India...Wow...

Trip Start Feb 14, 2005
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Trip End May 06, 2005


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Tuesday, March 8, 2005

(Peter) We've just spent 2 full days in India and it's been quite an adjustment. We've been doing everything pretty much by ourselves, so maybe that's why. Speaking for myself, I've been feeling somewhat overwhelmed with the culture and environment over here. It's mainly been because I'm a bit drained from our first 3 weeks of travel, I've been sick with a sore throat and cough for the last couple of days, and we haven't had much sleep because of the flight and transfer from Hanoi to Delhi.

Our hotel hasn't been the best, which hasn't helped. We got in at 6:00 am and checked in. It's not the cleanest hotel in the world, but it's comparable to most of the places that we stayed in Vietnam. But then, (1) we found out that the hotel was not located in the area that they told us it was located, so now we have to take a auto-rickshaw to the main center of town, (2) the hot water shut off by the time we got in from a day of touring the city and hasn't worked since, (3) the electricity went out sometime in the middle of the night, and (4) we had to pack our things and change rooms at 7:30 am this morning because they couldn't get the electricity to work.

Also, the culture here is so different than anything that I've experienced so far. (More about the culture later as I learn more during my stay in India.) In addition, in Vietnam, we didn't stand out as much because we at least looked alike being of East Asian and Southeast Asian decent, but in India, we've been sticking out like a sore thumb.

So far, we've visited a number of the great monuments that are well-known in Delhi, including the Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, and the India Gate. We've also visited a couple of markets. However, the highlight of the first 2 days has probably been the food. I was told that the food in India would be different than what I've tasted in the U.S., and that I probably wouldn't like it. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. From snacks off the street to sit-down restaurants, everything that we've eaten has been delicious.

Tomorrow, we start our journey to the Rajasthan area of India (West India). We got a package that included travel accommodations (car and express train) and hotel for 3 weeks. After thinking about it, we think we overpaid a bit, but the package allows us to decide where we want to go and long we want to stay in each town in the region.

I hope it's good...
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