The Ice Flow

By Red Sox Steve

It was an innocent enough question. I have been on airplanes many times before, and even longer flights - it's simple: I turn on the iPod, keep food and water consumption at a minimum to avoid frequent trips to the bathroom, allow my mind to drift away from the "armrest war" going on with the stranger next to me, and next thing you know, I'm there. But it was this one question that sent a jolt into the deepest part of my brain, and made me ask myself, after all the planning, all the reading, all the presentations and hours of documentaries and evenings spent talking to my Bangalorean roommate, what I had gotten into.

The flight attendant was dutifully going down the aisle with a cart full of food and drinks, looked me straight in the eye and said, "Western bread or Indian bread?" That was the first time I knew I was as geographically and culturally far from home as I had ever been in my life. That and the map on the tiny screen in the seatback in front of me that indicated the plane was moving east from Amsterdam, across Kazakhstan and Afghanistan, and we still had about 2 hours to go. I was on my way to India for the first time in my life.

I'm probably going to mention the Lonely Planet Guide about 1,000 times as I tell the story of my time in India - but that isn't nearly as many times as I opened it during my month there. I might also mention how heavy my backpack was - I squeezed everything I thought I needed into a single pack, and was still able to carry on. :)

We arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi at around midnight. After filling out the appropriate forms and showing the customs officer my passport and visa (don't leave home without it!), I went straight to the waiting area. My flight was full and there were about three times as many folks waiting at the airport for friends, relatives, colleagues or assigned pick-ups as passengers. My taxi driver, Abdul, was there waiting for me: "Mr. Steve" his sign read. I greeted him, went to the ATM and hoped Bank of America listened when I told them I'd be using my card in India for the month. The familiar sound of the ATM working normally meant I was about to hold Indian Rupees for the first time... no need for dollars for about 4 weeks.

On the drive from the airport to the hostel, I got to know Abdul - we chatted a little about politics, economics, India, America, New York, the weather, families, and work. He's greeted tourists before, which was evident from his broadly-based and descriptive introduction to the city and the country. From the airport, the drive to Connaught Place in Delhi where I was staying was about 40 minutes. It was late at night, so there was very little traffic. Leaving the airport, though, I was immediately able to learn something about India: there is a multi-lane highway that gets people from the airport to the city; however, a huge construction project is taking place to build a high-speed train system along the same route. Later this year, the Commonwealth Games are coming to Delhi, so the municipal government hopes to have this project completed by then. After about 21 hours of travel, I arrived at my hostel in Connaught Place, with plans to see Delhi starting after a good night's sleep.

Delhi

I got to Delhi late at night on a Wednesday, and spent three full days in the city. It's a massive city containing about 14 million people, divided into a few major sections - two of the most prominent being Old Delhi and New Delhi. Connaught Place is in New Delhi and is a highly commercialized area with a Pizza Hut, Mercedes dealership, and Sony store within walking distance of my hostel. It's actually a large outdoor shopping mall with concentric circles of stores surrounding a central park which also has its own underground stop on the Delhi metro.

I had consulted my Lonely Planet about what to do and where to go long before I left New York, but still felt overwhelmed by the choices available to me. I wanted to be a tourist, but being a 6 year resident of Manhattan and remembering the mixed feelings I have about tourists visiting my hometown, I also wanted to make sure I spent as much time learning about the city and its inhabitants as I did taking in all the major sites. Because the city was so large and densely populated, I knew I wouldn't see everything I wanted. The next few days were tough - I was adjusting to the climate and time change (+10.5 hours from NY time), taking my meds (doxycycline, every day, with food & I had ciprofloxacin... just in case), and I had to find some relatively non-spicy meals that didn't make me sick. I had to take it slow while the experience of adjusting to India overwhelmed all my senses.

On my first day, I spent time in Old Delhi, taking in Mughal-era (1526-1850) structures. I saw India's largest mosque, the Jama Masjid, and a fort across the street, simply called the Red Fort. The mosque is well secured due to the long history of conflict and terrorism throughout the sub-continent, and it is surrounded by markets selling everything from chai to clothing, auto and bicycle rickshaw drivers waiting to pick up tourists, and beggars seeking handouts from the easily spotted foreigners who spend time in the area. The mosque is open to tourists most days, but closes at noon on Friday to accommodate worshipers - the area inside the mosque's walls are so massive, it is thought that 25,000 worshipers can occupy the grounds at one time. Right across the street stands the Red Fort, which housed the royal family of India for about two centuries. Every year on Indian Independence Day, the Prime Minister raises the Indian flag on one of the fort's main gates. The Red Fort and the Jama Masjid were both built by Shah Jahan, a Mughal emperor who ruled during the 17th century.

Over the next couple of days, I visited Raj Ghat, where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated and is memorialized, the Gandhi museum, which describes his life and achievements in pretty good detail, and some parks, tombs, and monuments around Delhi: Lodhi Gardens, Humayun's Tomb and India Gate. Lodhi Gardens and Humayun's Tomb both contain mausoleums for Mughal-era rulers and their families. The different sites serve as a reminder of the layers of history that have swept across northern India for the last half-millennia. Because of limited time and my desire to see other parts of the country, I missed a number of sites as well: Qutb Minar, the largest minaret in the world, the Lotus Temple, a B'hai house of worship, and the Akshardham Temple, a Hindu temple finished in 2005. After spending three days in Delhi, I felt that the trip hadn't started - I was only beginning to get physically adjusted; my curiousity about less well-known parts of the country was yet to be satisfied.

On Sunday morning, I left for Jaipur. The distance to Jaipur from Delhi was about 270km along a main highway, and the trip took about 6 hours due to traffic and stopping (I should have taken the train :) ). As my journey took me through Rajasthan, I noticed the changes in landscape. Much of northern, interior, India is very flat which helps explain why around half its population works in agriculture. During the journey, I also came upon both smaller towns and large industrial developments. In some places close to Delhi, there were construction sites where both commercial and residential properties were being built, reminiscent of a western/suburban development model. As we got closer to Jaipur, however, the landscape started to become more mountainous.

Jaipur

As we approached Jaipur, the first thing I noticed was the number of marble craftsmen along the side of the road. Marble has been a prominent industry in Jaipur for centuries - Rajasthani marble was even used in the construction of the Taj Mahal. The state of Rajasthan is very rich in natural resources, with companies mining things like zinc, copper and even sandstone. Before arriving at my hotel, I decided to take in two of the most important Mughal-era sites in the area: Jantar Mantar and City Palace. Jantar Mantar is an 18th century collection of large-scale astronomical devices. The ability of these tools to tell the time and date, and even incorporate the zodiac calendar with up to the minute accuracy nearly three centuries later, is a testament to their quality and indicates how advanced the Mughals of that era were. City Palace is just that - an 18th century Mughal-era complex built to house the king ("maharaja") and his family, as well as receive dignitaries and provide security in times of war.

After spending a couple of hours, snapping a ton of photos (I loved the accuracy of the sundials at Jantar Mantar - adjusted for their location with respect to Jaipur's distance from the equator) and hopping on an auto rickshaw, I made my way to my hotel, which was in one of the busiest parts of Jaipur. Because it was a planned city before it became inhabited centuries ago, Jaipur has a number of gates around the oldest parts of the city - these were incorporated into Jaipur's design in order to put Hindu architectural theory to use: the idea being that a plan using geometric concepts would increase a city's prosperity and the comfort of its inhabitants (later incorporated into many cities around the world). Furthermore, Jaipur is known as the "Pink City", because of a tribute the Mughal rulers made to the Prince of Wales on his visit in 1853 - they painted the entire city pink in anticipation of his visit.

On my only full day in Jaipur, I made sure to wake early: I was going to hop on a bus that would take me from the rotary near my hotel (just in front of a mosque called Hawa Mahal) to Amber Fort in the next town. My Lonely Planet was right: the buses left every few minutes, cost less than 10 rupees and got me there pretty quickly! Because it was early in the morning, I was on the bus with mostly school children and people going to work. It was crowded so I didn't mind standing. One of the students among this group on the bus had her electrical engineering text out and was reading it intently as the bus ambled along the bumpy road. Even though I was in Jaipur to see things that dominate the city's past, this place has a present and future as well. Some of the world's largest companies are represented in this city of 4 million: Infosys, Tata, Wipro, and Deutsche Bank to name a few.

After about a 30 minute ride, we approached Amber Fort. As soon as I saw the fort, I jumped off the bus. I entered an open gate into a courtyard, and could see the fort at the top of the hill. I started snapping pictures - the sun had yet to come over the surrounding hills, but because no one else was around, I managed to take some pretty good photos. I made my way towards the main path, which is where I started seeing tourists... riding up to the fort on the backs of elephants. I got lucky because I got off the bus a little early... I avoided the fort's main entrance where the elephants (and their "processed" meals) congregated: it stunk something fierce!

Making my way into the fort after climbing a windy path, I was able to see the different parts of this amazing structure. Amber Fort was built in 1592 and modified over the next 150 years to satisfy the desires of successive rulers. It sits high atop a hill in Amber (just 11km from Jaipur) and from here, one can see far into the distance in each direction. The main road leading up to the fort is surrounded by hills on both sides, and is where main commerce and transportation routes exist even today. The town of Amber itself is very small: centuries ago, the maharaja moved all inhabitants to Jaipur, the planned city a short distance to the south.

After taking in Amber Fort and walking around Amber, I hopped on the bus and returned to Jaipur. I spent an overcast afternoon in Jaipur, beyond the gated section of the city. The distinctive pink color adorning buildings in the gated section did not carry over to the more industrialized and populated areas of the city. The place, similar to Delhi, was teeming with activity, but, being a few days into my journey, my adrenaline had worn off: I went back to my hotel, had a brief meal, and fell asleep.

Tomorrow, I would board the train for Ranthambore.