First weeks in India

I began my India experience on December 1st, flying into Delhi from Amman, Jordan. Out of all the places I have traveled to so far, I experienced the most pre-arrival anticipation/trepidation for India. I knew it would be a challenging place, in many ways. I can’t say that anything has really surprised me so far. But not being surprised doesn’t mean you’re not blown away by what you see. I must admit I didn’t get off to a great start: I found Delhi difficult, but that wasn’t helped by the fact that I got sick my third day there. Apparently, it is very common for the majority of travelers to get sick within a week or two or arrival. And I think almost half of the travelers I spoke to in Delhi were also suffering from “Delhi Belly”. I made use of my antibiotics that I got from the travel clinic back home before I left, which helped immensely. I was only sick for a couple of days. I was thankful to have a television in my hotel room which had BBC World News and a few other English shows to help pass the time between sprints to the toilet. I didn’t see a whole lot in Delhi - save for the Red Fort, which I visited mere hours before the “troubles” (with my digestion, that is) began. But walking around the Paharganj area, where I was staying, is an experience in and of itself. The things you hear or think about India are true: the traffic, the throngs of people, the noise, the garbage, the air pollution, the cows walking down the middle of the street - it’s all here. It was a bit jarring at first, but I’m now getting used to it. Speaking of jarring, the one thing I have a hard time getting used to is the horn honking. It’s an essential part of driving here, evidently, and the horns (on all vehicles: cars, trucks, motorcycles, auto-rickshaws) are about five times as loud - no joke - as what we have in North America. I still jump out of my skin about once a day.

After my four and half days in Delhi, I caught a daytime train north to Haridwar and from there a forty minute bus trip to Rishikesh. Rishikesh was the ideal balm to soothe my Delhi-hardened soul. It is the self-styled “Yoga Capital of the World” after all. It came to prominence in the late 1960s when a band known as The Beatles visited here and spent time at the Mararishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram (I visited the remains of that now-abandoned ashram). I spent my two weeks (!) in Rishikesh in the Lakshman Jhula area, which is right by the Ganges River. I didn’t stay in an ashram, but did yoga here and there. I spent a lot of time at the Ganga Beach Café reading and hanging out with some very cool people. That’s one thing about India so far:  while I have met some wonderful fellow travelers previously on my trip, I’m encountering an even larger proportion of them here. I made some very good friends in Rishikesh, and hope our paths will cross again. You know who you are.

Some other Rishikesh highlights: Swimming in the frigid Ganga (Ganges) on my last day - the upstream, seemingly cleaner part. And the bullfight on the walking bridge over the river. Two bulls (many street cows in Rishikesh) charged each other on the walking bridge one day, and literally locked horns. While stuck together - and blocking a usually steady flow of people - locals were whacking them on the butt with sticks and rods to get them moving (I was viewing this in a safe location off the bridge). When they finally got free, one of the bulls turned and charged towards the crowd on that side of the bridge. I have never seen people move so fast in my life. No one was hurt. It was hilarious.

Rishikesh is in northern India, and it IS December, so the weather at night can get quite frigid. Now, not Canada frigid, but with no insulation and no heating, your room can get pretty cold when it drops to 6 degrees (Celsius) at night. Several layers of blankets helps this, as well as the trusty toque I bought earlier in my trip. The days, however, were great - low 20s. Sorry, people back in Canada.

After Rishikesh, I headed northwest to Amritsar, in the Punjab. The main attraction is the Golden Temple - the holiest site for Sikhs. I spent three nights in the Sri Guru Ram Das Niwas, which is the free - and very clean and comfortable - accommodation (they take donations) just adjacent to the Golden Temple. The people in India have been very nice, but the people I met in Amritsar were extra-special in that regard. Maybe it has something do with (as I learned) the welcoming nature of the Sikh religion, in which no matter your faith, creed or race, they welcome all to their holiest site, provide shelter and food (there is also a free kitchen in the Temple, feeding tens of thousands of people daily). You stick out as a foreigner here, and people will come up to you and say hello, shake your hand and start asking you questions, genuinely interested in you. Some even take your photo. You feel like a rock star.

The Golden Temple is just that - gilded, according to my Lonely Planet guide, with 750kg of pure gold. The reflection of the rising sun off of it in the morning is stunning. When entering the compound of the Golden Temple, you must be barefoot and have your head covered. Again, as a light-skinned foreigner, it was amusing all the double-takes I would get. Amritsar was a special place. Definitely include it in your India itinerary.

Amritsar is very close (about one hour by taxi) to the India-Pakistan border. But in a seeming gesture of goodwill - as well as rivalry and nationalism - they hold a border-closing ceremony each night. This is essentially a Changing of the Guard on steroids: Indian and Pakistani border guards - facing each other across the soon-to-be-shut border gate - try and outdo each other with energetic and flamboyant Monty Pythonesque high steps. All this with stands of screaming, flag-waving Indians chanting “Hindustan! Hindustan!” (which is Hindi for “India”). Similar scene on the Pakistani side. This nationalistic pep rally was one of the most entertaining, if bizarre, things I have seen on my trip. I think Canada and the US should adopt this for the Windsor-Detroit border crossing.

After three nights in Amritsar, I took a 14 hour train ride to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. Which is where I am now on December 24th, and where I will be spending Christmas. Merry Christmas from India!