Day of Exhaustion

In the morning I woke up and packed everything as quickly as I could.  Didn’t take me long because I am so organized.  Right before breakfast I Skyped my dad and Karuna and him finally got to see each other.  It was hard hanging up but I had to eat breakfast and go, my morning was going by that quickly.  I gave Sunil I very big hug and thanked him… then I got into the car with Karuna and said goodbye to my new home.

The whole drive there Karuna and I linked arms, I thought about starting a new chapter of my adventure but knew that it wasn’t going to be the same without my new family.  When we got to the airport Karuna and I looked at each other and I almost started crying, the driver got me a trolley for my luggage and Karuna and I hugged.  It was so difficult saying goodbye and even now I am about to start crying because I miss her so much.  I left and rolled my luggage towards security and every time I looked back to see Karuna my eyes started to fill with tears.  I finally made it passed the ticket check and turned to wave a final goodbye to my second mother.

~

Karuna thank you so much for inviting me into your home and making me feel so welcome.  Meeting you made India a much more pleasurable experience for me and I hope that this isn’t the last time we meet each other.  I love you so much and thank you again!

~

I passed through the other ticket check and finally made it the counter.  My bag was 4kg over weight so I had to go back to the beginning of everything and pay extra for my bag, at least I didn’t have to wait in line again.  I went through the female security and had to wait as they scanned my things multiple times… they never found the hidden bomb in my bag thank goodness.  I headed upstairs and waited for 30 minutes and then I was informed my flight would be delayed another 40 minutes or so.  I continued to wait and finally it was time to line up, I waited at the back of a very long line.  The moment I got to the front the lady checking bags noticed I didn’t have a tag on my very small shoulder bag and asked me to go all the way back down stairs to go through security to get it checked again, I couldn’t even put it in another bag.  I rushed down stairs, got it scanned for the dangerous goods that weren’t inside it and then rushed back upstairs.  I finally made it to my seat and caught my breath and relaxed.  Plane ride was not interesting at all so no point in explaining that.

I landed and headed to the wrong exit to meet my driver… I figured it out fairly quickly though and don’t let myself get worried about these things anymore.  The gentleman I met was short and round with a very big smile on his face.  I got into the car and we headed off to pick up the guide for my first day of sightseeing.  Delhi is similar to Pune in ways but it felt more different than anything.

I met my guide outside the Qutb Minar, I cannot remember his name for the life of me but it was very long.  He told me the history of the tower and how it was built from gorgeous red sandstone but it was hard to pay attention when there were chipmunks running around everywhere.  I do recall that it was the Mughal Empire that built the tower and destroyed the surrounding Hindu buildings and statues.  I don’t remember the name of the next place I went to but the moment I stepped out of the car I saw I snake charmer roughly tap the head of a cobra to wake it up and then he started playing the flute.  I felt so bad for the snake that I had the urge to rescue it and take it with me, don’t think my tour guide would be happy about that.

The Pillar and archway.

How amazing is the sandstone!

So many inscribed pillars.

The iron pole, it is supposed to represent Shiva because it never rusts or changes.

An unfinished pillar.

So many chipmunks!

The place I forget the name of.

We got back in the car as quickly as we got out and then headed for dinner.  I had traditional Indian food at a traditional Indian restaurant with my guide.  The conversation wasn’t very stimulating and the only thing that caught my attention were the noises that came out of his mouth when he chewed with it open.  Even though I was using my fingers to eat I was still more civilized than that.

After dinner we went to a Kashmir government store and looked at all the fine carpets, jewelry and clothe.  I never knew that I could fall in love with a carpet the way I did when I saw one that could change colors.  There wasn’t any pressure to buy anything but I definitely felt it when they kept asking me that I could use my credit card and that shipping was free and all these other things.

Before we headed to my hotel we stopped to purchase a Wi-Fi stick and then a SIM card.  Never in my life have I had so much difficulty trying to get something from a store before.  I had to give them my passport so they could take a photocopy of my visa and picture, then I had to give them a passport sized photo of myself to glue on a very long piece of paper.  Thank goodness I had the picture on me or else I don’t think getting anything would have been possible.  I waited at the store for a good hour while they had m sign things and my tour guide had to give his information as well or I couldn’t get a Wi-Fi stick.  I had pretty well had it by the time they asked me to pay, I was going to say just screw it cause I was so angry but I needed that stick for later purposes in my trip.  By the time we finished it was 8 and all the stores were closed, which meant I finally got to head to my hotel.

After my guide checked me in, I started crying because I was so frustrated with the Wi-fi stick and relieved that I had finally gotten to my room.  I showered and Skyped my parents for a bit before going to bed.  Today was so mentally and physically draining, I hope tomorrow isn’t like that.