Sunday snapshot

In one of the blogs I read, she posts a snapshot each week about something that she wants to capture. Kids, family, a special moment in time. Because that time is fleeting. And those kids just grow too fast! I have been feeling this greater urgency to document each moment. I can't promise that I will do this every Sunday, but I am making it a goal to take more photos of them. Maybe this will help keep me accountable.

Tori came home from school on Friday with more make-up on than I was wearing! She had a performance that day with her kindergarten and the Chinese are quite serious about their appearance for these things. This was quite the big deal and many kindergartens from all over Suzhou participated in the event. Not everyone in her school performed, but only a select group from each class. It was no surprise that my blondie was chosen. While her look was a little startling to me, she absolutely loved being that dolled up. I mean, just look at those pink, pink cheeks. Wow. But she loved it told everyone that we saw for the next day about how she got to wear make-up and the exact make-up that she had the privilege of wearing for her show. She is such my girlie girl! But these just capture her sweetness and just a little bit of her sassiness. This girl is gonna go places.

Delhi/Day 4 (Final Day)

Our last full day, we slept in. Actually the first day we were able to do so on the trip! Enjoyed the hotel buffet breakfast and then we returned to the room for a while. Since this was really a business trip for Andy and I was just tagging along, he had some work to tackle. He spent several hours catching up on emails and getting things done. I spent my time reading and crocheting. I have been crocheting a blanket. But it is a gift, so I don't want to tell you for who or why. Eventually, I will finish and give the gift and THEN post some pictures. Until then, I will leave you in suspense. Finally, we headed out late in the afternoon. We wanted to finish some shopping and visit one of the mosques in Old Delhi. At the mosque we had heard that you could climb up in one of the minarets and see a fabulous view of Delhi. Earlier in the week, Andy had told me a story of how one of his high school teachers and his wife had visited India. After taking their shoes off to visit a temple, his wife got an infection that made her so sick she almost died. Silly man, why did he tell one of the great worriers on the planet this in the midst of our trip? I have had issues with my feet in the past, so of course, it was with great trepidation that I took off my shoes and entered the Friday Mosque. Wouldn't you be just a bit worried after hearing that? He confessed later that he should have told me that bit of knowledge after the trip. Ha! But the view proved to be worth it. We finished the day off at Karim's, a famous restaurant near the mosque. We had such a great time together on this trip and while seeing the sights was part of it, really it was just the time together. And getting to adventure together was a real treat. Thank you, Alyssa for watching our kids and allowing us to do this together. You may have wondered how the kiddos fared. They were fine. Sure, there were moments, but overall they listened well to her and just continued normal life each day. Quick funny Tori story: Alyssa's husband Billy was traveling for part of the time she was watching the kids. When the driver came to drop Billy at off at our house, Tori heard them outside. She asked Alyssa, "Are our parents home?" Alyssa was a little worried that she would not like the answer, but she told her, "No, it is just Billy." Tori's response:

"Yay! Now we have a dad!"

That girl cracks us up.

The courtyard of the Friday Mosque.  This mosque is huge and can seat 25,000 in the courtyard for prayers. And we climbed to the top of a tower just like the one you see at the right of the main structure.

In the very narrow, spiral stairs inside the minaret leading up to the top. It was hot inside! The extra robe that I was required to wear didn't help any. And then between the heat and climbing in a circle for quite a while, by the time I got to the top, I was dizzy.

These guys asked us to take a picture. They hadn't brought a camera of their own so they gave us email address and asked if we could send them a copy. Andy took one of just them. But then (no surprise) they asked me to be in one with them. Always humbling to be taller than the men. It's funny because I am okay with my height, but China and it seems India as well, emphasize it quite a bit.

At the top of the tower. I am not a fan of heights. Hmm, can you tell that from this photo? This one makes Andy laugh. I wouldn't let go of the metalwork. It was just too high, and I was feeling slightly quite a bit nervous. 

View from the top down into the courtyard and in the distance the Red Fort.

Looking into another direction. Doesn't the city just seem to go on forever? There are no real tall high rises, but the city just sprawls in all directions.

One of the streets by the Friday Mosque. Can you spot the sign pointing to the restaurant where ate dinner at -- Karim's?

Delhi/Day 3

After our crazy car adventure, we checked into our hotel and then crashed for a couple of hours. And I am not exaggerating here. We had to meet up at 6:15 AM to start our bicycle tour. We had read about doing this in several other places that we have visited, but it just didn't seem like the kind of thing that would work out with the kids. We took advantage of the kid-less opportunity to go on a Delhi by Cycle tour. I think that for Andy and I both this ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. This company has 3 tours to choose from, we choose one that went through Old Delhi and the Spice Market. 

Biking through the old, narrow streets of Delhi.

In the Spice Market. This is one of the largest Spice Markets in all of Asia. The workers behind our guide work for less than $0.50/day. They sleep, shower and eat in the open.

The inside of the Spice Market. The shops are on the other side of these buildings.

These men who are lined up here receive free meals and medical care daily from the Sikhs.  Most of them have leprosy or are HIV positive. The Sikhs are very well-known for their charity. 

After the tour we came back to our hotel to discover that they were still serving breakfast. We felt like Hobbits as we enjoyed our "second breakfast." We then rested in the room for a couple of hours then headed out to see some more sights. We decided to take the Metro (subway) to Akshardham Temple. The Metro was crazy crowded as it was a Sunday afternoon. It was even more crowded than the buses and subway in China! We jostled and made our way to our stop, but to my dismay when I got off the train I discovered that my wallet had been stolen. Thankfully, I did not have much money inside and we easily canceled our credit card. Andy had been carrying our bank cards, but most importantly they didn't get my passport! I was a bit shaken up, but my husband (true to who he is) was not upset at all and reassured me greatly. We walked the block to the temple and were in for a great surprise. We had thought this was an older temple, but it was more like Disney meets Hindu temple. It was slightly surreal. I kept waiting for them to start playing "It's a Small World" in the background. Turns out it was more like an amusement park. Gratefully, it was free to get in. We spent less than an hour there and then were onto Humayun's Tomb. We spent several hours there, watching the sunset and just talking. Another highlight of the trip.

We enjoyed some yummy Indian food and then set off walking to the Old Fort to watch a light show there. We walked for over an hour, asked various people with varying levels of English, and never made it to the Fort. Fail. After a while, it just didn't seem like it was worth the effort anymore. We opted for an early evening and were hoping to swim in the hotel pool. But then, double fail. The hotel pool was closed. We made the best of it, went to the hotel bar to enjoy drinks and dessert.

Humayun's Tomb

As the sun set, the sandstone became more reddish. We enjoyed just sitting, talking and enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.

This little girl spotted the birds and was determined to catch/chase them.

As she chased them, she was flapping her arms just like wings. Adorable. And her dad just watched on in amusement (much like us). I love watching dads of all cultures love their kids.

Some boys cooling off in the fountain by the Gate of India. And yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, some are naked.

Gate of India

Agra/Day 2

When planning for the trip we tried to make arrangements to buy train tickets from Delhi to Agra (the city where the Taj Mahal is) and back. But our credit card didn't work with the Indian system. We very fortunately had a friend from China who is Indian and was back in India who graciously helped us to buy the tickets. The problem is that this is the summer season. Many schools have time off and it is the season when many people are traveling so, you guessed it, train tickets are really hard to find. We had been able to buy the trip to Agra, but not the return trip. So after seeing the Taj Mahal early in the morning, we then went to the train station in hopes of buying a ticket back to Delhi that night. The system was quite complicated and we were so glad that our rickshaw driver (who we had bargained with to drive us around for the whole day) came in to help guide us through. We got in line to determine our number. They were currently serving #20 and we were given #98. Yikes. No surprise, we waited for over an hour just to find out that there were NO train tickets back to Delhi that night. We opted to buy a waiting ticket and come to check later in the day to see if tickets would become available. In the meantime, we went back to our hotel, had breakfast and then rested. Keep in mind that it was only about 9 AM at this point.

We met up with our driver again early in the afternoon and then visited the Agra Fort, Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb (also known as the "Baby Taj"), and then went across the river to see another view of the Taj Mahal. While we were on our way to the Taj, the wind started picking up and really looked like it was going to rain. Several drops fell, but the wind made the dust swirl and create quite the dust storm. At one point, I had my extra shirt wrapped around my face and my sunglasses on (even though it was getting darker) to keep the dust out of my face and eyes. We got near the viewing spot and then walked the rest of the way. As we were walking the dust storm got even worse. I must confess that two thoughts were running through my mind: "this is destroying my contacts" and "omigosh, what is going in my mouth from the dust that I am inhaling?" On our way back to our CNG (auto rickshaw), we came across some children who were herding goats. They wanted us to take their picture. Of course, they wanted a little money. Then they said something that surprised me: "chocolate?" I guess, kids are kids, no matter the country. ☺We gave them each some money, unfortunately we had no chocolate. We got some dinner, stopped back at the train station only to learn that we were still on the waiting list but only numbers 12 and 13. Still no guarantee that we could get on the train that was leaving in an hour. We decided to give up on a train and hire a driver to take us back to Delhi. What ensued next was the longest and most terrifying drive of my life. I just want to say an aside to our mothers: Remember that we made it back safely as you read the next couple sentences. Just keep that in your mind.

Imagine a 4-lane highway with buses, cars and trucks. Then you add in motorbikes zipping in and out of traffic. Occasionally you even have an ox pulling a cart. Yes, on the highway. The traffic seems to be constantly changing lanes, each jockeying for the best position. Midway through our drive, our driver asked if we were hungry and indicated that he was going to stop to eat. I imagined a quick stop, 15-20 minutes and then back on our way. An hour later, our driver returned ready to resume our ride. It took us over 4.5 hours (not including the hour long dinner break) to drive 200 km (124 miles). The traffic was insane. Later Andy and I confessed to one another that we each spent the entire time praying for safety. I was never more glad to get out of a vehicle.

Agra Fort

Somehow Agra Fort reminded me of Redwall Abbey from the book, Redwall

I was asked to be in several pictures. But Andy was asked to be in none. I'm guessing it is the hair. And the height. Don't I look like a giant next to her?

"Baby Taj"

These buffalo were just wandering in the street. As they got closer and closer to our CNG, I moved closer and closer to Andy. Of course, they were on my side. He just laughed at me and kept taking pictures. 

We were humored that the shoe covers barely fit over Andy's shoes. The guy had to pull and prod just to get them like this.

The Taj Mahal during the duststorm. Believe it or not, that is a river that the dust is blowing across.

"Money? Chocolate?"

Our view from inside the CNG.  It just felt like chaos.

Our driver and guide, Kahn

Taj Mahal

Some fast facts for you:

• The Taj Mahal was built by one of the Moghul (Islamic) rulers of India, Shah Jahan as a tomb for his wife Mumtaz Muhal and was completed in 1653.
• It took 22 years to complete and required 20,000+ workers.
• The entire structure is made of white marble and inlaid with precious stones, such as agate and jasper. It is also decorated with a flowery scrolling pattern and portions of the Qur'an. 
• It is believed that to transport the construction materials, more than 1000 elephants were used.

We had heard that the best time to view the Taj Mahal is either at sunrise or sunset. Since we were hoping to get back to Delhi on the train that night, we opted for sunrise. At 5:15, we met our tuk-tuk (or auto rickshaw) driver. As the sun comes up, you can see the marble change colors and at different times of the day, it appears to change colors. Some believe that this is to represent the many different moods of women.

Just before sunrise

At the sun comes up, it seems to make the white marble glow and look more like a blush color. I enjoy this picture that Andy captured of the birds taking flight.

Around the doorway, you can see the Arabic containing a portion of the Qur'an.

The mosaic inlay of various precious stones is incredibly beautiful.

As we were buying our tickets, we were told that we were given a free bottle of water and sugar water. Huh? Sugar water? But that is what Andy heard them say as well. Come to find out, we were given SHOE COVERS. How on earth did we both hear "sugar water"?

Taken from the side.

Arrival/Day 1

My flight from Shanghai was a red eye. Not my favorite of things, but the only direct flight to Delhi. I arrived at 2:30 AM. Bleary-eyed, I made my way through immigration and customs, but then couldn't find Andy who was going to meet me at the airport. After wandering around inside for almost 30 minutes, I finally saw him outside. Little did I know that you can only enter the airport if you have a ticket. We drove to our hotel and crashed for the rest of the night. We later woke, got breakfast and then made our way to our next hotel in downtown New Delhi. We would be getting on the train that night to Agra and wanted to store our extra bags at the hotel in Delhi. After taking care of some business things (getting money, making payment for our bicycle tour), we wandered around. We stumbled upon the Tourism Centre and they directed us to a someone who could drive us around for the afternoon. At first the brothers were just going to help us find the bank, but later they took us to lunch, a temple, and then the train station.

Our auto rickshaw also called a CNG had a little problems starting and required a push start each time.

Hindu temple

Though this man was an extraordinary salesman, he failed to convince me to buy a rug.

Overwhelming color. Such a feast for the eyes!

No matter how many times we saw it, seeing cows, buffalo and ox in the middle of the city always surprised me.

Waiting for the train at the New Delhi station to take us to Agra. There was such a cross-section of people that it was fascinating to people watch.

India Impressions

After spending 4 days in New Delhi and Agra, India my senses are overloaded. There is so much to take in and experience. The sights. Explosions of color. Exuberant life. Heart-wrenching poverty. The chaos of traffic. The smells. The spice market with scents so strong it prompted coughing fits. Sewage and trash. Hot, flavorful curries. I am not sure that I can fully capture all that we saw and experienced.