Around the World

We slept in, had toast for breakie and took a tuk tuk to ANZ Grindlays bank. We got more money from the credit card. We met Nick from New Zealand and had lunch with him at Whimpy's. He was an interesting guy. He told us about feeding a bunch of kids in Nepal. We went to an underground shopping bazaar so Donna could get leather shoes. I got a Krishna painting on silk. It depicted Krishna and his consort Radha sitting on a swing. It is believed that Krishna enchants the world, but Radha "enchants" even Him. Therefore She is the supreme goddess of all.

Then we got on an eight-seater tuk tuk to go to the Red Fort. The tuk tuk is made from a motorcycle with front forks of an Enfield. For only 4 Rupees it was a great deal. It is a mess on the streets with smog, noise and dust. It was a hot sunny day when we got to the fort. There was no charge to go in. Not quite as nice as the other forts I've seen.

Built in red sandstone, the magnificent Red Fort or Lal Qila is yet another creation by the Emperor Shah Jahan after Taj Mahal. Within its fortifications are exquisite palaces, a finely proportioned mosque,the Diwan-i-Am or hall of public audience and the finely ornamented Diwan-i-Khas or hall of private audience, where the Mughal Emperors held court seated on the golden Peacock Throne.

The clouds got dark and the wind picked up. We looked around the buildings quickly and just as we were about to leave the rain began to pour down. The streets turned into rivers. We waited out the storm at some shops we in a covered bazaar called Chatta Chowk. I got some old coins and a 1 Rupee note (torn in half). We took off our shoes to cross the flooded Lahore Gate. We found another tuk tuk back to Caraught Place. We checked a travel agency in a dark office about Kenya Airways. Found out that there is an office nearby. We tried to call with now success and we went on foot to find the office. The time was getting away. We found the office but they had no power all day. They told us to come back the next day. That's just what I needed. We got a tuk tuk to take us back but he didn't know the way. He stopped a few times to ask for directions. When we got to the hotel, he demanded more money. I refused and he put up a big fuss. I just went into our room and relaxed, I felt beat. Donna wasn't feeling good. We went to eat at Raffles. I had a mutton masala pizza! We stopped in the bakery and got some cake and on the way home we got pistachios and mango fruit. We watched a movie in the room. The aircon didn't turn back on so after a call downstairs they were no help. I switched the light switch outside our door. This is pretty good room. I had a good nights sleep for our last night in New Delhi.

I slept in and spent the morning packing. We took a tuk tuk to the airline office in Sindia House. We barely could fit our packs in with us. It is very hot today. After getting our confirmed ticket, we went to Nirulas for lunch. I was brave and had the salad bar (which I will later regret) We killed 2 hours writing and eating. This restaurant is nicely airconditioning But they got busy and they pushed us out. Actually they told us people were waiting. So we got a trishaw ride to the New Delhi Train Station. There are public urinals on the street that were just a wall and the urine flowed down the gutter. We waited on platform 10 for the Rajdhani Express. The train was on time and we left Delhi for an overnight sleep car to Bombay. The Train trip was bumpy and the bed was uncomfortable. We shared our cabin with a Father and son from Jamaica. He was originally from India and told me all about a book he was reading of treating illnesses with natural remedies like herbs. We were served Thali and ice cream for dinner. I had the bottom sleeper. I did sleep but not well and I had dreams about a design I was doing of a model train and the client was asking for the quote. It was a better trip then I had expected. It felt very safe.

My stomach was woosy from the shaky trip. We crossed 7 states in 16 hours. When I stepped off the train a humid head hit me immediately. It felt good at first since it was cold on the train. We checked our packs into the cloak room and got on the local train to Churchgate station. We just got on any train going that direction. A beggar came over and sang in my ear. She had a bad burn on her neck. A kind man offered to walk us half way to the gateway of India. We stopped for the toilet which costs 1 Rupee. A man bangs a stick on the stalls to get people out. At first glance Bombay seemed like a great place. The streets were nearly empty, very quiet, and had that smell of just after the rain falls. There were a lot of old buildings. We stopped at the movie theater and got tickets to "The Ghost and the Darkness". We met an american man named, Mel, in the front of the theater. He was also from Cupertino, California. I couldn't believe the one other tourist we met was from the same town, and lived less than a mile away. Mel joined us for the walk to the Gateway of India. There were many touts there with everything from cobras, bouncing inflated candles, roast corn and even a dancing Michael Jackson monkey. A guy tied a bracelet on my wrist and put a dot on my forehead. I didn't eat the white stuff he offered me. The three of us got on the boat to see Elephanta Island. The water was very choppy on the bay and it rained a few times. We were the only white people on the boat. Mel is a nice guy and has been traveling to Egypt, Greece, and Nepal. It stopped raining when we got to the island. THere were monkeys at the steps to greet us. We stopped at a cafe to have boiled eggs and bread. A monkey sneaked up on us and stole our last piece of bread. He came back for the table next to us. We went up to see the caves. It was so humid that my eye glasses got foggy. The rock carvings were very impressive. Some rocks fell from the hillside. I took some photos of a Shiva stone carvings. I liked the panel where he is pushing the mountain down with a toe. A hindu lady gave a tour and explained the different panels. She was very helpful and friendly. We looked at the other caves but there wasn't much there to see. Monkeys were all over the place. At the last cave there was a dead cow. A young guy exchanged money with me. But I didn't want to go into the bush with him. We started back and I got a sandal wood carving of Krishna.

The boat ride back was even more rough. Some water washed over the side and got us wet. I talked with Mel about Cairo and life in general. THen we went to a restaurant and ate. THe lassie was really good there. Donna and I said bye to Mel and went to our movie. We were the only Americans there. It was a great movie. People talked throughout the movie. They had a short intermission. After that we walked to Churchgate station through dark streets. We met a couple on the train with a baby. At 10:30 we got our packs from the cloak room and took a train to Santa Cruz. A young guy and his family wanted to meet me. I gave him my address and had our photo taken together. Donna and I jumped on a train as it took off. It turned out to be the wrong train so we got off at the next station. The next train was full. We squeezed on and tried to blend in. We asked around for the Santa Cruz stop. Some kind people recommended the stop to get to the airport. I didn't like being so crowded. Another guy had me follow him out the train. We had to squeeze out through the packed train car. THey he showed us to the taxis on the other side of a pedestrian bridge. Its kind people like him that made India such a special place. We took a tuk tuk to the airport. The toilets had showers which was a welcome relief since I was so sweaty and dirty from the two days of travel. After a shower we waited for the Kenya AIrways flight, scheduled to depart at 4 am.