2/20/08  Frankfort to Washington on Lufthansa 418.

Back to school, work, cold weather; there is much anticipation in seeing family and friends.  Will miss India; on the flights back we have watched Bollywood movies with English subtitles (Emeline) and Hindu pop music videos (Julia and I).  I have some new dance moves for the next Indian wedding.  We particularly liked Manmohan Waris, Pankaj Udhas, Sukshinder Shinda and the best video of all – Daler Mehndi.  What great voices!

At the Frankfort Airport we had to change terminals and go through security again.  They confiscated our supply of peanut butter and jelly (liquids?)- these had made it to India and back- and we think we could do without them from this point.

We have had a wonderful trip.  Heartfelt thanks to our sponsor and hosts and all those who gave guidance and help.

KEJ

P.S.  Begining our decent from cruising altitude.  E and J sound asleep as we approach DC.

This is my last entry. I’m on the plane from Frankfurt, Germany to Washington D.C. I slept on the Delhi to Frankfurt flight. This flight is almost 9 hours long!!! I am very bored. My seat reclines into a bed. Everybody (in business) has their own TV with 100 CD’s you can listen to, 45 movies to watch and 30 games programmed in to the TV. Its pretty much impossible to believe I’m bored with these features, but I watched 1 movie and the rest are all western movies I don’t want to watch and my game remote isn’t working for some reason. The things I packed to play with are all out of battery because India has different plugs than the U.S. My dad bought plugs for that problem but it still wouldn’t charge (rip off!). Maybe I’ll fall asleep. I usually have a HARD time doing that.

Luckily the plane ride before this one I did sleep. I thought India was a nice place. It was hard to get used to it at first, but eventually I got used to it. The best part was seeing 1 of the 7-world wonders- the Taj Mahal. I liked the Taj because its really beautiful to look at and the symmetry was cool too. I’m looking forward to seeing my mom, sister, and the rest of my family again!

Yesterday we went to an old man’s house.  He used to be one of Dad’s dad’s students. He is a botanist. His name is Dr. Saxena. We went to his house for lunch. His wife and daughter in law made a reallllllllllllllllllllllly good meal. There were samosas, which are like little wrapped up Indian sandwiches, potatoes in a sauce, poori which is Indian bread, a little ball of some cooked sweet pasty stuff, potato chips, and a fruity oatmealish dessert.  They also ordered a Donatos pizza and bought ice cream.   It was delicious. Dr. Saxena, in, around, and on his roof, collects cacti. He has over 6,000 cacti. One of them is even named after him. Dr. Saxena calls his house the Cactus House.

       Both Dr. and Mrs. Saxena were very nice. They bought Julia and I jewelry that was gorgeous.  Dr. Saxena drove us to the hotel. He is a veeeeerrrrrrrrrryyyyyy bad driver. I slammed against the seat in front of me several times.

At the Delhi airport chaos was everywhere. We had to wait in a line for 2 hours. Julia was in a horrible mood. [Dad’s note- Emeline really rises to the occasion during these chaotic episodes; Julia is just 10].  She kept on pushing me and kicking me.  Then, right before security, we were in a large group of people. It smelled like B.O., and I was smashed against hordes of people. We thought the plane left without us, so we literally sprinted to the gate. It turns out, so many people were late that they just delayed the flight for over an hour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On the plane, I had breakfast and dinner, because the flight was very long. Right now, I am waiting out a 5-hour layover in Germany.  (Frankfort). 

You have not driven in India until you have driven with a short, absent minded, eccentric retired botanist in a small claptrap of a car.  But more on that later.

This morning, our last day in India, Emeline and I visited the Nehru Library and Museum.  Julia stayed behind to do homework (and watch TV?- reading over my shoulder right now- she says NO!).  The Nehru Library and Museum is located in what was his home during his time as Prime Minister- so much of the pleasure of the visit was seeing the large impressive house and many of the rooms that have been preserved as they were at the end of his life- including Indira Gandhi’s room, his library, living room and office.  Other rooms contain timelines of his life and career with pictures and original letters and basically followed the story of independence.  The parts about Mahatma Gandhi and nonviolent resistance were moving.  We were also able to walk the grounds and visit his formal English gardens.

Later we visited an old student of my fathers who I knew as a child.  Dr. Bhagwan Saxena is a retied biologist who lives in Nodia, a town just outside Delhi.  Turns out he focused most of his career on collecting succulents and cacti- and currently has 6000 species and varieties in his home (mostly on porches and the rooftop).  We had a hotel car take us out to his house (too far for a taxi) and were greeted warmly.  Dr. Saxena asked me to bring recent pictures of my father- and he seemed moved by them, calling him his guru.  They served us tea and then a meal- they had Dominos pizza delivered and prepared Indian food.  Dr. Saxena showed us old picture albums from his time in the US (including one of me as a 10-year old) and gave us a tour of his plant collection.  I think the tour could have gone on for hours- I had to cut it off saying we had to get back to prepare to return to the US.  They gave J and E lots of little gifts- and between that, the warm reception, the food, and the novelty of the visit they had a really good time. 

So Dr. Saxena drove us home.  Years ago in the 1960s when he was a graduate student at the University of Kansas he purchased on old Rambler station wagon and I think my parents were concerned about his driving (he is not a large man and could barely see over the steering wheel)- I was too young to appreciate their concerns back then- until now.  I have lived a fairly full life and my life insurance is paid up and I was not too worried about my possible demise on this trip- I was more concerned about my young daughters in the back seat.  During most of our time in India we have been driving with professional drivers (taxis, hotel cars, personal chauffeurs of our hosts) – they of course really know what they are doing and I have always felt safe despite the hectic, chaotic traffic- until the trip home with the diminutive, absent-minded professor.  Dr. Saxena had an interesting strategy of straddling the white lane dividing lines- trying to get the lane lines exactly in the middle of the car, while going 20 miles an hour on the expressway.  Perhaps I am being overly sensitive, but it seemed to anger drivers in both of the lanes we were blocking- at least that was the indication from the incessant honking and the curses in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, Bengali, Bihari and Punjabi that were hurled at us (made up the part about cursing but not honking- and people looked pretty angry when they finally got around us).  I kept thinking we would be rear-ended.  He used his horn once- this has to be some sort of a record for least use of a horn per mile in India.  When we cut across three lanes of traffic to make turns -other drives stopped or got out of our way (with honking and cursing).  Visions of Mr. Magoo.  Luckily in India most drivers are hyper-alert by necessity and were able to avid colliding with us.  We got lost and STOPPED in the road to ask directions.  More honking and cursing; I kept looking back to see if we were gong to be rear-ended by a bus or truck.  I had to call the hotel for directions– and we eventually made it.  The doormen at the hotel appeared bemused as we piled out of the little car.  Not sure if they noticed my new tremor and white knuckles.

Currently flying between Delhi and Frankfort.  Our exit via the Delhi Airport proved a last interesting episode for our trip.  We arrived at the airport about 12:30 am- almost three hours before the flight left.  It was not enough time.  There is a security alert in Delhi, there are intrinsic inefficiencies at this airport and the airport has quite a bit of construction (as was common in Delhi- in preparation for the Commonwealth Games in 2010- and they call it Vision 2010).  The line to get the bags screened before checking them and getting a boarding pass was over 30 minutes.  The line to go through immigration was epic.  Over an hour and half to get through.  “We” all thought that immigration would be the choke point and it would be smooth sailing after that (the “we” being the brotherhood of travelers stuck in this mess).  But the line for security was almost as bad.  A young Indian woman cut in one of the lines and there was an interesting scene as the worn out crowd loudly ostracized her (“RESPECT THE QUEUE! RESPECT THE QUEUE!” was one of the repeated shout of an angry Sikh guy)- she insisted she had been there in line before and had left for a few minutes.  The outraged people in her line did not buy it and called security. They just held her back a while and after the angriest passengers were done let her through.  There were many people in line behind us on our flight and earlier flights- so even though we passed our boarding time, “we” were all sure they would be holding the flights- they can’t leave without 1/3 of the passengers- especially if the checked luggage is on board.  But when E, J and I were towards the front of the security line we heard ‘last call’ for the boarding of our flight.  I had visions of another day with two tired kids, missing work, etc.  After clearing security we made a mad dash- and made it on board.  A few minutes after we boarded the pilot came on and announced that they would be waiting at least another 30 minutes due to the delays- they were still missing 50 passengers.  He was charitable- blaming heightened security and not airport operations (not clear to the uniformed passengers what precipitated the heightened security – the Pakistani election, recent Naxal threats, other terrorist intelligence?).  We left over an hour late- but we have a 6-hour layover in Frankfort- so no concerns about connections unlike many of the passengers on board. 

Currently our air speed is 508 mph.  Time to destination 1:28.  Outside temperature -56^oC

2/19       Today is our last day of India. My dad and sister went to a museum. I stayed in the hotel and did homework.

I got pretty bored. I looked in Edline (school website) and looked as if I was not too far behind. I’m ahead in Science.

  Today I went to visit a man.  My grandfather had a student that went to school in the U.S and is from India. We went and visited him. My dad remembered him. We had lunch at his house. They ordered a pizza for me since I don’t like Indian food. The man we saw, Dr.S collects cactus. He has 6,ooo in his house. I saw all of his cacti. He showed us articles about him in Indian magazines. He gave us many things. I got necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Dr.S drove us home. His driving scared me!!!  He was slamming on the brakes. He couldn’t even see over the steering wheel. I got back to the hotel safely! My Dad said my grandfather liked Dr.S. We will leave India soon.

2/20- Today we left India. I am on the airplane to Germany. In the airport we had to go though immigration. There were lines of people. There were about 750 people going though immigration. We usually leave our house so that we have 2 hours to go though security and immigration etc. Immigration took about 2 hours. Security wasn’t any better. Lines and lines of people. It was 3:oo (am) and our plane boarded at 3:05. We hadn’t gone to security yet. Some people behind us planes boarded at 2:30 (am). They called our flight. We weren’t ready. My first thought was we were going to miss it. We got to security -people cut me in line and they had a fight with the worker but Emeline got through. That took 5 minutes. They called final call to Germany. My sister ran ahead to stop them from taking off. We finally got past security.  I thought my sister might get lost. My second thought was my sister would board then they would take off with her but not us.  I sprinted to our gate. WE MADE IT!!!

    Today was an easy day. We went to a Hindi temple. I got a red dot on my fore head symbolizing a good life. The Temple had a gift shop I went in. It had little and big figurines, pictures and a dolls. Then we went to a park. It was really big. It so big my dad got us lost. We found a place to get out but not the one we entered. We called our driver and he picked us up.

Next we went shopping. We went to a lot of shops. It was not really a market but it was like one. Next we went to the tombs. The tombs looked exactly the same as the Taj Mahal. The same family built it. BY:JULIA

MORE PICS ON WEB CHECK THEM OUT!!!!!!

Last day in India- technically we leave tomorrow but the plane leaves at 3 am and we will head for the airport around midnight.  Hope to get E and J to sleep around 8.  Today we are going to visit an old graduate student of my fathers from the 1960s.  He lives in the Delhi area and apparently has a collection of 6000 cacti in his house.  Should be interesting.  I remember him quite well from my childhood- he was a fun character then and sounds the same when I spoke to him on the phone.  He asked me to bring recent pictures of my father- had some emailed and in the business center at the hotel we were able to print them in color on high quality paper- best business center I have encountered!  

After that visit we also hope to squeeze in the Nehru Library and Museum and the National Museum.  J is not a huge fan of museums and may sit these out to do homework

Yesterday we toured around New Delhi; saw some of the government buildings.  The British built an impressive home for the Viceroy (now the home of the President) with a grand approach flanked by beautiful red sandstone administrative buildings (the real power is with the Prime Minister, not the president- we are not sure yet what his/her job is).  We visited a Hindu temple, a park, did some shopping and visited Humayun’s Tomb, which was built a few years before the Taj Mahal and is a precursor and has a similar style, but the exterior is redstone instead of marble and it is less…perfect.  But impressive.  At Humayun’s Tomb there were many groups of school kids in uniforms- they took an interest in E and J- just kids on a field trip being silly.  E and J got a kick out of it.  I am sure people think E and J are older than they are- the age cutoff for free entry into museums, etc. is 15; if it was 12 or 11 we would have had to produce birth certificates.

When we got back to the hotel there was quite alot of hubbub.  There was a meeting at the hotel that included many high government officials, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the President, all the ministers, etc.  There were soldiers every 1/2 block or so on the street for a couple miles on the approach to the hotel, and at the hotel there were Delhi police, soldiers, and what looked like Indian secret service guys.  The soldiers looked very professional (according to my sources, drivers, the military is well respected; the Delhi police not so much- a corruption scandal unfolded during our visit involving illegal kidney transplants that also involved multi crore* bribes to the Delhi police).  We hung out for a while outside the lobby, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Prime Minister; J especially found this fun.  It was quite a scene- government ministers coming and going in little white Ambassadors with blue lights on top, the hotel guys trying to keep the usual hotel traffic going at the same time.  Many soldiers taking into walkie-talkies.   There was a metal detector set up in the lobby on the way to the large meeting room. We never did see the PM.  They had a tent set up at another entrance and I think he came and went out of site, or at yet another entrance. 

My pulse on Indian Politics comes from our drivers; PM Singh seems well thought of – but there is a concern that he does not make too many big moves without consulting with Sonia Gandhi.

When we meet local people here they usually initially assume I am an IT guy here on business (says a lot about the booming IT economy here).  Guess this means I don’t look too old, or too stupid and appear somewhat nerdy.  I can live with that.

* One Crore = 10,000,000 rupees.  One Lakh = 100,000 rupees.

Yesterday, we went to the Taj Mahal. It was amazing. As you walk in, you walk through a huge red gate. (After going though lots of security) As you enter, there are 3 canals leading to the actual building -bushes are on either side. The building is very white and spectacular. It has a tip that used to be gold, but was stolen. Everything is intricately designed. In the building, inlayed precise precious stones decorate the walls. Also on the walls are beautifully cut marble that is cut from 1 piece of marble. The precious stones are placed in beautifully. It was worth the long drive. Pictures don’t do it justice. The tomb is so breathtaking.

On the drive to the Taj, getting there is very long. It is a 4-hour drive. When your car stops, People run up to your window and try to sell you things and get money. They always keep pestering and pestering. But the drive was worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today we went to a Hindu temple and a fort. The temple was big and had lots of statues. I got a dot of red powder on my head and a necklace of marigolds. (Julia got the necklace, but didn’t want to wear it.) The temple was very cool.

Then we went to a famous Mughal tomb in Delhi. It was like a shrunken, less fancy red version of the Taj. Lots of school classes were there. One schoolgirl in a red uniform gave Julia a flower. Four boys talked to me and asked me about USA. When I was leaving, I was surrounded in a class of girls. All of them shook my hand. (Or they stuck out there hand and I tried to shake them all.) I am not ready to go back home even though I miss some people.

2/16/08. Don’t know if the trip is wearing me down, but so far Delhi has not inspired me in the same way as our prior stops. Delhi seems more impersonal and westernized than South India, and like many cities that are primarily centers of government, lacks the same sense of place that we found in Chennai and Hyderabad. Hawkers and beggars at the tourist sites are very aggressive. Our hotel feels very hectic and there are many Americans and other westerners (a driver told me that Bill Clinton, George Bush, Sr. and Bill Gates have stayed here). New Delhi is a planned city laid out with broad avenues and public buildings and monuments. Some of the vistas are terrific. Washington DC with a sari. Old Delhi reminded me of Chennai and Hyderabad without the charm. Our driver today was a Kashmiri Hindu who kept saying negative things about Muslims. In Old Delhi we visited the Jami Masjid mosque, largest in India, and climbed to the top of one of the minarets- pretty cool. We walked the grounds of the Red Fort, visited a couple museums in the fort, and then stopped at India Gate on the return to the hotel. We have been eating diner in the hotel- J ordered pizza, E ordered pasta and calamari- I was going to order some Indian food but the waiter told me that we already had too much food and I would need to help J and E eat the pizza and calamari. He was right.

2/18/08. Yesterday we went to Agra. Had planned to go Monday, then read that the museum and visitor center at the Taj Mahal are closed Monday- verified this on several web sites. Turns out not to be true- and both the museum and visitors center are forgettable. Going on Sunday meant that it was more crowded- and there was borderline pushing and shoving to get inside the Taj itself. But the crowds did not distract from our appreciation- truly is a wonder- from the overall design of the whole complex, the beauty and architectural elements of each building and the incredible detail of the work on the marble Taj. I took pictures of E and J wearing St. Ann’s t-shirts.

We had arranged for a car and driver to get there- the tour bus left at 0630 and I wanted E and J to eat breakfast and thought we needed more flexibility than a bus tour would allow. Agra is about 200 km from Delhi- and there is a four-lane highway (NH2) for almost all of the route. But the drive is still challenging. The highway is used by local traffic including motorbikes, bicycles and motorized rickshaws, agricultural traffic (including tractors and camels pulling wagons with huge loads of grain and bricks), heavy trucks, and tourist traffic to Agra and is the main road to Calcutta. There is always people along the road, moving, walking, hanging out, eating, working. The drive, with much honking, weaving, stops, starts, etc. took four hours. It did give us a chance to view the countryside of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana states. Our driver, who seemed like a reasonable person who knew what he was doing, recommended that we get a guide in Agra. We had planned to just use a book- but followed his advice. We picked up the guide in Agra (driver called ahead) and made our way to the Taj. We took a motorized rickshaw the last mile- cars and busses can’t drive close to the Taj to protect it from pollution and industries have been closed within a 15-mile radius to protect the marble from sulfur and other pollutants. The guide knew many details and the history of the Mughals. At one point in the conversation about the rulers who built the Taj I thought he told me he was s Muslim- he corrected me and let me know that he was a Brahmin Hindu. After the Taj he took us to a business that sells marble inlay products- in theory the same marble from Rajasthan used in the Taj with the same secret glue formula for the inlays. The store was very nice; they gave us diet cokes; they had great bathrooms; and we bought something, in that order. I think this was the one time on this trip that I bargained somewhat successfully. Next stop was Agra Fort- the spectacular garrison and home of the Mughal rulers when they were centered in Agra. And then the four-hour drive back to the hotel and dinner (we skipped lunch). On the drive back, after it got dark and I could not read anymore, the driver (whose English was just good enough) and I talked about US and Indian politics. E and J were great on such a long and somewhat grueling day.

Today we went to Agra and saw the Taj Mahal! The ride took 4 hours one way. (8 total) On the drive I saw wild monkeys, people riding elephants and many hawkers. The Taj is beautiful. The Taj was built for the king’s wife. He had four and obviously loved that one the most. It took 22 years to build. The Taj is made all from marble. The symmetry is amazing! There was a fake mosque so the symmetry would look perfect!! The Taj has inlayed stones in it from around the world. There were many people you have the push your way though to get inside the Taj. Next we went to a fort. The king also built that. When the king lost his power, his son toke over. His son locked him in the fort jail. The king could see the Taj from the jails view. The king died 14 years later, still in jail. BY: JULIA

[dad's note- we are continuing to add pictures to http://picasaweb.google.com/keithbarmitage/KEJInIndia]