Despite all the adventuring, Chris and Kate are quite happy to be coming home. India was a wonderful experience but we hear the siren song of Washington calling to us from across the Atlantic.
We ended our stay in Varanasi buying up the last few presents, walking along the ghats, and doing our best to get over our colds. (Who goes to India and gets a cold? We do.) We took an overnight train to Delhi and actually got a decent amount of sleep. There was an incident with some Russians, but that was between them and our Australian companion.
We spent our last day in Delhi and took in the Red Fort and the India Gate. We encountered one of the trickiest scoundrels/rickshaw drivers who tried to guilt us into visiting his friend's store. He told us that if we went there the store owner would give the driver's daughter a present? "Doesn't madam want my daughter to get a present?" No. Madam wants to go home and take a shower.
We got off the rickshaw and took the Indian subway. It was surprisingly clean and efficient. (Remind us to tell you about the Varanasi restaurant disaster of 2009 at a later point.) The train was about as crowded as you would imagine, and they use plastic tokens that you might find in a board game to get in and out of the trains. (Kate REALLY wanted to buy an extra one to take home.)
For the evening we were supposed to see the "Dances of India" show with our Danish friends. We got there and... no show! We are still not sure if we were in the right place. We did not trust our rickshaw driver. Instead of giving him the satisfaction of driving us back home, we took another rickshaw to the downtown center of Delhi and ate at a nice restaurant. (It cost about $20 total for our meals, including beer and dessert. For India, that is the equivalent of a semester at NYU. I think.)
But now we are in London waiting to board our flight home. We are worried we may have to read the books we brought along because we have exhausted the movie selections Virgin Atlantic has to offer. Well, you can never watch "Mamma Mia!" too many times, according to Kate.
We should end by just saying what an important experience this was for both of us. It has been a dream of Chris's to travel to India, and it took a lot of courage for Kate to travel this far. We don't even think we have realized the full reward of taking this journey yet. Meeting the people and sharing their world will stay with us for the rest of our lives. Our home, our health, and our friends and family are blessings and riches. Thank you for sharing our world and for taking this journey with us. We look forward to seeing you soon and bringing a little more of India your way.
Much love,
Kate and Chris
And I am also very happy to be going home. I have been a very good little cat while you were gone. I have made my caregivers feel like I really love them. I have curled up on their laps for hours at a time; I have rubbed my head under their chins; I have greeted them each morning with lots of happy cries and purrings. I have even got along Ok with their dog. She has learned to share her water bowl and doesn't mind if I play a little with her tail; but she still takes every opportunity to eat up all my food when no one is looking.
ReplyDeleteWhen I said goodbye to the woman in charge this morning (who was leaving in the dark and cold to go to work), she told me I could come back anytime. I would llike that, but not too often please.
Welcome home!
Time sure flies when you have a fun blog to read (almost) every day. Living vicariously through your adventures has been a delight for all concerned and I thank you for taking the time to share your trip with us.
ReplyDeleteSending safe thoughts for a safe trip home and a purr-y reunion with our lovely Nim.