First of all, the flight: um, wow. The flight from Minneapolis to Paris actually went quite well. I discovered that my cousin Laura and her fiance Seth happened to be on the same flight, travelling for a choir trip. Talk about a coincidence! Then, the last thing I saw of Minnesota as we rose above the clouds was the Metrodome, in all it's collapsed-roof glory. However, things took a surprising turn in Paris. Our 10:30am flight was rescheduled to 10:30pm and then to 8am the next day, thanks to mechanical errors. After maneuvering the maze that is Charles de Gaulle airport towards a shuttle to the courtesy hotel, my friend Bekkah and I decided to visit the city. After all, how many opportunities does a girl get to visit Paris without paying for a hotel? We met up with two other young women also stranded between flights and split the cost of a taxi into the Paris. Although only wearing thin jackets in freezing weather (we wouldn't have needed coats in India, where we were supposed to be!), the group saw the Arc de Triomphe, strolled the Champs-Elysees, ate pastries at a cafe, rode the metro, and saw the Tour Eiffel. It was a fun but cold night! The next morning, after a three-hour delay, we took off for the flight that finally brought us to Delhi, India after midnight on the morning of Wednesday, December 29.
Our first day in India was basically a crash course in India. We encountered children begging for money as we entered the bus. Then, as we rode into Delhi, we saw the extremes of the city: wealth next to poverty, modern technology next to cows (yes, cows are everywhere!), clean houses next to piles of garbage. We first visited the India Gate, a memorial to fallen soldiers. Then, after lunch at a coffee shop, we toured the Red Fort, built in the 1600s by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Both were interesting, but the real lesson came next, with a tour of Old Delhi. We went down incredibly busy alleys with shops selling goods, people pressing all around, and motorcycles barrelling through. I have never experienced such chaos, not even at the State Fair or on the Target Field concourse! As to crossing streets, let's just say that I have never felt so unsafe yet safe all at once. There are cars everywhere, meaning that crossing the street is sometimes a matter of walking between vehicles, and yet drivers always stop in time. I have yet to see evidence of a car accident. The day ended with Kabobs - yum!
Our next day (Thursday) brought a flight to Jodhpur, a city in the state of Rajasthan. We visited Mehrangarh, a beautiful old fort. The detailed carving on sandstone in the fort was unbelievable! I found it interesting that the builders carved ornate screens in place of windows that allowed people to see out of rooms but not into rooms while allowing sunlight in. This was especially important for the cultural expectations that women remain away from men's eyes.
Friday began with a five hour bus ride to Jaisalmer, a city farther into the desert (and closer to Pakistan, but never too close!). There, we spent the night in an old palace, half of which still houses Jaisalmer's royal family. We celebrated the new year at a special party in the palace. There was music and entertainment in the form of Rajasthani dancers. The food was good, and we danced quite a bit. Overall, the group made sure to begin the year with a bang...literally. At midnight, the lights went out and fireworks went off. Everything was about as far from my usual Minnesota celebration of the New Year as I could imagine: no coats, desert rather than snow, in another country, and the ball would not drop for another 10-1/2 hours!
Now that I have thoroughly bored you with more details than you care to know, I should end this post for the time being. Hopefully, I can fill everyone in on the rest of my time in the desert soon. I also hope to share pictures when possible. For now, I should sleep in preparation for tomorrow's 6am bus ride to Agra. Taj Mahal, here I come! And to everyone not in India, Namaste!
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