Just an Average SKIRT

Last night before we went to bed we could here lots of noise from outside the hotel.  Wondering what it was we headed up to the roof.  When we looked over the side to the parking lot we saw about hundred people; some hard at work cooking, some setting up fancy drape and others just coming up the street packed into the back of a truck like farm animals.  They were bringing in loads of workers for some type of event, it was 11pm, what event were they already cooking for?  This was my first lesson that most outdoor work in Delhi happens at night because the weather is so hot, humid and polluted that I think it’s simply dangerous to work during the day.  This was also my first lesson in no OSHA, no Depart of Health, no labor laws and no ordinance on noise. They worked all night.

Woke around 7am and headed down for breakfast.  Dona, Christa and Louise were already downstairs eating when I arrived.  The boys working at the buffet were very sweet as I perused the offerings and selected wisely.  This is when I noticed that all the eggs were very white  with little to no yoke.  This is because the chickens are quite deficient in necessary vitamins that they are not able to develop the bright colored eggs that we are used to.  ‘Ok, I’ll have an omelet’…..ahhhh, ok I can do this.  Omelet from an unhealthy animal, sounds like a great way to start the day.

I soon found myself eating alone in the restaurant as I sat directly across from the buffet.  The two boys (couldn’t have been older than 18) kept looking at me and smiling, I would smile back.  We did this like a million times.  I picked up the paper, read on the front page that the Indian government was discouraging Americans from visiting due to terrorist threats….I put down the paper, made sure noone else in the group would see it and started smiling back at my boys.

Then one of them came over to the table several times to check on me.   They were very sweet, we just kept smiling and staring at each other while ‘Pimp My Ride, India’ blasted on the huge flatscreen on the wall.  Then one of the boys came over to me and told me that he ‘liked my hair and my spectacles and my smile’.  Very sweet, I have a little blond streak in my bangs….blond is quite a novelty there.  Other than that, I was greasy, no make-up, no product, no nothing.

After breakfast, Carol, Becky and I walked around the grounds of the hotel.  The workers were still hammering away, some of them sleeping in cots in the cooking area.  Good taste of the hygiene standards to come….which by the way = zero.  Time to head to the airport and pay up on the bill.  This was my first lesson that nothing is free in India, they basically charged us for the air we were breathing (or trying not to breath).  That’s fine, I had a stack of Rupees burning a hole and they were more than happy to take it.  Oh and you tip EVERYONE, not just because it’s courteous because they are in your face saying ‘Tip me now’.

Onto King Fisher airlines for a quick flight to Dharamsala.  We were on a small propeller plane and for such a short flight were served up lunch consisting of a coleslaw sandwich, spicey potatoes and chocolate pudding. In the US, we fly for 4+ hours with nothing but the option of buying a $3 oatmeal cookie.

See the Himalayas from the plane, absolutely.  They were beautiful and huge and massive and white and here’s a photo.    Landing in Dharamsala felt like landing on Fantasy Island. The landscape was lush, thick green, mountainous and highlighted by the bright colors of the local architecture.  We were all hoping it had dropped a few degrees since we were higher in elevation, the heat in Delhi was unbearable.

Small little airport and our first experience with toilets being nothing but a little hole in the ground.  Personally, I spend so much of my ‘bathroom’ time in a port-a-john or on the side of a trail that this didn’t bother me a bit.  But for a few in the group, it was an exciting topic of conversation.

Into the Jurassic park type vehicles and off for a hour climb up into the mountains.  One switch back after another, the drive to upper Dharamsala was breathtaking.   Hindi music blaring, fresh air to breath and views of green canopies engulfed my experience.  I had a smile on my face and my camera out the window.  We arrived in McCleod Ganj (upper Dsala) and our hotel 8 Auspicious Him View, we were greeted by our host Tsering.   After tipping everyone and their brother we were off to settle into our rooms.

But not for long; 20 minutes or so we were in the lobby awaiting a tour of the town with Tsering.  He showed us all around, special tips, locations of ‘must see’ attractions, good places to shop and then joined us for our first dinner in town at Ashoka.  For an order of dal, naan and ginger, lemon, honey tea - $1 US for dinner that night.  The food was amazing and would soon become one of our favorite restaurants.

We sat on the roof that night, the air cooled off and the clouds moved in.  I sat there and felt the chair beneath me, my feet on the ground and took a deep breath of the air.  It was different from Delhi, it was different from the air at home.  This air was filled with spice and spirituality.  It made me feel so peaceful.  We have arrived at our destination, tomorrow is a free day, can’t wait to see what it will bring.

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