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brotha from S.Africa

brotha from Belgium

Sista Emily (Kenya), India Gate, Fort entrance (formerly used by elephants), some of my peeps!

I/m preparing to leave India:-(

Honestly, i'm just really get acclimated to the weather and rhythm of the place and it's time to go, (sniff sniff). I really need about 2 more months here and i'd have some remedial Hindi language skills and would be able to get around on my own a lot easier, but as it stands, I'll be returning '...back to life, back to reality...' My birthday yesterday had some highs and lows but overall, it was pretty good. I took a bit of a tour around Delhi and only saw 1 cow all day:-( No camels, sheep, monkeys, etc. just people, and city stuff. I actually bought some teas last night and will head to the malls as they are open and have A/C, Yeh!

Photos: Temple, family going to the Karni Mata Temple (Rat Temple), posing in a Palace, plate of traditional Rajastani food.

I took the metro train yesterday and had a sardine experience of being shoved and packed on and tackled from behind to get off. I did go off on one guy who tackled me and vowed to never get on the metro again as I knew i'd shank somebody...fo' real!

My Delhi guide was supposed to be English speaking but if 10 words of a language implies that you are fluent, i'm multilingual!!! So I ended up cutting the trip short and asking to return to my hotel after he asked for 100Rupees for parking (cost 10) and took me to a shopping market where he'd get a commission for bringing me there. I never got out of the car and he was annoyed about it but so was I as it was not one of the monuments, forts, palaces, or temples on my list. I later went walking around the bazaar and just became overwhelmed.

Most shops were closed to commemorate Ghandi's birthday but a few opened in time for me to buy some earrings, incense, etc. I ate a good meal of rice and veggies on the rooftop of the Metropolis Hotel and people watched until it was time to go toward the airport. Before I left, I spent time with my new friend and Couchsurfer (traveler's network) Ambassador for Delhi, Barbara. Love her to bits!

Finally went to airport and got rid of the rest of the Indian Rupees I had and settled on the plane for a 14hr journey which went smoothly. Stopped off in Chicago for some time with the family who I hadn't seen in 4 years. Everyone was fat and fine! The horror for me was leaving India's 91 degrees for Chicago's 41 degrees....burrrr! Serves as a reminder of reason #97 why I left that city for sunny California!

Started back to work with a stomach bug (from my trip), jetlag, and 12 and 1/2 hour time change to reacclimate to...barely functional but trying to hang in here until my off days so I can have time to recover and resettle in peace.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip but too short! Nevertheless, I have seen the Taj Mahal, touched it, walked in and around it, and can say...it was definitely worth it! Truly a Happy Birthday present from me to me! Hope you enjoyed what I shared, feel free to send comments and thanks to all who already did...they were well recieved presents!

Hugs to all!

Namaste,

Lonnieworld aka Nubian Nomad

Lonnie in India cont.

Hope you are keeping well. The heat here is scorching but thank God for A/C in the car and hotel rooms. The food is excellent and very cheap. I've been sticking to vegetarian items as I had a chicken dish once and the chicken was undercooked. I've toured more palaces, forts, and temples than I can count and forget about naming them. I am very impressed that so many Indians are very interested in their history as they are abundant at every point of interests. I am still blown away by the tiny streets made even smaller by the constant flow of foot traffic, cars, motorickshaws, bikes, motorccycles, sheeps, dogs, camels and the ever present... cows!

I was sitting in an internet shop and all of a sudden, I heard..."Moooooo!" It seems completely normal now to hear that. I saw a man chase a couple of cows away from his shop and not only did the cow return, there were at least 10 more. The man gave up but I was hoping to see 'the running of the bulls' :-) The saris the women wear are the most beautiful I have ever seen. There are colors everywhere, including the spice shops where there are mountains of exotic spices in the most brilliant colors i've ever seen. I have seen a number of folk shows where the dancing and singing of the gypsys and other Rajastani tribes make me feel like I am in a time of old.

I get a lot of attention, stares, finger pointing at me, people passing then recircling me to get a longer look, folks actually stopping, coming closer and just staring at me. I always smile and greet them with a Namaste or Hello so they know all is well, and they almost always return the greeting with a smile. I sometimes even take pictures of the folks who stop to gawk at me, and they pose for the photo! Touche!

Something I had not realized when I was packing my luggage for India, virtually everything I'd brought was made in India...how crazy is that? I called myself packing for hot weather without a thought as to the items being bought in California, but made in India where I was going until I started seeing some of the fabrics I was wearing....surreal!

Oh, forgot to tell you about my monkey experience! I was in Mangore Park in Jodhpur where I visited ancient ruins that date back hundreds of years. I climbed up to a high point and tried to retrace my steps back down only to run into a monkey. I'm not afraid of wild monkeys but 2 days before, a Swedish woman told me her story of how she was bitten by a monkey because she had a bag that the monkey assumed had food in it, so he came after her. She had to go thru a whole prophylactic rabies exposure protocol which included injections, medical evaluations, etc. That was all I could think of when I was trying to figure out how to get down off the top of the ruin without passing the monkey!! I was anxious for a few minutes until I heard some boys voices and saw them enter a side gate. I was glad that I was no longer alone in case the monkey attacked me but even happier that I now had an escape route. I started talking to the boys who didn't have a clue what I was saying after Hello! I didn't care but I was saying, 'thank you little guardian angel boys, I will always be grateful for your arrival...may God, Budha, Allah, Krisna, Vishnu and all the Gods bless you and your families always....Namaste! they responded in kind with a puzzled expression, 'Namaste' and I departed without one single monkey bite!!!

I saw my 3rd and 4th Black people today, a couple traveling with a French group which explains why they didn't speak to me. Those Frenchies! But the Belgium brotha and I took a photo together as we were genuinely happy to connect. I saw the other brotha in Delhi and we greeted while passing. Otherwise, there are loads of Israelis traveling around Rajastan as well as Japanese. I've even met folks from eastern Europe and Australia.

Anyway, i'll stop for now and post more photos for your enjoyment! Namaste,

Lonnieworld1

Lonnie in India cont>

Hope all is well in your world...I'll keep in brief as not to bore you with details but the adventures cont. I had a day of culture shock shortly after arrival in Agra as I was sitting in an internet cafe, and out of my peripheral view, I could see large black objects passing. It was a herd of buffalo, I say OK. The street is narrow, there are people , cars, bikes, motorickshaws, motorcycles, and now black buffalo. OK, cool. Then I see something else that my peripheral vision had not made out and I turn to see a herd of goats being sheparded by a small child and I say OK, that's cool. Next, was a white cow walking casually thru the maze of movement, and I say OK that's cool and a well known common occurence in India. Then I turn back to see a giant camel pulling a cart loaded with rice, grains, spices, etc. and I think...Where the hell am I for real? Am I being punked? It was surreal as the narrow street had all this action going on much as it has been for milliniums! Loving It. Wish you were here!

Just finished touring Udaipur, Jaipur, and Bikaner (Rat Temple), now in Jodhpur. Will fill you in on the visits later. Kisses,

Lonnieworld

OK I'm late on the entry but...

Here I is:-) Hope you're well and thriving! I'm having the time of my life in India. Getting here was more than 2o hours of travel and it was sooooo worth it! I spent my first night in Delhi at a friend Barbara's apartment. She was hosting 2 other travelers as well, Jacob from the States and Ben from New Zealand. 2 other locals were there and we had a nice evening.

The next day I went into Delhi with Jacob and was instantly overwhelmed with sights, sounds, colors, smells, people, traffic, horn blowing, etc. All this on dirty narrow overcrowed streets. It was surreal but I got into the rhythm farely quickly and was glad that I was at least with someone who knew the ropes. Jacob had walking into twisted un-named backstreets where I ran head on into my first India cow in the hood! They blend into the landscape now but that first one looked as out of place to me as a monkey in a living room, surreal! Jacob looked away from where he was walking for an instant and slipped in some poo...let's just say, it was not a 4 legged animal's. We met up with some of his friends (Jacob had already been in Delhi a few days) who took us to a lunch spot and later a chai spot where we people watched. I got to learn a few words in Hindi and how to bargain by a master.

I booked a train ticket to Agra for my Taj Mahal excursion and looked forward to getting out of Delhi. Another local travel host took Barbara and I around to see India Gateway (massive doorway) and The Lotus Temple (B'Hai faith) which were amazingly beautiful and serene enough to have a mini prayer\meditation session.

I rode a 2 hr trainride to Agra the next morning. Shared the car with 2 Japanese fellows who were a delight, very friendly and sweet. Some local Indian men 18-20yrs old joined us in our train car to chat. First there was 1 then eventually, about 8-10. They were on their way to boot camp training and had a 36hr train ride to get there. They were from the Punjab region whre I now will one day have to visit. They taught me a few more words of Hindi and were a delight to hang out with.

The 2 Japanese men rode an auto rickshaw into town together and stayed at the same hotel where we could walk up to the rooftop and see The Taj. She took my breath away so that all I could say was, '...thank you God, Thank you God, Thank you God! That's all I could get out. Explored the town by foot and it was a smaller scale of Delhi with people wanting you to see their shops, buy things, make deals, etc. but it was every time you made a step, intense hustle going on but I booked a tour for the next day that would include The Taj., The Red Fort, Baby Taj, and other points of interests.

The next day, it was all about the Taj first, the marble, quartz, details and shear scale of it was mindblowing. It was flanked by identical red structures that were very amazing to see also. Saw lots of green parrots, monkeys, and the insides of the temples which housed the tomb of the beloved wife for which the Taj was built.

I've seen the Taj Mahal

My trip getting to India was a trip but i'll tell you about that later...meanwhile, i'm being harassed to post pictures like yesterday! OK here they are:

I have been to Delhi, Agra (Taj Mahal) and currently in Udaipur on my way to Jaipur. See my next entry for more info. Wish you were here!

Leaving for India Sept.19, 2009

I'm clearing my desk and seeing my last patients before vacation! Yeh! Still have to put a few things in my travel bag but i'm ret to GO! Will dance at the samba jam tonight at the music arts center in downtown L A then get some sleep to prepare for my little trip to Delhi! Keep up with me...if you can.
Hugs,
Lonnieworld