I don't think you're ready for this Delhi

I awoke in Pokhara early in the morning and heaved my backpack on the top of the bus bound for Chitwan National Park, near the border with India. Five hours later I arrived in Sauraha, the town next to the park, where I met a guy from a nearby guesthouse who gave me a lift into town in the back of his jeep.

It was the day of the big festival in Nepal, and there were a lot of goats tied up around town awaiting their doomed fate. I asked the guys at my guesthouse if they were planning on sacrificing a goat today, and they told me it was just about to happen, and I could watch if I wanted. Curiosity struck, and I headed behind the hotel to see the action. The goat was tied up and a couple of guys were preparing tables and getting ready for the slaughter. My internal monologue: So I wonder where they're going to do it? It looks like maybe they'll put him on the table over there and hold him down or something. Man, look at the size of the blade on that… THWHACK! Without the fanfare or ritualistic celebration that I had pictured, the goat was cut into two parts, and both were spurting blood and jiggling around on the ground. In case you're squeamish I'll spare you with pictures from the carnage, but here’s the little guy eating his last supper.



The owner of my guesthouse invited me to a soccer game later in the day, which was a ton of fun despite the fact that soccer is a boring waste of time. The opposing team and all of their fans were driven in from a nearby town on jam-packed flatbed attached to the back of a tractor, and the rivalry seemed fierce. A crazy town-on-town brawl broke out near the end, and the game resulted in sudden-death penalty kicks. My team pulled through with a win, and I celebrated with my friend and a couple of players at a local restaurant eating momos (Tibetan dumpling), a post-game tradition. After that, we all went back to the guesthouse for dinner where we were served delicious spiced meat. Delicious, spiced, goat meat.

The next day I ventured into Chitwan National Park in style: riding atop an enormous elephant. The elephant ride was surprisingly great despite its popularity with travelers — we were able to venture off deep into the woods where we saw a rhino, deer, various tropical birds, and more. I really liked my elephant because he constantly kept knocking down trees and wreaking havoc on anything around him, which made the trip even more exciting. At the end of the ride, we made a scene as we trampled through the streets of Sauraha atop the elephant where we got dropped off to watch the elephants bathe.




Later in the day, I joined two guides and two Nepalese travelers and went on a canoe ride down the river where we entered the jungle hoping to see some more wildlife. We saw a crocodile, monkeys, more deer and birds, but didn't get lucky enough to see one of the parks 40 elusive tigers. The two-hour walk through the jungle was like being a kid all over again — our goofy khaki-wearing guides would signal for us to stop and we'd crouch down quietly looking for signs of wildlife. The guides were really knowledgeable, and would excitedly point out different species, plants, and animal tracks along the way. Overall, it made for a really enjoyable little adventure.

I spent another day in laid-back Sauraha, reading, eating, walking around town and enjoying the spectacular sunsets over the river. This was the calm before the storm, so to speak, as I was headed for the chaos of India the following morning.



Another early morning brought me to the travel office where I got in the back of a horse-drawn cart headed for the bus station. The horse seemed unusually pissed off, and kept jumping up and kicking the cart. I asked the driver why his horse was so angry, and he replied, "This horse is magic horse!" I figured it was just lost in translation, so I decided to quit asking questions. A few minutes later, the horse smacked hard into the side a moving bus as we went through an intersection. I jumped out of the cart and saw the horse lying on the ground, and I was certain it was dead or at least horribly injured. To my surprise, the crazy horse got right back up, shook off the pain, and we kept on going to the bus station. Magic horse indeed.

After a couple of hours, my bus ride from Sauraha brought me to the border town Sunauli where I breezed through customs and headed into India for the first time. The town was interesting because both the Nepali and Indian sides look similar, except the Indian side looks like it just got hit by a tornado and nobody seems to have noticed. I haggled for a cheap bus to Ghorakpur, the closest city on the main train line where I arrived as the sun went down. I pushed my way through the trash, touts and lepers outside the station and managed to get a ticket on the night train from Ghorakpur to Delhi. Unfortunately, I could only secure a ticket for second class which doesn't even guarantee you a seat, only a spot on the 16-hour train, meaning I could potentially be standing up overnight on a gross train. I grabbed dinner in the filthy, seedy area across from the train station where I met a cool Polish couple in the same predicament, and we banded together hoping to get a spot in the sleeper car.

The train pulled into the station and our hearts sunk as we saw the whole thing was completely packed to the brim. We pushed through the crowd, stepped over bodies laying in every square inch of the train, and quickly walked through the sleeper class trying to find an empty bed. Somehow, we found three beds, but we weren't sure if they were reserved or not. The Indians in the car told us to wait until the train guy came around, so we did. More than two hours later, he arrived and informed us that these beds were reserved for someone else. Heartbroken, it looked like we would spend the night standing up. The train man told me to sit next to him, and he told me that there was a chance that we could get the beds. "Beds are 150 rupees extra, plus... baksheesh," he said quietly. I've never been to India before, but I could get the gist of what he meant. We bribed the guy with a few extra dollars, and he let us have the beds for the night. In sleeper class, there is no air conditioning, no bedding, and no place to put your bags, so you just have to keep them in the tiny bed with you and try to use them as a pillow. It made for a rough night's sleep, but it's much better than standing the whole night, that's for sure. Here are my first three photos of India: the border town, the disgusting train station urinals, and the station’s waiting area. Not off to a great start.





The next morning we arrived in Old Delhi where we haggled for an auto-rickshaw to take us to New Delhi, a short distance away. We battled through the absolutely insane streets pushing past mooing cows, rickety rickshaws, daring jaywalkers, relentless beggars, piles of trash, horse-drawn carts and more, all swirling around in every direction. I’ve seen some pretty crazy traffic in my travels, but that ride was by far the most insane traffic I’ve ever seen. We arrived in the Main Bazaar, a somewhat crappy traveler slum where everyone (myself included) seems to end up. I booked a room on the fourth floor of a dirty budget hotel, which seems to be all there is in Delhi if you don’t want to shell out a ton of money. Picture the room that Tom Hanks got in the movie Big the first day that he was an adult — you know, the room where he cried himself to sleep.

I’ve spent my last couple of days in Delhi getting used to the chaos and doing a fair bit of sightseeing. I visited the National Museum which was good despite desperately needing some maintenance and a fresh coat of paint — my favorite sections were the delicate Indian miniature paintings, the historical arms and armor, and small Pre-Columbian exhibit. Next, I was whisked off in a 3-wheeled auto-rickshaw to the Tombs of Safdarjang and Humayun which were both architecturally interesting, particularly the latter, which was designed and constructed during the same movement as the Taj Mahal, just a few hundred years earlier.



After stopping off at McDonald’s for a curry-flavored Chicken Maharaja Mac, I headed to South Delhi to see one of the world’s few Baha’i temples. In my opinion, the Baha’i faith is one of the best organized religions on the planet — it places a lot of emphasis on equality, personal paths toward faith, elimination of prejudice, and world peace. The Baha’i temple in Delhi is famous for it’s stunning architecture: a gorgeous marble structure designed in the shape of a lotus blossom.



The rest of my time has been spent exploring the British colonial New Delhi, with its wide boulevards, European-style architecture, and swank boutiques and eateries. I have really enjoyed wandering around New Delhi, check out the shops and restaurants, and getting a feel for modern India. The contrast between India’s social elite and its staggering poverty are pretty amazing, and since I’ve only been here for a few days it’s hard to really grasp. I’m trying to learn as much about it as I can, so I’ll keep you posted in future updates as I explore the country.

It’s too hot for comfort here in Delhi, so I’m heading north tomorrow to cool off in the mountains for a few weeks to check out the sights before I make my way back down here to visit the colorful state of Rajasthan.

Ryan!

P.S. I hope someone picked up on my Destiny's Child reference in the headline of this post. I worked hard on that one. Also, I'm not totally up-to-date with photos, but I uploaded about a hundred from Kathmandu and my trek in Nepal, so take a look.