Chicago and I was thisclose to spending 24 hours at the airport waiting for the next flight to India, this was thrilling. My two hour layover in Chicago was completely nonexistant thanks to the two hour delay out of JFK. When I finally landed at O'Hare I found myself thrown into that scene in Home Alone when the entire fam...

Hey Trendsetters, Well this one is going to be brief because quite simply we didnt do much at all, initially we went to Meherangarh Fort, which was beautiful and has an excellent story behind it, we took a self guided tour around the fort which was well worth the cash and gave and excellent insight into the Fort. But Google it if you want to know about that. We had arranged to meet Hayden and Claire at the Trophy bar for a few beers in the evening, so after spending the day wandering around t...

All is well in New Delhi! I'm enjoying the lap of luxury- check the hotel pool and garden shots. As you can see, my upbringing has prepared me well for 5-star life. It's difficult to describe the peculiar smell of everything here, like jasmine but there's also something acrid to it. It's sharper in the hotels and other buildings, and lighter on the hot, muggy streets. I went to "India Gate" last night with another teacher, Lois. The gate was lit up, but there were no other street lights, givi...

Yesterday we finally saw some good stuff! Unfortunately, trying to compose all my thoughts and getting the pictures uploaded takes longer than I expect every time I sit down at the computer. Excuse this very rushed version of events…

We saw three different temples yesterday- Sikh, Hindu, Jain- and a mosque (very austere!). The Hindu was my favorite- there were swastikas everywhere, which here is a symbol showing how order can be made out of chaos. And the Hindu deities are so bea...

The contrasts here are dizzying at every turn. Before I start taking it all for granted, let me mention that every morning in the hotel's computer lab an attendant approaches to pull out my chair and returns a minute later with complimentary coffee and cookies. I can’t use the hotel gym without at least three attendants handing me towels, adjusting my treadmill settings for me, and of course opening all doors. And I just found out that outside the hotel, people aren’t just sleepin...

I figured out how to extend my life- go abroad regularly in six-week increments. June 28th seems like a year ago! My bags are all packed- my colleagues tell me my underweight duffle bag is an embarrassment to the United States. I guess I've been on one too many backpacking trips- I like to keep things light. I've got some free time, some extra rupees for the internet fee, and this computer is downloading pictures so quickly my eyes are tearing up- so you're getting a bit of a photo gallery he...

Wow! I'm here! Finally - it's been a long trip. And this whole jet lag thing is real. Even today I feel super dizzy and weird. Our welcome here in New Delhi has been so awesome. We had Fulbright meet us at the airport with flowers. As soon as we stepped outside there were lots of people bugging us, "Please lady, you look so tired, long journey -give me tip and I'll help you with your bag." I had to fight just to try to keep a hold of my own luggage. The hotel is absolutely amazing! I've never...

Now it's for real! Venturing outside of the hotel in the last two days has led to many things. There is so much going on in my mind and my heart. I am in a place of the world where I have to learn how to eat and drink, communicate, go to the bathroom (everything you've heard about India is true), shop, and even cross the street. It can be overwhelming at times but I love it! I can't possible capture every event. Some highlights from the last two days is the Red Fort, crossing the road, taking...