India

Today (Monday, July 2^nd) marks two months on my trip, and only ten days remaining. The trip has passed amazingly fast and been a wonderful experience.

Last Wednesday, June 27^th, I flew into Chennai, India. We left the hotel in Colombo at 5:20am as my plane was supposed to depart at 7:45. However, we finally got in the air around 10:40 as the plane had been delayed in the Middle East for a few hours and arrived late. In Chennai I walked out of the terminal to see a mass of humanity with their arms extended in a combination of begging, waving to family members, and taxi drivers attracting customers. Thankfully, amid the throng I saw my friend Emilie Predmore and she motioned me to the end of the walkway where we met with a friendly hug and relief on my part that I wouldn’t be stranded in India. Emilie is a friend from my BYU ward who I had home taught the during Winter 2007 semester. She is 4 months here in India as the country & volunteer coordinator for a group called Rising Star Outreach. Basically, she is spending her summer in service helping Americans visit and serve leper colonies and the children from those colonies who would normally be denied an education and any chance at a normal life in the world. I’m sure her group has a website if you are interested just Google the name.
After taking a taxi to her group’s apartment I dropped my bags, at a bowl of cereal, and we headed for the beach. When we got there we saw a disconcerting sight as there were thousands of dead fish up and down the beach as far as the eye could see. I think they were the little grunion fish but who knows. Even though she had swum here probably a dozen times before, Emilie was hesitant since she didn’t see any natives in the water and the fish gave us worries. Eventually, we both got in and I even tried out the boogie-board they had at the apartment. Needless to say, I don’t quite have the skills anymore that I had a in my youth.
We walked back to the apartment and got cleaned up for the rest of the afternoon/evening. Emilie had to run a couple errands for work and we decided to visit a bookstore and eat while we were out. I bought a new pair of sunglasses to replace my river-lost ones and while I can’t guarantee the UV protection Mom, I think they will keep my eyes healthy till I get home. The bookstore was really nice as it has a good collection and English music playing all the time. Sure the music was remakes of popular pop songs from the 1990s and even earlier, but it just fit the setting of being in India at a spoof Barnes&Noble just right. As I sat there and flipped through all the books I wanted to read I remembered how I loved to read novels, histories, biographies, and other books so much before I became a news-addict. As I’ve curtailed my news reading some on this trip (having to pay for internet by the hour does that) time has opened up and I have started reading books again. I hope this is a trend I can continue in the states. The one book I ended up by is called “Freedom at Midnight.” It tells the story of India’s history, with a focus on the six months before and after Independence in 1947 and is written by a tag-team of French and British historians Dominique Lapieree and Larry Collins. The book has been very good and brought moments of laughter, sorrow, and enlightenment. With the independence of India came the partition of land into present-day India, and the new country of Pakistan (then with East Pakistan, now Bangladesh). What is little known (in America at least) is the suffering, travail, brutality, migrations, and other disturbing aspects of the first few years and especially months after independence as the Sihk, Hindu, and Moslem communities which had lived peacefully for 300+ years together under British rule went at each other’s throats. It makes anything like Darfur, the Balkans, or Africa’s other recent struggles pale in comparison. OK, sorry about my babbling, it has just been really interesting reading.
Dinner that night was potato curry at a vegetarian restaurant. I love potatoes in any form and this didn’t disappoint. We caught a trike for a few minutes to the local JambaJuice type place, which is actually better than the American one. I ordered a strawberry-banana and Emilie got the Jughead, both of which were delicious. On a funny note, as we walked in the door they turned off the local Indian music and turned on American country, with Toby Keith at the time. I guess they always do it for Americans, but it was an interesting example of the world catering to us. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing on the porch and preparing for our early start the next day.
Thursday morning we left the apartment around 6:30am for our 9:20 flight. Our traveling party consisted of Emilie, Chip (another volunteer), Esther (Chip’s adopted sister), and myself. The airport offered my first encounter with India’s notorious bureaucracy. After getting our boarding passes we headed for security with just our carry-on luggage but were turned away as we didn’t have SpiceJet (our airline) tags on every bag. Even though these were carry on and were never going to leave our grasp/sight we had to have a tag on each bag. Other examples of bureaucracy have included needed to see my passport to use an internet café and check in at the hotel. We got to the hotel around 3pm and separated into two groups as Chip had lost his passport in transit and needed to go to a police station to report it and get a form that would let him check-in to the hotel. Emilie and I went and visited sights like India Gate (kind of like a Arch de Triumph) that was built after WWI to commemorate India’s large contribution and sacrifice in the war. We also visited Connaught Place, the commercial capitol of Delhi. There is a Connaught Road in Hong Kong that is really prominent and I want to find out how they are connected. We grabbed an early dinner at TGIFs and all reveled in the good American food. One limitation on the menus over here is a lack of beef products. Since cows are holy and such, meat is rarely if ever served. Instead everything offered is chicken. We dropped by McDonalds to see what they had and discovered no Big Macs or cheeseburgers, a sad sight. On our way home in the evening Emilie and I found the local grocery store and bought essentials like bread, cereal, and juice that would let us eat most of our meals in the hotel rather than out. It is sad to say, but I just don’t have much appetite left for foreign foods.

Friday morning we slept in, visited the internet café, and read our books. Chip and Esther went to the embassy to order a new passport. We met up in the afternoon and visited sights including Humayan’s Tomb, a Mother Theresa orphanage, and the Lotus Temple. The tomb was the precursor to the Taj Mahal and quite impressive in its red sandstone. I took a picture illustrating the price discrimination foreigners encounter over here. It cost me 25 times as much as Esther to get into the Tomb complex and the y divergence was over 37/1 at the Taj Mahal. I have always been an admirer of Mother Theresa and now have a greater appreciation for her work. The orphanage we visited had 81 children, most with physical and/or mental disabilities. If they weren’t taken in by the orphanage they would probably be left for dead. We played with the kids for a little while and learned about the groups operations. The Lotus Temple I think is the world-wide headquarters of the Baha’i faith. It was pretty and a nice sight at sunset, although the security guard wouldn’t let us go on the west side of the building for he best picture in the lighting. Earlier in the day we also visited a government travel office and booked out trip to the Taj Mahal.

The trip to the Taj Mahal was long, but great. The drive each way was over 4 hours and our poor driver could barely stay awake on the way home. He stopped at least once an hour to buy water, use the restroom splash water on his face, change shirts, and do whatever else he could to stay awake. While we did have divided 4-lane highway most of the way we still averaged less than 50km/hr as the road was clogged with every mode of transport under the sun. I almost think building highways over here is useless if they won’t restrict what can go on them. Cows, pedestrians, bicycles, ox carts, and any other form of transport that can’t go above 10km/hr have no place on a highway.
When we arrived at the Taj we took the .5 mile walk to its entrance, bought our tickets (nearly $20 for foreigners verses 50 cents for Indians), and walked into the beautiful manicured grounds. After walking through the gate my gaze fell upon one of the Seven Wonders of the World. While it was beautiful, it didn’t seem that big from across the courtyard. Once we walked closer to it and saw the intricate jewelry work and carvings, as well as its massive size, I came to understand the amazing work that went into it. It was built by a Mogul emporer as a mausoleum for his wife in the 1620s. We walked all around it, visiting the mosque on one side and royal guesthouse on the other. The interior is very beautiful as well and showed how everything was perfectly symmetrical. The marble that the structure is made from is actually translucent. It is amazing seeing light pass through marble and now I can understand how the building glows a different color depending on the time of the day and night. Seeing the Taj was about the only thing I had left on the trip that I really cared about as a tourist. It didn’t disappoint and now I’m happy to say goodbye to friends and head home.
Sunday was spent going to Church in the morning and reading in the afternoon. Emilie, Chip, and Esther took the 4:25pm flight that I will be taking today (Monday). It was nice to take a nap, relax, and ponder on my time in India. While the country has many things going for it and is gaining in prominence in international political and business circles, India still has an amazing assortment of problems. The idea that there are over a billion people here and most of them live in crushing poverty even beyond the deprived state I have seen most in. Everywhere you go there are beggars and children hawking goods. It is a true, but sad commentary on India that at their national monuments and largest tourist attractions they have children as young as five begging and selling goods. I couldn’t imagine having children doing such things at the Washington Monument or Lincoln Memorial. Besides the total poverty, there is amazing crowdedness in big cities, poor hygiene/sanitary conditions, and a general lack of infrastructure. Like many other former British colonies I think the country hasn’t grown its economy, roads, railroads, or other vital infrastructure much in the last 60 years. Many people in the United States are scared of the rise of China and India as economic powers that will throw millions into unemployment and other concerns. While there are valid worries for sectors like manufacturing and things that can easily be done overseas, on the whole this trip has convinced me that these countries have so many massive problems to deal with that we don’t have much to be worried about. Honestly, America’s difficulties/problems (including the “War on Terror”) seem so small after seeing all of the struggles of the Third World on this trip. If we just had a bit of competent, courageous leadership America would have even less to worry about.

Well, I think that brings the blog up-to-date. Today I’m going to go see the craziness that is New Delhi Railway station, get my haircut, post this blog, and then head for the airport. Tonight I’m supposed to move out to “The Land” where Rising Star has built their school. It is totally rural with no internet and pretty much no services. As a result, I probably won’t be heard from again until my arrival in Sri Lanka on Friday so I sign off for now saying go Diamondbacks, love to all friends and family, and thank God I am an American and blessed with way more than I deserve.