Train Tomorrow

September 7, 2012

Tonight is our last night in Delhi. We are all tired and packing for the next step on our way to Jagori Grameen (this is the NGO I will be working with).

By the way, I will put up a description of what it is I’m doing here in India and who it is I’m with. There hasn’t been time to set everything up but hopefully things will settle down once I arrive at my home for the fall in Sidhbari, Himachal Pradesh.

Tomorrow morning we leave for the train station at 5:50am and then take a train to Amritsar. I’m excited because this is where my dad was born and I imagine where my grandma and her mother, etc., etc., were born. I understand it’s a tradition here to go back to your mother’s hometown for the last 3 months of your pregnancy to spend time with your mother as you prepare to give birth. Also the Golden Temple is there and that is our main interest as a group. We will stay one night in Amritsar (see the temple, go for dinner, sleep) and then take another shorter train to Pathankot. Here we will be picked up by taxis from Jagori Grameen, and drive another few hours to get to Sidhbari. So a long 48 hours ahead of me. And a long 7 days that I’ve now been away. It’s been great and so successful so far. Travelling as a group of seven is difficult and we’ve done so well.

Day one in Delhi: Arrived in the middle of the night, slept, woke up for breakfast at the hotel (included in our stay), walked to M Block market (5 minutes away) and exchanged money at a good rate. Then found taxis to go to Nehru Place which is where we spent 5 hours buying cell phones and internet sticks for Himachal Pradesh. It was long but an interesting experience. Then we went to Ekta’s (Chloe’s housemate and good friend from Waterloo) house for dinner. She was very generous to have all 7 of us over and the meal was amazing. It was a good way to eat the first night because we have nervous stomachs and were so tired from the flight.

Day two Delhi: Woke up late and planned to go to see some sights in Delhi, but then realized the Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays for prayer. So we emergency-planned and were able to leave within the hour to go to see the Taj. Normally you would leave at 7am to get to Agra (3.5 hour drive) and return at 10pm, but we left at 12:30pm and returned at 11:30pm. The hotel arranged a driver for us and we all crammed in together (I was lucky to be un-crammed since I get so carsick and they let me sit up front). There is a new fanct highway with toll booths and reflectors on all the lanes so the drive felt safe and quick. We saw the Taj Mahal and then went for dinner at a restaurant in our Lonely Planet guide. We have been told it’s good to follow to avoid sickness. Then we stopped at a marble factory for some of the smallest (cheapest and lightest to carry) souvenirs.

Today (day three): Took the metro to Old Delhi, which is in the north of the city (we are in South Delhi). The metro is really nice!! Better than TTC. And there is a women-only car on every train which we accidentally got onto and then after purposely got onto for the rest of the day. We saw the bazaars in Old Delhi, bought some Punjabi-style dresses (I will give the proper name later), saw the Delhi Red Fort (from the outside), went for a very good lunch, and then I came back to the hotel with Ceinwen. The others went on to see the Lotus Temple and then to M block market for some last minute provisions before leaving. Ceinwen and I went to M block and ran into them there.

All for now! I miss you!!!