by Gary | Jan 11, 2007 |
There’s no particular reason for headlining this picture other than I took it yesterday at a bird sanctuary. Not exactly what we’d see around Lyday Farms. I’m writing this in the aftermath of listening to Dubya’s speech escalating the war in Iraq, so I’m a little morose. I’m determined to put it aside for awhile and continue to enjoy our experiences here, but it’s hard to put aside the thoughts of the men and women who are fighting and dying (soldiers and civilians alike). There are many countries in the world in which the words “yes or no” have various shades of meaning. In Japan, for example, most of us know that “Hai, hai” could mean anything from...
by Gary | Jan 9, 2007 |
Our tour of Delhi was good as far as tours go. Most of what we saw you can see in any guide book, so I won’t bore you with the details of the mosques, temples, and memorials we visited. Our main challenge was to make it through the tour without dozing off. The eleven and a half hour time zone difference and twenty-three hours of travel was laying heavy on our enthusiasm. I, on the other hand, kept worrying about where I was going to find the next restroom. Even having limited myself to one cup of coffee wasn’t enough to give me comfort for long, and Delhi is not long on public toilet facilities. I think the highlight was our bicycle rickshaw ride through...
by Gary | Jan 9, 2007 |
I don’t know that the drive from Delhi to Agra was the worst we will see, but our first view of the Taj Mahal must certainly be the best view of anything I’ve ever seen. Our hotel, the Oberoi Amarvilas, is reputed to be the best in Asia which makes it one of the best in the world, and as we stood on our balcony with a clear view of the Taj Majal we were stunned. As you can see, the contrasts are extraordinary. The lows are really low and the highs can’t be topped. The drive was about 220 km (about 135 miles for you non-metric philistines), but it took almost six hours, most of which was spent getting out of Delhi and into Agra. I’m not sure I...
by Gary | Jan 7, 2007 |
I’m now sitting in the Deco Suite of the Imperial Hotel New Delhi signed on to their wireless network as if I were anywhere in the world. But I’m not. I’m in Delhi, India. 4028 miles from Paris, and approximately 9012 miles and several civilizations away from Lyday Farms, Honey Grove, Texas. As you might imagine, it’s already Monday here while it’s still yesterday there. Hmmm. As much as I’ve traveled over the years, I still can’t quite get my mind around the concept of it being a different day in a different geography. As I’m typing this, I’m looking out the window of the hotel room at a fairly grey sunrise, but into the midst of a tranquil art deco...
by Gary | Jan 7, 2007 |
I found my way to the breakfast facility without difficulty with the Delhi Times and guide book in hand, thinking to get the lay of the land while S. had a continental breakfast in the room. That’s just one of the small ways we accommodate one another while traveling. The waiters were all in turbans and uniforms of the Raj and women in saris gave me the sense of being somewhere different. The buffet did not. Pretty standard stuff, but well done and extraordinary service in a lovely setting. As I was cutting into my two over easy I saw Ron Gidwitz from Chicago who had recently run and lost for the governorship of Illinois. I’ve known Ron from our...
