Part 1 of ....
India, the exotic country of rich spices, brilliantly multi-colored saris, and said to be the 'heartbeat of the world'. This is my second trip, so I felt somewhat prepared and knew what to expect. Little did I know we were going to experience so much of India!
Let me begin by saying that we almost didn't make it to India. Our flight had a layover in Chicago and the UK. When we arrived at the O'Hare International Airport (Chicago), the check-in lady would not give us our plane tickets for our flight to the UK because of a visa issue that pertained only when flying to the UK. We were trying to decide what to do. We were devastated that our many months of planning and all of the money we have spent to make this trip happen were going to go to waste and would end after the first leg of our planned journey. On top of this, we invited a friend (who was on a different flight) to stay with us for the first two weeks of our trip. We felt extremely horrible for planning the trip and then "bailing" out on her. After what seemed an eternity of phone calls, waiting around, and trying to decide our next course of action, a magnanimous and benevolent lady re-routed our tickets so that we would make it to India without having to set foot in the UK. I had tears forming in the back of my eyes when she handed us our tickets and told us to enjoy India.
Our new layover was in New Delhi, India. We landed at midnight. We sat in the waiting room and took turns sleeping for a couple hours until it was time to board on our final flight to our destination - Chennai, India. At around 2am, I had to use the restroom. I had to pass a security guard with a rifle slung over his shoulder. He stopped me and asked if I had a boarding pass. I didn't have it on me, so I went back to get it. The beige and brown uniform and the matching long rifle of the security guard was extremely intimidating. Once I got passed the security guard, I felt like I was being watched the entire way to the restroom. I swear there was even a security guard in the bathroom. There was a lady who stood in the same spot the entire time I was using the facilities. They take security very seriously, but I did not feel safe. I felt that if I made one wrong move, the guards would grab me and I would be in serious trouble. I was happy to leave when it was time to leave the airport.
Our first trip, was a pleasant visit to Pondicherry (aka Puducherry). When our friend Susan asked "Who will be going on this trip? My husband replied "Just the three of us: you, me, and Yoshi. Oh, and my dad... oh, and the driver." Haha. Right. Just the three of us.
As a side note, If you have never been to India, they drive on the left side of the road. And the traffic is horrible. Imagine driving in New York city. Now on top of that, imagine no enforced speed limits, numerous scooters and motorcycles (which are the main source of transportation), buses, autocars (three-wheeled automobiles pictured above), bicyclists, and numerous pedestrians along the side of the road. Occasionally we would see a goat herder crossing the street with his goats, or a man walking cows down the side of the road (in the countryside). Most people who own a car will hire drivers to drive their cars because not many people are willing to navigate through such traffic! Also, no one pays attention to the lines on the road. Communication among drivers usually include some hand signals and flashing of car lights during the night, but mostly, drivers honk. A lot. You honk when you approach a vehicle, you honk to let them know you want to pass them, then you honk for good measure when you are actually passing them. So not only will you hear a cacophony of honking when you are outside going from point A to point B, but oftentimes vehicles pass each other with literally only centimeters to spare. At one point, our driver was passing a bus, and then around the corner came another bus coming at full speed directly at us. I grabbed my husband's arm and was wondering if this was it. I was grateful for everything good that I had experienced in my life. If this was it, then this was it. I accepted my fate. Then, at the very last possible second, we passed the bus we intended to pass, and the driver jerked the car back into the left lane a half a second before the bus heading straight for us roared passed us. I was always grateful to be alive when I arrived at our destination!
In Pondicherry, we had a pleasant but crowded walk (it was a weekend) along the Bay of Bengal, saw a bigger-then-life-size statue of Ghandi, and bought some Indian handicrafts. Then spent the night at a family friend's house. The girl on the right is actually one of Amjith's former classmates! If you look carefully, you can see a red mark on Susan and my face, between our eyebrows. This is the Indian manner of blessing us / wishing us the best / welcoming us as a guest in their home.
Pondicherry is known for it's French influence, as it used to be a French colony. We drove around and spotted French architecture and the different style of clothing that the Indian policemen wore in that city. *Random fact, according to Life of Pi, you can also get French toast there.
Auroville is a place of peace and contemplation. It began in 1968 when "The Mother," Mirra Alfassa, decided to build a universal township to bring people from around the world together where humanity can progress and contribute for a better world.
The picture above is the building in the center of the town. It is called Matrimandir, Sanskrit for Temple of The Mother. It is "a symbol of the Divine's answer to man's inspiration for perfection." The building is covered by golden disks which reflect sunlight. Inside the top and center part of the globe is a meditation hall known as the inner chamber - this is the largest optically-perfect glass globe in the world, and is all white, serene, and always silent. Yes, we saw hippies there. ;)
India, the exotic country of rich spices, brilliantly multi-colored saris, and said to be the 'heartbeat of the world'. This is my second trip, so I felt somewhat prepared and knew what to expect. Little did I know we were going to experience so much of India!
~ ~ ~
Let me begin by saying that we almost didn't make it to India. Our flight had a layover in Chicago and the UK. When we arrived at the O'Hare International Airport (Chicago), the check-in lady would not give us our plane tickets for our flight to the UK because of a visa issue that pertained only when flying to the UK. We were trying to decide what to do. We were devastated that our many months of planning and all of the money we have spent to make this trip happen were going to go to waste and would end after the first leg of our planned journey. On top of this, we invited a friend (who was on a different flight) to stay with us for the first two weeks of our trip. We felt extremely horrible for planning the trip and then "bailing" out on her. After what seemed an eternity of phone calls, waiting around, and trying to decide our next course of action, a magnanimous and benevolent lady re-routed our tickets so that we would make it to India without having to set foot in the UK. I had tears forming in the back of my eyes when she handed us our tickets and told us to enjoy India.
Our new layover was in New Delhi, India. We landed at midnight. We sat in the waiting room and took turns sleeping for a couple hours until it was time to board on our final flight to our destination - Chennai, India. At around 2am, I had to use the restroom. I had to pass a security guard with a rifle slung over his shoulder. He stopped me and asked if I had a boarding pass. I didn't have it on me, so I went back to get it. The beige and brown uniform and the matching long rifle of the security guard was extremely intimidating. Once I got passed the security guard, I felt like I was being watched the entire way to the restroom. I swear there was even a security guard in the bathroom. There was a lady who stood in the same spot the entire time I was using the facilities. They take security very seriously, but I did not feel safe. I felt that if I made one wrong move, the guards would grab me and I would be in serious trouble. I was happy to leave when it was time to leave the airport.
~ ~ ~
Our first trip, was a pleasant visit to Pondicherry (aka Puducherry). When our friend Susan asked "Who will be going on this trip? My husband replied "Just the three of us: you, me, and Yoshi. Oh, and my dad... oh, and the driver." Haha. Right. Just the three of us.
As a side note, If you have never been to India, they drive on the left side of the road. And the traffic is horrible. Imagine driving in New York city. Now on top of that, imagine no enforced speed limits, numerous scooters and motorcycles (which are the main source of transportation), buses, autocars (three-wheeled automobiles pictured above), bicyclists, and numerous pedestrians along the side of the road. Occasionally we would see a goat herder crossing the street with his goats, or a man walking cows down the side of the road (in the countryside). Most people who own a car will hire drivers to drive their cars because not many people are willing to navigate through such traffic! Also, no one pays attention to the lines on the road. Communication among drivers usually include some hand signals and flashing of car lights during the night, but mostly, drivers honk. A lot. You honk when you approach a vehicle, you honk to let them know you want to pass them, then you honk for good measure when you are actually passing them. So not only will you hear a cacophony of honking when you are outside going from point A to point B, but oftentimes vehicles pass each other with literally only centimeters to spare. At one point, our driver was passing a bus, and then around the corner came another bus coming at full speed directly at us. I grabbed my husband's arm and was wondering if this was it. I was grateful for everything good that I had experienced in my life. If this was it, then this was it. I accepted my fate. Then, at the very last possible second, we passed the bus we intended to pass, and the driver jerked the car back into the left lane a half a second before the bus heading straight for us roared passed us. I was always grateful to be alive when I arrived at our destination!
PONDICHERRY
In Pondicherry, we had a pleasant but crowded walk (it was a weekend) along the Bay of Bengal, saw a bigger-then-life-size statue of Ghandi, and bought some Indian handicrafts. Then spent the night at a family friend's house. The girl on the right is actually one of Amjith's former classmates! If you look carefully, you can see a red mark on Susan and my face, between our eyebrows. This is the Indian manner of blessing us / wishing us the best / welcoming us as a guest in their home.
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| L to R: Amjith, Yoshi, Susan, 3 family friends (mother, father, daughter) |
AUROVILLE
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| image from bbjee via flickr under a CC license |
Auroville is a place of peace and contemplation. It began in 1968 when "The Mother," Mirra Alfassa, decided to build a universal township to bring people from around the world together where humanity can progress and contribute for a better world.
The picture above is the building in the center of the town. It is called Matrimandir, Sanskrit for Temple of The Mother. It is "a symbol of the Divine's answer to man's inspiration for perfection." The building is covered by golden disks which reflect sunlight. Inside the top and center part of the globe is a meditation hall known as the inner chamber - this is the largest optically-perfect glass globe in the world, and is all white, serene, and always silent. Yes, we saw hippies there. ;)
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Next stop, ancient Indian scupltures.
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