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Contents |
IndiaWillis and Sara Blackburn |
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Introduction
India
Stop over in Vancouver
American Southwest
American Southwest II
England
England
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Day 1Friday March 9th & Saturday March 10th.  Our bags are packed but Graham the cat doesn't want us to leave. Will and I left home at 5:30 pm. We took a taxi to JFK. There was a long line at Delta’s check in filled with travelers going to India, Brazil and Germany. Once we were passed security we went to the Delta Business lounge, a private lounge for first class passengers. If you fly to India, Delta is the way to go. They offer the only non-stop flight to Mumbai (Bombay). In the lounge we feasted on cheese, crackers, veggies and goldfish crackers all compliments of Delta. Will selected the mile high mojitos, which were very strong but not as good as Stella’s in NYC. They were also free. We toasted to India and a few hours later we left at 8:30 pm.  Mile-High Mojitos Delta started boarding flight DL16 to India at 8:50 pm. Willis was called first and I was called last. Since Willis's employer paid for Wills flight he sat in Business Class. It was a $6,000 fare discounted to $4,000. My coach ticket was $1,200. Willis's employer would not pay for us both to fly coach and we didn’t want to give up a free first class ticket and pay for two coach tickets. I sat next to an American couple on their sixth trip to India. The husband was going for business and his wife was accompanying him. They were both in there 70s. He is the CEO of a software company. I noticed him typing code on his laptop and told him that Will is a Java programmer. He is a C++ programmer. His wife is a retired school nurse and their American born daughter speaks fluent Mandarin and lives in China. Willis also sat next to a CEO of a hospital engineering firm. He was traveling from Illinois, his home, to a city in Northern India. He had 3 connections: Atlanta, New York and Mumbai making his total travel time 36 hours. About an hour into the flight we were fed something that smelled like food but was undistinguishable. Our options were Veg, Non-Veg, and Western. The flight attendants made announcements in English and Hindi. Hindi is the national language. They made us shut all the shades so that as we passed time zones the sunlight would not disrupt our sleep. I couldn’t sleep anyway so I watched the new James Bond movie and Stranger than Fiction. After 14 hours we landed in Mumbai on Saturday night.  Notice how the K3 bag glows!  Cool reflectors!  Willis and The Traveling Bag in the Delta lounge.  Our last photo in America. Day 3Sunday, March 11  View from hotel room We woke up at 2 p.m. It was 80 and sunny. We have an ocean view and the hotel sits on the beach. It looks like any other beach except no one is in the water. We decided to go out on foot. The hotel staff told us not to go to far. The little bit of sidewalk was decrepit and the rest of the path was dirt. We walked over a sleeping homeless child and her mother. My first experience with homeless children was on the ride from the airport to the hotel. There were families living on the street beneath the highway. Mira Kamar, in her book, “Planet India,” states that, “On the way to the airport I had passed forlorn groups of destitute families, huddled under an unfinished highway overpass on thin mats of filthy cotton, the little babies naked and snot-nosed. It was the kind of scene that profoundly shocks first-time visitors to India and to which I have never become immune.” Mira describes the scene better than we ever could but there really aren’t words to describe the terrible feeling you get by leaving all those children on the road.  Willis at Barista - the Starbucks of India We spotted a grocery story and bought razors and shampoo. Haphazardly we crossed the street and stopped in Barista, the Starbucks of India. Feral dogs stood around outside the shop. The flea bitten animals looked unhappy but are said to pose little danger. However, in 2002 The World Health Organization wrote in a report on rabies, “Among human infections, rabies is believed to be the tenth most common cause of death. Once clinical symptoms have occurred, the disease is almost invariably fatal. However, reporting is often incomplete and the estimated 50,000 deaths per year may be an underestimate. Asia accounts for more than 90% of all rabies fatalities. India alone reports 30,000 deaths per year, i.e. annual incidence of approximately 3 deaths per 100,000 populations.” That makes India one of the worlds most dangerous places for rabies.  Stray dog To use cell phones you need to have T-mobile as a provider (Verizon will not work in India) and you need to buy a card. To get the card you must present your passport and a separate photo of yourself. The government believes this will thwart terrorists by preventing them from making anonymous calls. Terrorism is a serious problem in India. It was 5 pm when we got our phones situated. Rush hour. I was terrified to cross the street. It seemed impassable. No lights, no cross walks, no stop signs. Just an unyielding flow of taxis, rickshaws, bicycles and cars. Yet locals do not have a problem stepping out into traffic. We spotted people crossing the street and crossed with them. Across the street was a festival and beach entrance. The statue you see in the photos had no plaque. We bought cotton candy and a homemade pinwheel for $1.00. I had henna tattoos stamped all over my left hand. It started to get dark so we headed back to the hotel.  Traffic   Random tiles on street  Local vendor    Random statue     Willis with cotton candy   Willis with paper pin wheel   Back at the hotel 
Day 5Tuesday, March 13 Will spent the day at work. He ate at the Subway in the mall. He has a cold now and doesn’t feel too good. I spent the day working on various projects for my father.  Dinner with Josh at Saffron Josh, Will’s colleague from work, was also in Mumbai. He arrived the week before us and today was his last day. His plane left at 1 am so he joined us for a late dinner at 8 pm. We went to Saffron, the hotels Indian restaurant. Will and Josh talked about business and India. Josh was here for 10 days and seemed to really enjoy his visit. He talked about Holi, the Hindu paint throwing festival that happens every March. Josh seemed relived that no one threw paint on him.  Josh said he only got upset twice during his stay. Once when his hotel billed him for half a day more because he checked in a few hours early even after they told him it was free. At check in they showed him the total and at check out they changed it. The second time sounded worse. Josh hailed a cab at the airport. He was familiar with the metering system so when he asked how much the ride would cost he was happy the driver said it would be on the meter ? which would give Josh the best price. As Josh was riding along he noticed the meter was off. When he questioned why it was off the driver turned down a deserted road. The driver stopped the car and demanded 600 rupees. At first Josh refused but he realized he was alone and there wasn’t much he could do. His life was worth more than $15. Another taxi driver pulled up and the unscrupulous driver gave his buddy 100 rupees ($2.00) to take Josh to the hotel. When Josh got to the hotel he yelled at the guy inside but he said the hotel staff gave an all to knowing look. Nothing could be done. Most New Yorkers might not understand since $15 is a normal fare and will take you from the Upper East side to the Village but in a country where most people live off $2.00 a day, $15 is a lot of money.  Josh also advised us not to give change to children on the street. He was told that the children buy glue to sniff. It is better to give to charitable organizations. The three of us finished our meal of rice, chicken, lamb and Nan. We said goodnight to Josh and we went to bed.
Day 6Wednesday, March 14 Today we enjoyed breakfast together and Will’s driver picked him up for work. For 2000 rupees ($100 US) I hired a driver for 8 hours. The hotel said the driver spoke fluent English and would spend the day with me. When the driver showed up I knew something was strange because the hotel staff directed him in Hindi. Willis disagrees but I have found that a lot of people think they speak fluent English but can only speak conversationally. Will thinks it’s hard to understand the American accent.  Mani Bhavan The drive into downtown Mumbai is over an hour. It’s not very far away, maybe 15 miles, but the traffic is always heavy. I saw the slums again. I couldn’t help but stare. I’ve never seen such poverty in my life. Imagine if people lived on the turnpike, or outside your house, on the sidewalk. In the poorest slum there is no shelter. People live in this dirt ditch that has been dug alongside the highway. I saw one man bathing himself. He was standing upright in the ditch covered in soapsuds. There were children everywhere. I was just watching and wondering why and how this happened. I know the history but I don’t understand it. Meanwhile my driver, Adam, asked me questions. I think he wanted to know where my husband was. I tried to give him one word answers like, “work” but he would just ask me again. Adam is not married and he does not have kids but he has 5 siblings. Although our conversation was limited, Adam was incredibly nice and I trusted him.  Gandhi's room Our first stop was the Mani Bhavan, the building where Mahatma Gandhi stayed during his visits to Mumbai from 1917 to 1934. It is now a small museum. Entrance is free but a donation is requested. I gave 20 rupees (40 cents). It’s still hard getting used to money. Will told me to just double the rupee to get the US amount in cents. So 1 rupee is approx .02 cents. 50 Rupees is $1 US. 500 rupees is $10 US. What’s hard to grasp is that 500 rupees is an enormous amount of money. So I feel cheap giving a 40-cent donation but in India it goes a long way. www.gandhi-manibhavan.org Adam was keen on pointing out every single mall. “Very famous Mall,” he would say over and over again. Sometimes he would say, “Very famous movie theater,” but mostly it was just shopping malls. Robin, there is a Gap here. I never knew when we were going to stop until Adam would just pull over, jump out and open my door. He stopped at Marine Drive next. It’s a road built in 1920 that runs along the shore of the Arabian Sea. Also known as The Queens Necklace because of the dramatic curve of the streetlights at night. It was very calm and away from the congested streets. You can tell from the photos that pollution is a problem.  Marine Drive  Marine Drive At the Prince of Wales Museum, now called Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai I got to pay the special foreigner rate of 300 rupees ($6 US) versus the local rate of 15 rupees (30 cents). I think this is an unfair practice and foreigners should boycott this museum. I paid it because Adam walked me in and translated for me before I could read the English signs. Will was shocked since it is a new price. He read somewhere that someone suggested a special Smithsonian fee for Indian travelers. We all know the money doesn’t go towards the upkeep of the museum, which already looks depressed. The outside still looks majestic but the inside is like a forgotten cave.  Prince of Wales Museum After 10 minutes my headset died so I took a seat outside to just rest a little. An Indian man in his twenties sat down next to me. He asked me where I was from and I told him. He immediately asked if I would take him back with me. He asked if I was married. Will thought it would be best if I didn’t wear my ring outside the hotel but I think maybe I should. He seemed disappointed when I mentioned Will. This guy seemed bright and I think he will find success in India if he holds on a few more years. He said he speaks fluent Japanese and is a tour guide.  Photo of Sara, taken by Sara at the Prince of Wales Museum I wished him good luck and called Will to tell him what happened. Adam was right at the gate waiting for me and once again saved me from the aggressive street vendors. Down the street was a free art museum, which I stopped in. The paintings were beautiful but there was no mention of who the artist was. Adam pointed out Bombay University, Victoria Terminus (the train station), Mahalaxmi Temple and Haji Ali Mosque.  Prince of Wales Museum  Taj Mahal Hotel Willis had spoken highly of the Gateway of India so I was excited when we arrived. It is a yellow basalt arch designed to commemorate King George V and Queen Mary’s visit to India in the year 1911. It was beautiful.  Gateway of India By the time I left my right arm was wrapped in red string, my left arm was wrapped in flowers, there was a dot on my forehead and I was 15 rupees poorer. I think Adam rolled his eyes. He did manage to save me from a man trying to sell me a boat ride to Elephanta Island.   I thought our excursion was over when suddenly Adam pulled over and opened my door. We were at the Hanging Gardens. It was another quiet place where couples go. There was a dirt track with green fields and flowers on each side. It looked unfinished but tranquil. Almost everything in India looks unfinished. A boy who wanted me to buy peacock feathers for $1 US followed me the entire time.  Hanging Gardens   I was happy to see Adam and the air conditioned car. We were 5 hours into our trip and I was dirty, thirsty and hungry. The vendors selling cut watermelon looked so enticing but I was warned not to eat anything on the streets. Pepsi warns consumers to crush bottles after use because people take them, refill them and sell them with contaminated water. I only drink bottled water from the hotel and had not brought any with me. It was 90 degrees out and I had on linen pants and a tee shirt. Will said that wearing shorts in India would be like wearing a G-string in New York City. You can do it but everyone will snicker and look at your in disgust. I asked Adam to take me back to the hotel. With the traffic I knew it would take another hour. He asked if he was good. I said yes, very good. Then he said, “I was no good?” and I said he was great. But then he said, “You don’t want to shop.” That’s when it hit me. I was supposed to tell him to stop at all those malls so I could go shopping. This must be his experience with Americans. He had pulled over before at one “famous mall” and I had told him no. He started associating my lack of interest in shopping with poor performance. I tried to reassure him that I had a great time without shopping. We started our drive back to the hotel. Instead of the radio we listened to the car horn. I saw a mix of stray cattle and dogs along the road. The, “World Famous Fashion District,” private school students in uniform and motor rickshaws bumping into each other. My car was only hit once. No one stops. When we do encounter a rare traffic light, people come up to the car selling books, flowers, newspapers, etc. They scratch at the window and beg you to buy their wares. Once a man with no arms approached the car and I had no idea how you were supposed to give him money. Will arrived home at around 8:30 because he was stuck in traffic for 45 minutes. He missed the beginning of his call to NY but caught the end of it at the hotel. Since he is sick he went to the mall to find a pharmacy. He said he told the man he was congested. The man rummaged around his shop and came out with 10 Cetirizine Hydrochloride Tablets. Will didn’t know what it was but paid for it. He looked it up at the office and fond that it was a British drug, much like Benadryl, only it required a prescription. Will took the drug at the hotel and promptly fell asleep. I ask you, Photographers of the Traveling Bag, not to judge my photography too harshly. These photos were taken from a moving vehicle.   The "World Famous" Shopping District  Modern India  Meow  A leashed dog - a rare sight  Restaurant with outdoor seating  Riding side saddle Or how not to ride a motorcycle
Day 7Thursday, March 15 We received terrible news from America today. A close friend, Christina, sent a link to a news article with the message, "Oh my god! This started on my street." Four people were shot dead in the East Village Wednesday night. Two cops, a bartender, and the culprit. Her next email sounded distressed and she asked me to call her. I dialed her up right away. She told me the police had barricaded her street and she couldn't leave her apartment. She was living above the crime scene. She was clearly in shock. I wanted to reassure her but truthfully I was scared for her. Willis and I used to live on that very block right next door. Will and I met Christina at Ciao Stella's, the neighborhood restaurant. Listening to her made me so sad. Probably the worst part for Christina was that no one could relate to what she just saw. Out of 8 million people it happened to her. Five minutes earlier and she could have been a causality. She had been walking her dog and stopped at the Lions Den where the bouncer knows her and plays with her dog. Five minutes later she heard the gunshots. For all the poverty in India nothing like this meaningless violence exists on the scale it does in America. Christina is such an exemplary citizen. She works hard for everything she has. My dad hired her for a project and Christina received allocates for her work. I don't understand how people here who live in ditches exist with so little violence when in America a man just beat up a 101-year-old woman for $33. Maybe it's our consumerism culture where we listen to rap about bling, slang for excessive wealth and jewelry. A 2-carrot diamond ring really blings. Here I often feel like I'm blinging. My omega watch, i-Pod, Tiffany earrings, digital camera and Banana Republic wardrobe. I represent American consumerism. Indians seem to value family and friends over things. But I love my i-Pod. Which happened to be playing, "My City Was Gone," by the The Pretenders.
I WENT BACK TO OHIO
Day 8Friday, March 16
Today I went to work with Will. His company driver picks him up every morning, waits for him all day, and drives him home after work. The company building is a little like Stonehenge in the English countryside. You stare at it and wonder how it got there. Will's company provides a safe working environment for its employees. I can assure you that nothing will happen to Will here.
Will first introduced me to Sonya, 21 and Yamini, 26. I thought I would get Will in trouble because I didn't want to stop talking to them. I wanted to steal them away and spend all day with them. Yamini's husband works for the Navy. Every day she must travel an hour and half to the office. She gets marooned at the office during the monsoon season. I also met Yimei, a director based in New York, Satish, and Krishna. Krishna was arranging Will?s business trip to Agra and our subsequent trip to Taj Mahal. They both had read the blog and I immediately felt embarrassed because Willis had not edited my terrible grammar.
You all know I speak of my husband like a personal God that I worship. His colleagues in India are also people I wish I could be like. These women, who are closer to their teens then their twenties, work for one of the worlds top investment banks. To me they are experts in math, science and languages. They appear optimistic and happy. Willis had to work so he brought me downstairs and his driver took me around the block to Inorbit Mall. It was 10:45. I was going to meet Will for lunch at 3. I thought I would buy a book and read. The guard at the bookstore would not let me in without checking my bag. Since I had managed to cram all my worldly possessions into the Naneu Pro K3's bottomless pockets I was not about to part with it.
Instead I ordered a cup of tea and went to the food court to write out my thoughts on India. Willis said Dharma is probably the reason most Indians tolerate their poverty. Dharma, related to Karma, is a Hindu philosophy where you develop peace and happiness from the inside and not through material goods. I feel inadequate around the Indian women. They are all so beautiful. They have gourgeous flowing black hair that seems immune to bad hair days. In the heat and humidity my hair becomes enemy combatant. Their skin is a perfect bronze that American manufactures try to mimic with their spray on tans that always turns Americans orange. Their symmetric faces, small noses, full lips and skinny bodies are a plastic surgeon's nightmare. The only obese people I've seen in India are the westerners at the hotel. Will the gentrification I've started to see change that? Every block has a Pizza Hut and Baskin Robbins.
I started to worry that I was thinking about my Naneu Pro bag in the first person so I pulled out my i-Pod. There is nothing like Hip-Hop to relieve a home sick heart. There is also Brittany Spears, Jessica Simpson but SHHH! Dont tell anyone. What? You want to know if I have classical music? Of course! The Police, Pink Floyd and Blondie. All classics!
Everything here is metric. It's nice to see the scale read 50 but Will is beginning to get annoyed with me adjusting the hotel temperature to 30 Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) because I can't compute it without a calculator. He loves telling people its -2 in New York. Four hours, 5 cups of tea and 10 packets of sugar later I met Will and Krishna. For lunch. I couldn't help firing off questions to Kirshna. Before he fully answered one I was asking the next. Part of it was my jittery sugar high and the other part uninterrupted time speaking with a native fluent in English. I'm afraid it felt more like an interrogation than lunch. A woman in the public restroom at the mall cleaned the toilet before I used it. When I was done she cleaned it again. I couldn't believe she actually opened the stall door for me and wiped the rim off. After lunch Will and Krishna went back to work and I went back to the hotel. Will got home late and we went to bed. We were meeting Yimei at 6 am for a day of sightseeing and we wanted to see the Hajji Ali during low tide.
Day 9Saturday, March 17 Saint Patrick Who? I come from a place where everyone celebrates St. Patrick's Day. New Yorkers dress in green from head to toe, including green beards. There were no Irish people here today. Just my gaudy green shamrock and me. We met Yimei (pronounced e-may) at 6:00 am for coffee and her driver picked us up at 6:30. Our first stop was a Hindu temple. The police made us take our shoes off and leave them by the entrance. At first I tried to put them all in the Traveling Bag but the police would have none of that so we paid someone, for a few rupees, to watch our shoes and socks. There were plenty of people praying at the temple. Yimei seemed interested in going up to the alter but I felt too awkward. Seeing the swastika made me freeze. It means, "well being," and it's just a religious symbol but to me it means, "Do not enter, Jewish girl." We have the Nazi's to thank for this taboo. The path to the temple is lined with little shops and Yimei wanted to pick up a few things for her daughters. She was becoming a master haggler and could bring down any price. She learned her lesson after paying 200 rupees for a peacock feather. After she bought it another person approached her offering her 100 rupees for the same peacock feather. Now she wouldn?t consider paying over 30 rupees for anything and Will and I were delighted since we got the same price. Our next stop was the Haji Ali Mosque. Since the mosque was built in the middle of the sea, it can only be reached during low tide when the path leading to it is above water. We had checked the tide times and knew the tide would come in at 10:30 am. When we started walking up the path I was hit by a smell that would have brought my breakfast back up if I had eaten any. It was the putrid water that stunk and the low tide had left so much trash on the shoreline that there was no beach. It was gut-renching and I walked most of the way covering my face with my arm. We were the only tourists and immediately attracted the attention of the children. As soon as Yimei pulled out her wallet the three cute children following us became a mob of 6 or 7 kids demanding money. Yimei did not have enough small bills for all the kids. They were not allowed inside the mosque. Haji Ali is beautiful and this time I went inside with Yimei. I gave a donation although it doesn?t look like the mosque will be restored any time soon. We spent a while looking around and Will picked up a can of diet Pepsi. The children were waiting for us outside. Yimei managed to get some change for a 10 rupee bill and we gave it all away. Although we had no more money a little girl still followed us. She really wanted Will?s Pepsi can. I wanted to just take her home. I think her brother was with her and Will finally gave the can to him. He gave it to her. She ran off with it and showed the adults her Pepsi can. She came back to us beaming still clutching the can. We headed to Bombay University Law School and Victoria Terminus, the train station in Mumbai. It took the British 10 years to Build and was completed in 1887. It carries 2.5 million commuters all over India and I think they were all there today. It is now called Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminu because Victoria was too easy to say. Our merry trio continued on to Mani Bhavan. It was Yimei's last day here, and I thought she would like to see it. Will had never seen it and wanted to go. We spent a long time there. We were done around 11:00 and we were starved. The Taj Mahal Hotel, a 5 star hotel, seemed like a safe place to eat. After lunch I felt sick and had to sit down. There a woman, Karuna, introduced herself and we started chatting. She had been all over the world including Alaska. Her nephew works for the same company as Will and Yimei. She wrote down his name. She also told us that the one word I thought I knew in Hindu, shukriya, meaning thank you, is actually Urdu. Urdu is a language spoken in Pakistan. She said if I wanted to say thank you to just say thank you. I was back where I started. Karuna did tell us to go to the World Trade Center for shopping. This turned out to be very good advice. In one of the shops a man helped us with the language. He told us that everyone uses shukriya but we can also say dhanyavad, which is Hindi for thank you. They are interchangeable. Aap kaisay hai is how are you and Theek Hai means ok. We were on a roll. Yimei purchased a beautiful silk scarf (not the one pictured), and I bought a shirt. Will bought a small stone box for $2.00. I bought the girls, Taylor and Madison wooden bracelets and a hand made purse. In Sharda Stores we all bought hand painted scrolls and Yimei bought a small sculpture, and got 50 rupees off. Back outside I tested my Hindi with the police and to my delight they answered Theek Hai when I asked they how they were doing in Hindi. Yimei suggested one last stop, Crawford Markets. I would have to say this was my one frightening experience. It may be because I was tired. We had been out for at least 10 hours. I froze and did not want to cross the street. Yimei took my hand and I think my brain shut down because I dont remember how we did it. Crawford Markets is a marketplace. A crowded, loud, dark, scary marketplace. I cried at Will to put the camera away and he relented. Yimei did not seemed fazed by the crowds and she even bought some candy. I tried to get over it and decided I too would buy something. I wanted to know if the almonds were raw or roasted but before I knew it the man filled a bag, sealed it and placed the package in my hands. They were raw but I thought it would be a nice treat for the driver. I wanted to leave but I kept repeating to Will that I didn't want to cross the street again. You have to stop the moving traffic with your hand. Really think about that. No cross walks. No lights. No lanes. Just a shifting body of traffic that you have to stop. You walk out in front of one car but the next lane is still moving and so on. At last we arrived back at the hotel around 7 or 8. We had time for dinner since Yimei's flight left at 2:30 am. Yimei left and we went to bed. It was a long day.
Day 11Monday, March 19
Our driver picked us up at 11, got directions from Leon and we were on our way. It was a national holiday and we passed a festive parade. Once we got on the highway we were really cruising at 40 mph. Things that shocked me 9 days ago were now becoming normal. We exited the highway and the driver asked someone on the street for directions. We drove a few miles and the driver stopped again to ask for directions. The third time Will called Leon. The driver spoke to Leon but asked a stranger for directions just a few minutes later. In total we must have asked 10 people for directions. We were very happy when Will saw Leon waving to us on the roadside. Leon's mother, Bonny, has 7 kids. One of her eldest sons owns the home we were visiting. Leon and his mother live there with one other family member. I forget which one. Today we met Rudolph, his wife, Smita and their son Jacob. Bernadette was there with her son Veeraj. Lorraine was there with her son Aaron. Elisia, Bonny's granddaughter, was there alone. A friendly neighbor also joined the party. So I think there were 12 people there including us. We talked for hours and Willis played pool, a game he really enjoys. Bonny had set out some yummy snacks. I couldn't stop eating the banana chips. I loved them! Someone said Willis looks like Elton John. I thought that was a hoot and I hope his family is getting a kick out of that. I don't see the resemblance but it was a nice compliment. I was filling up on banana chips when Bonny and her family bought out two new dishes. I wish I had written the names down. One was a dish of blue patties with this bright green stuff inside. Those were heavenly! The other dish was bright red but white in the middle. It tasted like cheese. That was excellent. I wasn't expecting to be fed and I thought that these dishes were wonderful. But there was still more food coming! Dish after dish were quickly taking over the table. Will and I joined them in saying grace and then our plates were being piled with food. Again I wish I had written down the names of all these dishes but I think there were lamb dishes, chicken dishes, soy dishes, a cucumber salad and giant bowl of rice. All of it was homemade but what really stood out was the homemade bread and homemade yogurt dish. It was like eating at a 5 star restaurant only better because it was made with love! We both had seconds. I asked about the yogurt dish and they said it was made with salted boondi. Without the yogurt, boondi tastes like deep-fried corn. I have never had any of the food that was served to me. It was my first real culinary experience in India. We even had desert. The hours passed quickly and when the conversation started to languish Leon and his family took us up to the terrace to see the beautiful view. You can see the slums are close but developers have plans to build and the slums must go. In India, if you want to build where a slum is you have to provide accommodations within the building going up. Sometimes you can immediately sell it but other times you have to hold it for a few years. Either way, the poor are unable to afford the maintenance and they do not end up staying. For the first time I started to look at the poor differently. Leon said the children could go to school but most times the parents make them work. They live on the land for free and pay no taxes. It angers me that they force their children into destitution by not giving them an education. We left the rooftop for one last photo. Willis even managed to get the dog, "puppy," to shake his hand after bribing him with a treat. Bonny and her family filled a bag with instant coffee, candies and a beautiful coconut monkey that I tried to refuse. On the car ride home we talked about what we could send them. So far after so much generosity we've come up with Pop-Tarts and Blow-Pops. We are stuck!
Day 14Thursday, March 22nd
The Hindu magazine, Business Line, states that, "It is basically a problem of cluttering the skies at a particular time that is leading to congestion at the major metro airports. In Delhi, the problem is most acute between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. There is a virtual stampede for aircraft to land and take-off. It is not uncommon for a plane to circle over the Delhi airport for anything between 20 and 45 minutes." You might not think this is very different from the United States where flights are also delayed for various reasons. However in India there aren?t even enough gates for the airplanes. Instead you are bused to your plane! The airlines are not profiting because there are too many. There may soon be consolidations. The lines at security are long and the body search is intrusive. Women are searched behind a screen while men are searched in the open. A wand is waved over you while the screener gropes every part of your body. Still, as violating as it may seem it's more civilized then a proposed x-ray in the U.S. that exposes your naked body on screen. Men are only allowed one carry on item, but women can have two. If you travel in India, leave a lot of time because the airport can feel chaotic to a foreigner. We landed and went directly to the Intercontinental Hotel. Will changed and went to work. He was in Delhi to visit with the consulting group he manages.
Day 15Friday, March 23nd
Since I collect stamps I wanted to see the National Philatelic Museum which features rare stamps and first day covers. No bags/cameras are allowed in so I left everything with Ganga. The museum looked well cared for and had a great display of stamps from India and around the world. The guidebook said there was a counter filled with stamps for sale. Indeed there was a counter with stamps but the person at the desk refused to sale anything to me. She pointed and said, "Post Office Upstairs." I did not want to argue and I thought I could find the post office. A nice man approached me and asked what I was looking for. He helped me find my way. The women selling stamps were surprisingly impolite and I felt like I was right back in the United States. If the U.S. government didn't have a law that only allowed first class mail to be sent by the U.S. Postal Service they would have gone out of business a long time ago. The Indian woman at the post office preferred to eat her lunch rather than help me buy some stamps. The total came to 245 rupees. I gave her a 500 bill. She gave me 300 rupees in change. I should have kept it but I gave her the extra money back. Ganga drove around and pointed out local attractions.
At night Will ordered room service and we had an Indian picnic. It was delicious!
Day 16Saturday, March 24th  Taj Mahal This morning was the morning we'd been looking forward to for months. We were driving to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, one of the 7 man made wonders of the world. Ganga would be our driver. We were told to dress conservatively despite the heat. It was at least 90 degrees. While it is the premier attraction in India it is also a place of Muslim worship and we wanted to respect that. We left at 7 am for the 2-hour drive. Will's supervisor spoke highly about one particular tour. When Will called he was quoted $400 US for round trip car service and an English-speaking guide. He balked at the price and asked his colleagues for help. The next quote was under $200 US. Much better! Will called the other agency back and asked for an explanation. They said it was because they offered a nicer car. As it turns out both agencies provided the same exact car! Ha! $200 US got us an English-speaking guide for as long as we wanted and what turned out to be a 7 hour car ride with gas and tolls included. Ticket prices and lunch were not included in either price. Excruciating is the only word that describes the car ride to Agra. It turned out to be a 3 hour Honk-A-Thon. When you are passing someone, or want to pass them, in India, you honk to let them know. "Honk Okay Please", is written on the back of every truck. A few cars, auto-rickshaws and trucks don't have mirrors. While honking in America is considered rude unless it's urgent, it's a common courtesy in India. But what if there was back-to-back traffic? What if you were passing hundreds of cars on the highway and had to honk at every one?? What if there were bicyclists, motorcyclists, tractors and even pedestrians in every lane and you wanted to pass them all? Honk, Honk, Honk, Honk, HONKHONKHONKHONKHONKHONKHONKHONKHONKHONKHONKHONK for 3 hours. Before your splitting headache becomes a migraine motion sickness might hit you as you go from 60 MPH to 5 MPH in order to dodge an auto-rickshaw that veered into your lane in order to miss hitting the truck going the wrong way on the highway. Over and over and over various slow moving vehicles swerved into our lane and Ganga slammed down hard on his brakes.
To be fair
After 3 hours we met our guide, Z. Khan. Khan speaks English fluently and we encourage travelers to give him a call. 0 98 37 135 781. We picked Khan up in Agra and went directly to the Taj Mahal. To summarize Wikipedia, in 1632 the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned this mausoleum for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Twenty years later, the Taj Mahal was completed. Today, both Shah Jahan and his wife are entombed here. I am sorry to report that the Traveling Bag was not allowed inside! While the bag was on site it remained in a locker. The Taj Mahal is a series of buildings including the tomb. The first building is the Gateway to the Taj Mahal. Next you walk alongside a reflection pool and garden to the tomb. On one side is a mosque and on the other side is a guesthouse. Both are identical for symmetry. Khan said he had been to Taj a thousand times and he knew all the Kodak moments. We saw the Black Taj, a plot of land across the river where Shah wanted to build another Taj Mahal in black. Ground was broken but the Shah's son killed him before completing more than the foundation. Khan said that the son thought he was spending too much money on the building. We saw the striking artwork created by thousands of Indians. The families that built the Taj are still in Agra and continue to pass their skills onto their children. Khan talked at length about the Taj and we spent an hour walking around. I haven't seen anything so inspiring since I saw the Grand Canyon in 2002. For a while we just sat and stared at it. Shah really loved his wife. His other wives are also buried in the complex. Although there is a lot of pollution in India, the Taj Mahal is protected. A nearby factory was closed and moved because of the adverse effects on the Taj. Motorized vehicles are not allowed near the Taj. Visitors can walk or take a special car. We met up with Ganga and headed to lunch. We invited Ganga to join us but he said he was just the driver and went off on his own. We went to the local tourist joint where prices were US equivalent but the food was good and safe. (I'm writing this 3 days later and we never got sick). A tour bus pulled up and 20 people were seated so the place must have a good reputation. We are certain Khan gets kick backs from the places he took us but if that keeps us out of harms way so be it! After lunch Khan took us to see working lapidaries, "artisans who practice the craft of working, forming and finishing stone, mineral, gemstones, into functional and/or decorative items." The workers were all descendants of the artisans at Taj Mahal. We watched them work and then we were taken inside a show room where for $10,000 US we could furnish our home with a new table cover. The pressure was on but we left with a little flowered plate that cost $165 US. Elephants would have cost $600 US. Will picked it out and seemed really happy. We opted out of the next stop, wool making, and headed to Agra Fort. The sign at the entrance reads, "India's most important fort," and it is still in use today by the Indian military. Shah died imprisoned in this fort and you can see the Taj Mahal from the edge. Will walked around the Fort with Khan while I took a break on the steps. A group of 5 or 6 young guys approached me and held out their camera. I asked if they wanted me to take their picture. They spoke broken English and said something like, "You picture." All around the grounds are photographers who offer costly professional pictures. I thought maybe they were trying to sell me a picture of myself. Finally I said, "I don't need a picture." They started repeating what I said to them and looked disappointed. It was such a strange moment. There was no way they wanted a picture of my funny mug! I ran up to Will and Khan and told them what had just happened. Of course they wanted a picture of me Khan said. He also said they traveled here from villages in India and they have never seen a white person. I felt so bad! I take pictures of people all the time for the same reason. I spotted the group of guys and waved at them. I asked if they wanted my picture and they got so excited. This is what it must feel like to be famous. They crowded around me and kept pulling out cameras saying, ?One more! One more!? Will took pictures of the scene. It was incredible. I was the ghostly white girl in funny clothing. There were surprisingly few white people at the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. Will and I had decided to leave while we still had a few hours of sunlight. We dropped Khan off and gave him a nice tip. We figured that out of the $200 US we paid, at least $100 US went towards gas, tolls and the agency. So the guide and driver probably got less than $50 each. The driver probably got less than $20 US. We tipped Ganga the same amount Our Honk-A-Thon started with the cattle that graze in the middle of the road. We asked Khan about them. He said that they all have owners and no one would dare harm them. They are free to roam wherever they desire. Drivers have to squeeze into one lane to move around an ox sleeping in the street. After four long hours we were back at the hotel. The adventure of a lifetime was over but the honking continued. Our room faced the street. The honking could be heard 9 floors up.
Day 19Tuesday, March 27th The last time that Will and I had guests over was in 2005 and we all ate out. We have never had our neighbors over for dinner. In fact Will and I have never cooked a single meal in the three years we have owned our home. I have never used the oven. Our fridge is stocked well with diet coke, water and wine. You can imagine our surprise at being served so much homemade food. Hari and his beautiful wife, Nirupama, invited Jai, Kirshna, Willis and me into their home for lunch. The K3 bag was with us!Nirupama claims to be a novice cook but this could not be true. Her Veg Kofta, Dal Makani and Veg Pulao were suburb! Will and I helped ourselves to seconds. The sterile hotel food doesn't stray too far from the ordinary. I don't want to say that the hotel food isn't good, but Indians are fantastic cooks! A side note for American visitors. Do not order turkey. Indians do not seem to like it and consider it a "rough" meat. I ordered a turkey club at the JW Marriott and they sent me turkey SPAM. It was gray and puckered with little holes, a sure sign of canned meat! Imitation turkey! That's what this 5 star hotel served me. While chicken, lamb, fish and mutton (goat) are abundant, turkey, an American staple, is missing from every menu! Hari's home is sparsely decorated but cozy. Nirupama works on the banking floor and puts in long hours at a set salary. There is no over time in India. Hari and Jai both work at Will's company but in separate areas. I thought Jai was British but he had only studied there. He told us about his life in the US and his feelings on New York. He said when he went into a restaurant in the US, not in NY, everyone stared at him and it made him feel uncomfortable. He said that Indians stare at us out of curiosity. When American's stare at you it's more menacing. I would agree on all points although even friendly staring is hard to get used to. After an hour everyone had to go back to work and Will's driver took me home. His name is long and I can never remember it but he is a very nice guy. He seems to love when I ask him how he is doing in Hindi. Today he decided he would teach me more words. The problem is that he doesn't speak English. He would say, "Bhai." in Hindi and then say, "Brother, son," in English. For a half hour I sat in the back seat repeating everything he said. I didn't understand a single word but it made him smile so I felt obliged to go on an on. We had made reservations for Wazwah, the Kashmiri food festival at JW Marriott's Saffron restaurant. The restaurant flew in chefs from Kashmir and billed the event as, "Cuisine So Rare It Moves Mountains." Satish and his wife Sima joined us for dinner. Satish also works with Will at the same company. They lived in the US for 14 years. Sima is a dentist and has her own practice. She said people don?t really use dental insurance and the prices are so low. It costs approx. $20 US to have your teeth cleaned and $50 or $100 for a root canal. My best friend spent approx $1000 US per root canal and I pay $150 US for a teeth cleaning in NY. $300 for the exam. Sima said medical tourism is popular in India. If someone knows they are going to vacation in India they will also schedule medical exams. I've never head this term before but it makes sense and Sima was trained in the US. What stuck me most about Sima, Satish and all the other people I have met is their patriotism. They say nothing disparaging about India. It's as if they are all have tons of patience because they know something HUGE is happening here and they are excited to be a part of it. You can feel it here too. It's in the air. It's this buzz, like a live wire, running through the people. They all know the time is right now and they are part of India's turning point. Satish and Sima seemed so alive when they were talking about India's development. Satish said he even looked into franchises because he knew anyone who started one would most likely find success. Pizza hut is booming. TCBY and McDonald's are popping up everywhere. Will's company said that if all they did was build hotels they would make money. There is a demand for everything here. Satish said he misses bagels but eventually a bagel place will open. It was 11 when we finished and Sima gave me her phone number so we could meet up later in the week. We hope we go out with them this weekend. That would make us very happy! When Will and I were alone I asked him what would you call India? Third world sounds terrible and it's just not true. Will said Somalia was third world but India was a developing nation. Developing seems more accurate but still not right. When I was growing up in America I was raised with the words, "Super Power" and "First World." I saw Cubans, Mexicans and other refugees dying to get across our border. 11 years of American History reinforced our world dominance and greatness. Most of my friends have never left the US. When they do they go to Bermuda, the Caribbean or Canada. But India is challenging everything I know! There is a world outside of America and it's pretty cool!
Day 21Thursday, March 29 I do not know how I am supposed to feel about a book that calls me stupid. Not just me, but my friends, my family and every American from sea to shining sea. Unfortunaly one of India's best selling books, One Night @ The Call Center, does just that. I'm a bookworm and noticed the book in the windows of Crossword, the Barnes and Noble of India. I was enjoying the book until I got to page 53 and read - "I passed by the training room on my way to Bakshi's office. I peeked inside: fresh trainees were attending a session. Some students were snoozing; they were probably still getting used to working at night. '35=10', the instructor wrote in big bold letters on the blackboard. I remembered the 35=10 rules from my training days two years ago. It helped agents adjust to their callers. 'Remember,' the instructor said to the class, 'a thirty-five-year-old American's brain and IQ is the same as a ten-year-old Indian's brain. This will help you understand your clients. You need to be patient as you are when dealing with a child. Americans are dumb, just accept it. I dont want anyone losing their cool during the calls'" The book continues to mock American callers and their ridiculous problems. I'm still reading the book but I feel very defensive. Everywhere I go I see the, "dumb American" book. We are all individuals and stereotypes are unfair. Not all Indians are engineers and not all Americans are stupid. My grandfather is a retired engineer and Will's father is a mathematician. When American's need help from call centers it's because their computer has crashed. It's not because we took our oven apart because the turkey wouldn't fit into it. The story focuses on a group of people who work in the Western Appliances Strategic Group. "The strategic customers call a lot and are too dumb to figure out things (actually the latter applies to a lot of callers)," (p.39). It's ironic that America created the flattering portrayal of Indians. Those dumb Americans were smart enough to only let in the brightest minds from other countries. Mira Kamdar says in her book, Planet India, that, "After 1965 Indian engineers, doctors, scientists and other college-educated individuals or people seeking an education in these fields began arriving in increasingly large numbers. The Indian engineering student stereotype was born to be replaced a couple of decades later by the Indian information-technology wiz. For the last several years, India has consistently sent more students to study in the United States than any other country. In 2005, over eighty thousand students from India come to the United States for higher education," (pg28). Guess what? Most become U.S. citizens. So those stupid Americans calling into the center are Indian too. If Americans are so stupid and all Indians are brilliant why did the electricity go out in the hotel FIVE times yesterday? It's a well written, funny book but remember the award winning Indian author, Chetan Bhagat, lives in Hong Kong. Day 22Friday, March 30  Mount Mary Church Today Sima showed me around town. Her dental practice operates in two shifts with a siesta in the middle. She stopped by around 2:00 and would need to leave around 5:00. The first stop was the Mount Mary Roman Catholic church. The Portuguese established this beautiful church in 1640. It sits close to the Arabian Sea in Bandra, a suburb in Mumbai. In September a huge fair takes place that brings together all of Mumbai. A statue of Mary, found floating in the ocean, is on display across the street.  Altar at Mount Mary For Americans, the hill top church offers the perfect escape from the crowded streets and tourist attractions. A quiet stairway behind the church leads to a row of homes and the street below. A roaming rooster and his mate strutted around me. A mother pig and her newborn piglets hammed it up for the camera (bad pun intended). A passerby warned me that the mother pig bites. I wonder how he found that out?  Momma Bites! We explored more of Bandra and stopped at Elco Restaurant for some Pani Puri, fried shells filled with a sweet and spicy combination. Sima also treated me to another local dish that we shared. Our last stop was Tanaaz, a local gift shop with unbeatable prices. I encourage all tourists to check it out. The hotel shop wanted $60 US for a plastic doll. I got a wooden doll for Rs 150 ( $3 US). It's a dark cement cave but its shelves are filled with affordable souvenirs.
TANAAZ Sima left for work and I asked the driver to take me back to the hotel. However, the driver had other plans! His English is hard to understand but he kept saying, "No good. No good. I take you good shopping." He pulled up to Habitat, a first class shop with glass windows and electricity. I knew I didn't want to go in but the driver insisted. A security guard opened the door for me and a man instantly greeted me. "I am so happy to see you," he exclaimed. I knew I wasn't going to buy anything but I pretended to look at some expensive silk ties. The sales guy asked if I liked to wear ties. I told him that my husband liked ties. His smile vanished and he said, "Oh no, you're married!" Suddenly he wasn't very interested in helping me and I was able to get out of the store. This store was out of my price range but if you want to spend a couple hundred dollars, or even a couple thousand, the JW Marriot shops are just as good. The bargains are at Tanaaz.  Sima  Rear view of church    Bandra  Mary found at sea   Bandra  Mount Mary  Pani Puri  Elco Restaurant   Day 23Saturday, March 31  Sara & K3 Will wanted to spend a quite day around the hotel but I wanted to go back and photograph that charming rooster and his lady friend. I also thought I could get closer to those piglets and I wanted Will to see the church. We compromised and asked the driver to pick us up at 3. We ate another large American breakfast and toured the hotel with the Traveling Bag. I think I have actually gotten whiter on this trip.  Oh no! No Googlies! We went out to look for "GOOGLIES" but alas we could find none. (We don't know what googlie means). We did find a lot of signs for beanbags. The messages are spray painted on every wall in Mumbai. "Call 555-1212 BEANBAGS." Of course beanbags must be code for something, right? Maybe the sign is for an illicit drug or a black market item code-named beanbag? Nope! The signs are for bean bag chairs. I dragged Will back to Tanaaz, the cheap souvenir store. After that we decided to find bathing suit for Will. If you come to India, and you are staying in a hotel with a pool, do not forget to bring your bathing suit! We never found one. We visited two gigantic modern malls and there were no bathing suits. The hotel only had large bathing suits in stock. We picked up some books at shockingly low prices (.60US - $2US). The T.G.I. Friday's beckoned to us but it didn't taste anything like home and the menu was different. I find it's better to eat Indian food in India than try and find American substitutes. You'll end up being more homesick when the server brings you the Indian equivalent. Once I tried to order a grilled cheese. It was not on the menu but the server said no problem. However, Will thought to ask about the cheese. The server said either feta or brie and I cancelled the order. You want American cheese, bagels, soft donuts, fresh baked soft cookies, Heresy kisses or apple pie? Forgettaboutit! However, Indian food is so good we could eat it every day. Will's coworker told him to visit Fun Republic. You know how American bowling alleys have twenty lanes? This one had four. Shoes were optional and Indians seem content to bowl barefoot. There were only two pool tables in a smoky bar area so we went with our third option, air hockey. Most Americans are competitive and our little game of air hockey turned into a battle. I hooted and hollered with a great big, "YES," every time I scored. The crowd that had gathered around us watched Will defeat me twice. Will played some video games and I crushed him at skee ball. Americans in India will find Fun Republic to be small but a lot of fun and a good bargain. There is also a movie theater, showing mostly Hindu movies, and a McDonalds. An ice cream cone costs around RS 9 or .20 US. Wow!  Lucky Bag!  K3 in hotel lobby  JW Marriott  Where we eat every morning  Kiddie Pool!          Bandra  Mount Mary trinkets  Willis at Tanaaz Day 24Sunday, April 1
Day 27Wednesday, April 4
Day 28Thursday, April 5 Text coming soon.
Back in the U.S.A.Monday, April 9 Final Entry After a 16 hour non-stop flight on Delta airlines Will and I landed at JFK airport in Queens. The flight went quickly for me. I watched a number of flicks including Volver and Dream Girls. Will was tucked away in business class, roughing it. Upon landing the pilot announced it was 36 degrees outside. I was thrilled thinking we had missed the end of winter. The pilot interrupted my reverie to suggest we bundle up. It slowly dawned on me that it was 36 degrees Fahrenheit! I was getting used to Celsius. 36 degrees Celsius is 97 degrees Fahrenheit. Instead we were coming home to frigid temperatures. The first thing we noticed, despite the cold, was the bright blue sky. All the colors around us were rich and vibrant but the sky glistened. Graham, the cat, meowed at us when we opened the door. Our absence clearly bothered him. Will ran out and got us fresh bagels smothered in cream cheese. A few hours later we fell asleep. On Wednesday, April 11, I shipped the Traveling Bag off to Sheena in Canada. Will and I were sad to see it go but we were happy we had the opportunity to use it. The K3 survived a month long trip in India. From the crowded streets of Colaba to the beaches of Bandra the bag went everywhere. We wore the bag comfortably on our backs despite the extreme summer temperatures. Sometimes the bag stood out as one more expensive looking item tourists wear but in reality the bag is quite affordable at approx. $150US. This bag is going to protect thousands of dollars worth of cameras and lenses.
Next stop.... Canada!Follow The Traveling Bag on its next adventure with Sheena in Canada. |
Willis, Yamini and Sona inside the comany office.
Satish, Willis and Yimei
Inorbit Mall
All this food for $3 US!
The Traveling Bag likes Chai Tea.
Willis with Kirishna
Every day brings a new experience but today was one of our best. Leon, from Will's office, and his mother, invited us into their home. For the first time we were getting away from the tourist attractions and getting to see what real life is like!
Leon is a very handsome guy. Sorry girls! He's getting married in July. Leon brought us upstairs where a bunch of smiling faces invited us in. We were introduced to Leon?s sister, brother, niece, nephews and mother. We see where Leon gets his good looks! To tell you the truth I?m not sure who was related to whom and in which way but I'll try my best.
Today we left for Delhi. The hotel car picked us up early in the morning. We flew Jet Airways, a private Indian airline. They served a full breakfast on the 1 hour and 45 minute flight. Very impressive. The plane wound up circling the airport for half an hour due to bad weather conditions below. The crew mentioned diverting the plane but fortunately the weather cleared up. Flights from Mumbai to Delhi are almost always delayed due to poor infrastructure. 
We enjoyed a lavish breakfast and since it was free we chowed down. I went with Will to work, dropped him off, and took his car out sightseeing. His driver, Ganga, was nice but spoke no English. I had a book and showed Ganga where I wanted to go. He stopped and asked people for directions.
