Delhi Delhi Delhi

This morning I had an agenda: find internet cafe, find post office, find ATM, and find out what I wanted to do with my day. Had another good "American" breakfast at the hotel...today, no grilled tomato. I caught myself eating watermelon and mangoes, but I ate pineapple yesterday and haven't paid any of the cost (yet). So, about 9:00 this morning, I set off to achieve the items on my agenda in Connaught Place.
That is where the mayhem ensued. First it was a yoga instructor (who in NO way looks like a yoga instructor from the West), Ravi, showed me around to some Department of India Tourist Office. He says, "I want no money, just to practice my English." (Me--a little dubious at this time.) All I wanted to know was how to get to N block of Connaught Place to find the Internet Cafe described in my Rough Guide. Oh no no no, at the "Dept Office" I was worked on for about half an hour about taking a private car tour of Old Delhi. Finally finding some guts, I stood up and walked out. I don't like the thought of having a timetable today--I just want to relax!
I had at least 5 other people wanting to take me to random places--travel agencies mostly. These middlemen get paid quite a commission I assume for bringing in the little white girls. Frustrated and annoyed beyond words, I snuck away from one dude and dove into a rather new, clean little drink bar. I sat down and was graciously greeted by a very nice female in about 10 seconds. I had a raspberry tea and was grateful for the relative peace. Then I met Abdul...
He's a travel agent (and didn't try to sell me too much, actually!) He was very nice and has a brother who lives in the U.S. We talked for a bit and it was fun. These are the moments I have heard others describe after their trips to India. It's not always the centuries' old monuments that create vivid memories, rather it's the conversations and the people that can shape one's visit (for good or bad).
After chatting for a bit, he invited me to his friend's shop for Kashmiri tea. I decided to accept this offer and I had some of the best tea I've ever had. His friend has a small shop selling Kashmiri items--pashminas, scarves, carpets and the like. We sat on the floor, discussed yoga, religion and India. The owner of the shop is a yogi and Reiki master who encompassed all the attributes one might assume when thinking of an Indian yogi. He talked very much about how we are all ONE and religions should not define us or build barriers, rather how we should accept each other, meditate and open our third eyes to the wonder that is our world. I had to smile (and buy a pashmina) for the nice talk, great tea, and lifetime memory.
As I walked back to my hotel, I was again accosted by at least three more men trying to get me to go here and there and everywhere. Everyone wants me to do this and that and take this taxi here and take this rickshaw there! Leave me be!!!!!
I've not been taking very many pictures, primarily because I haven't done very much. When I was with Mrs. G yeterday I did take a few and I will be taking many many more once my tour actually starts. Last night I planned my two days in Bombay, which begin tomorrow afternoon. For the rest of the afternoon, I am not quite sure what I want to do. It is much hotter and sunnier today and I just feel exhausted, frustrated and worn down. I still have so much time here and I don't want to burn out too quickly. I may just stick around this area of town until this evening. I'm not too worried about seeing the sites in Delhi because in just a few weeks I will be back here as part of my trip with a guide and A/C car--so today I will rest, get ready for dinner, and do some pranayam in the room. Because as my new friend stated earlier, "meditation and breath work will calm you down. It will cool you down as well. No one likes to be all hot and bothered!"

First Day

So I forced myself to sleep around 2:00 a.m. and then forced myself to stay in bed until 8:00 a.m. I slept for awhile and read for awhile, but I felt relatively refreshed when I got out of bed at 8. Then I just went downstairs and had breakfast, which was nice and comprised of tea, croissant, a grilled tomato and another luxuriously sinful piece of sweet bread. It was quite delicious. Took dose #2 of my Lariam and set out on a mission: find a suitcase. (Right now in Columbia there is a brand new beautiful suitcase sitting at my doorstep!)
I strolled down the block to Connaught Place and the Palika Bazaar. It's an underground flea market basically where I was pounced upon like a baby rabbitt by a puma. Everyone wanted the little white girl to come in and buy saris, punjabi suits, pashminas, trinkets, suitcases, scarves, shawls, cd players, cds, and everything else you could ever imagine! Though I am NOT a haggler and hate the thought of hurting anyone's feelings ever (yeah, I know I need to get over that), I successfully bought a good, large suitcase for about $50. I also splurged and bought myself two more light-weight tops for a whopping $10 total!
Brought the suitcase and new treats back to the hotel and then freshened up a bit. After thanking God for air conditioning, I had to make my way back to Palika Bazaar and meet Mrs. G. One of my biggest aspirations before coming to India was to see and be in Hindu temples. Well, my dream came true on the very first day! We went to a temple together, honoring Krishna. It was beautiful. The colors, the architecture, the paintings--everything was exquisite! Hanuman, Ganesh and Shiv were also represented. And though I am not Hindu, I was allowed inside. It's always moving to see people praying even if it is not in the way I pray. Next she showed me the President's Palace, India Gate and the Lodi Gardens. (It was at Lodi Gardens that my camera battery died.) We had lunch together, which was fantastic, and talked about everything under the sun. It was really wonderful! She also invited me to dinner tomorrow evening, so I will be seeing her again!
It has been a wonderful day so far, but now I think I will take a nap!

I Made It!

I've made it to Mother India. I am tired, gross and wide awake. The trip was relatively uneventful--some thunderstorms delayed us in Newark by about 2 hours. I slept for a bit, watched a few movies and read some of my book.
I have made it to the hotel and now I am ready for a shower! A shower, some yoga and a nice Tylenol PM to help lull me off to sleep. Tomorrow is a big day--I get to meet G's mom!

Last Night at Home

Tonight is my last night in Columbia for awhile. It feels surreal, exciting and scary all at the same time. It's been a weird day to say the least, and I am looking forward to visiting with my friends this evening. I am reminded to BE PRESENT.
As my hours come to an end here and my journey begins, I cannot help but see all the blessings I have in my life. I almost always focus on the less-than-pleasant aspects of life, but today I am overwhelmingly grateful for the love and support and friendship of so many. I wouldn't be where I am now without each of them. And for that, I thank all of you.

What Brown Has Done For Me

Well, UPS has managed to put a serious kink in my travel preparations. I ordered a brand-new, beautiful 28" expandable suitcase for my trip to India, and due to "THE PACKAGE WAS LEFT IN A UPS FACILITY CAUSING DELAY," I will not actually receive my suitcase before leaving. It was originally scheduled for delivery on Monday, June 25th. Now, it is scheduled for Tuesday, June 26. That is a problem....I will be at the Columbia Airport at 8:30 a.m. that day and I highly doubt UPS will have it delivered by then. RATS!
THEN...I check the status of my nice, new, fancy digital camera (also travelling UPS) and they attempted delivery today, but didn't have the correct apartment number. So they will deliver it tomorrow here to work. Well, let's just keep our fingers crossed.
So the next time the question "What can brown do for you?" is posed, I will have a carefully chosen response.

Gone

Gone--flitted away,
Taken the stars from the night and the sun
From the day!
Gone, and a cloud in my heart.
~Albert Tennyson

Camera

When I went to the NASCAR race in Darlington, I accidentally sat on my camera disabling the zoom mechanism. Fabulous. So, per advice given by a few very knowledgeable camera dudes, I decided to just suck it up and buy a whole new camera (rather than get mine fixed).
I went with the Canon Powershot SD1000. It's got 7.1 megapix, 3X Optical Zoom, 4X Digital Zoom and is a lot smaller than my previous camera. I'm happy with the choice and should have it by the end of the week. Now I just have to learn how to use the darn thing!