January adventures—India!

Tuktuks, checkered headwear, beautiful saree dresses and more!

Let me just say this—India is a trip. Sooooo many people. I was fortunate to be there last year for a conference but didn’t get ‘out’ much. This year fortune repeated itself and I was able to experience a bit more!

I met a local guy in Delhi and we had adventures galore!  We went to see palaces...one guide said it would be 40 minutes....TWO HOURS later...:). We listened and learned. 

I wanted a train experience in India so the next morning we got up way too early and headed to Agra where we saw the Taj Mahal. The King of the time had 14 wives..his 14th wife died and he built this as a tomb for her. She never saw it!  Sad. It was ah.maz.ing. Very beautiful. 

As we were taking an Uber to ‘the Taj’...the driver offered a full day...he would take us everywhere...3 sites plus lunch and to the train station to return. Ok...easy...$25 deal!  

So we did..Taj Mahal (my ‘guide’ got in free), Victory City and Agra (red) Fort. Plus buffet lunch that was quite good (my ‘guide’ got a free lunch!). 

Victory City (Fatehpur Sikri )we had a guide that said two hours and we only had one...so he agreed, we were nervous!:). He made it!...we kinda ran and ‘had’ to take a tuktuk back to the car park —it was excellent. 

Agra Fort...the King was spending so much money on the Taj Mahal...his son took over the crown and put him in jail—in perfect view of the Taj Mahal and it’s progress (or not).  Ouch—that’s tough love!

Back to the train...had about 3’ish hours to Delhi but this train was older and did not announce the stops. We both fell asleep and woke up to see it was our stop!  People were getting on and we struggled to get off and the train started moving!  Seriously..we jumped. I’d love to say it was like the movies but...it wasn’t that dramatic. Dramatic for us though...we laughed so hard. It was late and we crashed. 

The next day I headed to Hyderbad to a youth gathering and conference. That was all good and we got out for pizza and McDonalds a few times ( rice and spice is great but...). You know it—we went in tuktuks!  The last night there were 5 of us and we were going 2 kilometers (not quite 1 mile). We picked up 3 more people on the way—9 total!...now THAT WAS INDIA. Good times. 

So the people were amazing.....my guide in Delhi gets married February 7th...an arranged marriage. Wow—we talked about that quite a bit. He is so willing, able and a good son. It’s a story for sure—I wish them the best. 

The women (and men actually) dress so beautifully—I’m not a good dresser anyway—but this was way out of my league. I didn’t get any Indian attire...probably should have....another trip!!!????

• The head bob...I love it...quite useful to use body language so extensively actually. 
• The driving...honking constantly), 6 (9?)cars in 3 lanes, they have their own rules!  And of course—driving on the left side of the road. 
• The people...everywhere, 24/7
• The animals...holy and often seen anywhere:)
• I’m kind of tall...I was in an elevator( also small but with like 9 of us) and I was towering. I was thinking of how my tall nephews 6’1”-6’8” would feel). 
• The bow with hands together (as in a deeply thankful gesture) is beautiful. 
• Respect!  Definitely respect shown with ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’. 

Suffice it to say—it was good. My guide said he has taken many people around but the first time to take the train to the Taj and first time he got anything free!  He said it was quite memorable for him. That made me happy:). 

So as I’m sitting on a plane from Doha, Qatar (where?!) to Budapest, I am thankful. Life is good and God made himself known to me the whole time—He is surely waaay better!

Oh..almost forgot. The corona virus is definitely a factor as I travel. Sooooo many people wearing masks. The minute I hit the airport—very evident of concern. Hmmmmm....

Enjoy this leap year February...thanks for reading:).