The First Full Day

I woke up this morning at around 7 am bursting with energy, and found myself pacing around the apartment anxious to begin my day. Maybe I was still on a weird time schedule because of the jet leg, perhaps my short sleep was a result of the malaria pills, or most likely, it's due to the fact that I don't tend to sleep in that late no matter where I am. I've been asked how I'm coping with the jet lag and the answer is very well. I've been on the go since 9 am this morning, it's 11:30pm India time now, and I still have enough left within me to write this blog post (the first one featuring photographs).

I met some of the other expats staying in the guest house this morning, but they all had other plans, so I decided to take a driver and venture off into Delhi alone. I grabbed a guidebook off the shelf of all Delhi's attractions that included a map, and without much of a plan, jumped into my private car and embarked on my journey. Again, there was a bit of a communication gap and it times I wondered whether my driver was understanding me or I was understanding him at all. The day ended up looking pretty different from how I initially planned, but the truth is I didn't have much of a plan and I knew that the driver knew Delhi much better than I did.

I tried to spark some small talk with the driver and asked him if he was from Delhi. He said he was. Then I asked him if he liked Delhi (repeating myself a couple times). His answer was an emphatic, "No."

"Too much traffic? I inquired.

He seemed to nod, or maybe didn't understand what I meant. But if I had to drive in Delhi, I would certainly find it to be a challenge! The entire time we were going down the street, there were beggars or people trying to sell things banging on our window. Cars were almost never driving inside the proper lanes, and there was a cacophony of horns honking. When I first arrived in New York City as a child I thought that was crazy. Delhi drivers make New Yorkers seem tame. One of the interesting things is that the most popular vehicle on the road is the auto rickshaw, which really seems more like a go-cart than a vehicle that should actually be driving on highways. I saw inside one of the vehicles and noticed that the drivers have images of Hindu Gods on the windshields. I've never been a very religious person, but there must be Gods protecting people who are driving in those things.

Our first stop was the National Gandhi Museum (never mind that I had requested that the driver go to simply the National Museum, which is a completely different museum in a different part of town). I decided to go along with the plan. Gandhi is an interesting and important historical figure, and interestingly I feel like I hardly learned anything about him during my education. Gandhi is to India what Martin Luther King was for Blacks in America, and what Nelson Mandela was for South Africa ... and as I learned today, was actually an influence of both of these men. Isn't it sad that Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, Itzak Rabin and other great visionaries were all killed by assassins?

Gandhi is arguably (and maybe it wouldn't take much argument) the most revered man in India. Three are numerous monuments dedicated to him throughout the city of Delhi, and his picture is all over Indian currency. His birthday is also a National Holiday in India, and was found so important by my employer Google, that we had a Doodle on our homepage in honor of his birthday. What did Gandhi do to deserve such acclaim? In short, he fought for Indian independence with his philosophy of "peaceful non-cooperation," believed adamantly in the unity of all Indians despite divisions of caste and religion, and was completely selfless, giving up most possessions spending most of his life walking around in raggedy clothes with a stick. If it weren't for him, India would likely not be independent today, it's economy might not have blossomed in the way that it has, and I might not even be here right now! Below you can see a sculpture of Gandhi in his famous Salt March across the country to protest the Salt Tax imposed by the imposed by the British. (Sounds a lot like American colonial resistance 200 years earlier.)

After the Gandhi museum, I saw Gandhi's burial place at Raj Ghat. I had to take off my shoes to access the site and I did kind of fear there was at least a 20% chance my Echo shoes would be stolen while I was looking at the tomb, but thankfully that didn't happen. Raj Ghat was a great place for people watching , but rather than describe it I'll just show you a glimpse of what it was like...


The next place I wanted to go was called the Red Fort in the Old City, but unfortunately, after having traveled across town to get there, access was closed. I accessed my driver why and he said "shooting." I was pretty terrifed and i there were gunmen on the lose I was unsure about whether I should be proceeding with this tour of Delhi at all. I later learned from a friend that by "shooting" he actually meant "movie shooting" as historical sites here are often used for that. Agian, just another misunderstanding.

So I concluded my site seeing tour by visiting the Lotus Temple, a beautiful Bahai place of worship. The Temple, completed in 1986, is now the most visited archeological site in India, surpassing even the Taj Mahal. (Thanks Wikipedia for that fun fact.) The temple was a pretty peaceful place surrounded by pools and gardens.

I wanted to see more, but 5 o'clock was nearing, the sites were closing, and I decided to head back to the guest house. I was also pretty starving because I hadn't had lunch. (Most of the places I passed on the go did not seem to live up to my sanitary conditions, so I figured if Gandhi could fast for months I could wait till I got home to eat!)

When I returned to the guest house, the chef cooked me the best pakoras had ever had. Pakoras are vegetables with a fried dough around them. I had some made with onions, some cauliflower, some potatos. They were delcious. The portion was also huge considering it was just just supposed to be a "light" snack.

I was debating going to the wedding I had been casually invited to, but was invited to go to dinner wiht Tanya and Amit, two of the Googlers staying here, and decided to do that instead. After being emresed in a foreign culture and spending a day with a driver who only understood about 20% of what I was saying, it was really nice to hang out with nice, fun and interesting people who I had a lot in common with.

Tanya and Amit, my colleagues who I went to dinner with, are both from Mountainview. Tanya is here for three months; Amit is here for an entire year and a half. They both happen to have families from India, but grew up in the States. They are both really nice, smart, and fun people. Tanya talked about how it was interesting being caught between two cultures. Amit has been here a while and gave me a lot of tips on places to shop, things to see, Bollywood movies I should watch, and more.

The restaurant we went to was an experience in of itself. It was a two story building with many counters serving many types of food including South Indian, North Indian, pizza, pasteries, ice cream and more. It was kind of a like a shopping mall for food. It enjoyed a giant masala dosa, and afterwards my appetite was fully satiated. We also had some great conversations about the lifestyle here, and I learned some funny (and some not funny) stories about predescers here before me.

It was a wonderful, and very full first day. Tomorrow I haven't decided yet whether to do more site seeing in Delhi or to be a bit more low-key. We shall see.