India 2010~

Namaste!

Now it’s time to begin my blogging after my 11 day tour in India.

01/07/10 Thursday: Arrival to New Delhi

The first day at night after the plane landed, I thought I would be exiting the airport and boarding a coach bus for some reason. Maybe it was because in the U.S. many of us usually take coach buses when we go on a trip. There was many Indians trying to help us take our luggage, but they probably just wanted some money. Then we arrived at Karat 87 hotel in Karol Bagh. It was a small hotel, but it was okay. It was quite cold in my room even with the radiator that I don’t think really worked except if you stood directly in front of it.

01/08/10 Friday: American Center

In the morning for breakfast we had toast, eggs, banana, and some Indian food. After breakfast Prof. Gupta showed us around the neighborhood and that was when I got a chance to see some of the really poor people. They begged for money and even did their own performances such as dancing. It was like another life they lived compared to many of us in the U.S. living with so many kinds of luxuries.  We also saw students going to school in their uniforms- they were probably middle class or higher. I saw a school van and when it was unloaded, about 15 or so students crammed inside came out.

Later we went to the American Center where we listened to two ladies talking about what the place provided for the public and how they got their job. We went to exchange US Dollar for Indian rupees and the place where we went was very unsafe and shady looking. The ladder was about 2 or 3 feet wide with no railing. Afterwards we saw McDonald’s and everyone seemed happy about that. For lunch we went to an Indian restaurant where we had our first real Indian food. It was kind of exciting getting to try authentic Indian curry and bread. The waiter gave us each a pan with about 6 or 7 different kind of sauces. And then all you can eat Indian bread. Some sauces were spicy curry, some sweet, some just curry, some I don’t know what it is, but my reaction was ehhh. Indian food was not what I expected at all. I was imagining vegetable and meat together in their diets, but I was wrong. Then everyone tried a drink called buttermilk and it had a light green color to it. It had a sour milk kind of taste to it, I never tasted anything like it. I think everyone who tried it was disgusted by it-at least that’s what I could interpret by people’s reactions and the fact that 99% of the drink was still left in their cups. I learned that about 70% of Indians are vegetarians and so that was when I also learned for the next week I wouldn’t eat much meat. Indians have something like mints or candy (not sure what it’s called) that they eat after their meals, I licked it and it tasted like the smell of soap. Later we walked around a bit more and then went back to the hotel for a reception dinner. We got necklace made of flowers and they put bindi(?) on our foreheads. The lady put too much on my forehead and it felt like dripping.

01/09/10 Saturday: Auto Expo, Lotus Temple

Today we went to the Auto Expo, but before that we went to see a march/parade because we were early. We were able to see the gate of India and the security guards standing in front of it. The security guards carried rifle guns which is something I found different than those security guards in the U.S. There was a lot of children on the side of the road too who seemed excited when we passed by. I waved and they laughed so happily. I took a picture with them and many of them wanted to take a picture too. The children definitely acted differently in a positive way than those I’ve seen in America. They even danced for us and taught some people their moves.

At the 10^th Auto Expo, I thought it was interesting even though I don’t know much about cars. I think everyone was amazed at the cheap price of the Tata Nano. It was like the size of a smart car and super cheap. Many famous car brands were showcased. I only judge cars by their looks so I can’t really tell you if they are good or not. I saw many buses that were eco friendly. I guess eco-friendly is inevitable everywhere. There was this incredible bus I saw that looked like a limo inside, but it was for military use I think (I forgot). There was wi-fi in it, a nursing station, and something else, but the bus was very useful- it wasn’t a passenger bus. I guess my group was at the perfect timing at the right place because we were able to see Honda’s new robot Asimo. It was so amazing to me, it could walk and talk and respond. I’ve seen a few types of robots, but only on TV so it was very interesting to see one in real life.

Afterwards, we went to the Lotus Temple. The architecture is beautiful; it resembled a lotus flower exactly. I was wearing flats and I don’t wear socks with flats. Then I found out that in order to enter the temple, everyone had to take off their shoes. I didn’t like the idea of walking on the ground outside barefoot, but I did it anyway to experience what India is about. Anyone who went inside could pray as long as they wished in complete silence.

01/10/10 Sunday: Bike Tour, LPU

Today was the day of the bike tour in Old Delhi. The 16 of us who signed up woke up at 6am for this moment. The tour guide we had was from Holland who was stayed in Delhi for about 2 months helping his friend run bike tours as a side job. I guess it is quite a memorable experience for me because the bike was too big for me. I couldn’t ride it even though the seat was lowered all the way. Maybe it was due to my short legs that caused this problem. I think I held the group up a few times since I kept stopping and at one point I kind of got sad and didn’t want to do it anymore because I couldn’t ride the bike. Then when I caught up with the group again I traded bikes with Allie. (Thanks so much!! =] ) The whole bike ride was a crazy experience where I got to see an array of daily life of people working, making food, ox and donkeys working, and a lot of the middle class people. I actually saw people cutting up meat, I think it was pork and I accidently touched some blood that was smeared on a car as I passed by on my bike. We went through some narrow back alleys that had a lot of cow dung everywhere and trash too. We saw a lot of tiny bonfires and I didn’t know what they were for, but then I noticed a few people gathered around each bonfire to stay warm. It was like a mini gathering and bonding moment for them. Trying to maneuver through traffic was totally insane as no one follows the traffic rules. You could drive on the wrong side of the road if you really wanted and not get in trouble. All I heard was constant honking and beeping. Oh, some vehicles have a very interesting honking sound that sounds like it could be a ringtone. Literally anything that has wheels can be on the road- bikes, rickshaws, cars, trucks, buses, three-wheeled vehicles (apparently there’s 22 modes of transportation in India which I don’t know them all). We went up an old building to the roof and I saw a view of the city from above, it was quite nice with some temples. In Old Delhi was where I saw the difference of the wealthier and poor by the look of the houses. We went stopped by a tea shop to drink some chai which had a ginger flavor to it. Then we headed two a restaurant famous for its bread eaten along with curry sauce which had goat meat in it which I don’t think I will eat again, but the bread was pretty good. Then we headed back in the other direction to end the tour. While trying to cross the dangerous highway a motorcycle almost crashed into me. There were about 3 people on it and I don’t remember hearing the driver honk. As we both stopped, he was about half a foot away from me. Scary. Someone told me that they were even laughing as I left that area, but I’m still alive and well.

So after the bike tour, we took went on an 8 hour bus ride to Lovely Professional University in the city of Punjab where I met my e-buddy Kanupriya. Everyone ate dinner together and shortly after there was a bonfire and lots of dancing. We were brought to the hostels that looked nothing like the dorms in Binghamton. All the buildings looked pretty much the same on campus- mostly brick and very bare inside. It was very new to me that in order to shower I had to mix the water to get warm water, but it wasn’t bad except the hot water ran out pretty quickly.

01/11/10 Monday: LPU

Today we listened to the vice chancellor talk about the university. I remember someone mentioned that when boys and girls go to school separately they do better in school and I thought it was interesting. Their campus was different than U.S. schools in that no one is allowed to drink or smoke. He also spoke about how students are only awarded scholarships on merit based, but not need base. Then later we toured around the school a bit and looked inside their classrooms. In each of their classrooms, there is a webcam so the teachers can interact and see what the students are doing. To me it sounded like they were security cameras. Afterwards we went to a temple where we learned about the many gods of India. Then we went to Lovely Autos where they sold the more cars than other dealerships. Then we were off to Lovely Sweets where they had over 150 flavors of sweets. Some of them were really sweet and some were perfect. It seemed to me that Indians liked to use ginger in a lot of things such as their tea and sweets. They gave everyone a free box of sample sweets. The store was jam packed with customers and we were allowed to try any sweet we wanted. Later, we went to a show and dinner which was neat because outside of the restaurant there were small shops, camel riding, and shows. When we got back to LPU, we gathered at a bonfire.

01/12/10 Tuesday – 01/15/10 Friday: Infosys, DSCL, PwC, HCL

When I arrived at the Infosys campus I was so amazed at the layout and building design. I have never seen of such a workplace that provided so much for its workers. They have a gym, lessons to learn musical instruments and yoga, swimming pool, and hostels for the workers. I think everyone was wowed when we learned that Infosys used a dashboard that revealed information about its workers and that other workers of the same level can look at other workers’ information. At night we went to a reception dinner by Gupta’s family. We went to some bazaars, it was crazy. People followed you down the street to try to make you buy something. They were pretty desperate as they cut the price down by 70%. If you really have the time to shop at these bazaars, you can get some great deals.

We took the metro which India is still building in some cities. Security is quite strict in India. You can’t even take pictures in the metro, in temples, and some tourist sites didn’t allow bags either. We were headed to the light and sound show. A few others and I were late so we had to kind of run through the place and the path seemed never ending. I never heard of this type of show. I kind of had a higher expectation before I went, but it was still okay.

01/16/10 Saturday: Taj Mahal

I think we woke around 5 or 6 am so we could arrive to the Taj Mahal early, but that didn’t happen. The bus broke down because apparently the gas tank fell out? So we were all stuck waiting for about an hour until another bus came. After arriving at the Taj Mahal, I think everyone should come to India just to see it, if nothing else. The layout was impressive especially the inlaid stones for the designs in the walls. I remember the tour guide saying that it took a person 11 years to make a part of the Taj Mahal. It was surprising to me when the tour guide showed us that there was even an optical illusion embedded in the architecture of building. For some reason, before I saw the actually Taj Mahal, I thought that the domes were gold. The Taj is really a world wonder.

We went shopping for a while where little kids clinged on us and tried to sell us their goods. They don’t take no for an answer and they kept trying to sell their goods while we walked all the way back to the bus. Sometimes I wondered to myself where their parents are.

01/17/10 Sunday: Elephant/Camel Rides

This day was fun because I’ve only seen elephants at a circus and camels for the first time. Camels are kind of nasty because they will spit on people or maybe they just have a lot of saliva. Climbing up and down these two animals is quite a journey due to their size, but nonetheless still enjoyable to ride. We fed the elephant some bananas and peanuts. I fed the elephant some sweets, I guess they eat anything.

Overall, I think going to India is worth it to see the infrastructure and the way people live. It’s a whole new experience to be in a completely different country than America. I think in order to actually see cultural differences are to be there to experience it and to see firsthand how things really are. Some places were different than others- some were really run down and not fit for people to live and some were really beautiful homes.

India 2010 Experience

Namaste!~
Now it’s time to begin my blogging after my 11 day tour in India.

01/07/10 Thursday: Arrival to New Delhi

The first day at night after the plane landed, I thought I would be exiting the airport and boarding a coach bus for some reason. Maybe it was because in the U.S. many of us usually take coach buses when we go on a trip. There was many Indians trying to help us take our luggage, but they probably just wanted some money. Then we arrived at Karat 87 hotel in Karol Bagh. It was a small hotel, but it was okay. It was quite cold in my room even with the radiator that I don’t think really worked except if you stood directly in front of it.

01/08/10 Friday: American Center

In the morning for breakfast we had toast, eggs, banana, and some Indian food. After breakfast Prof. Gupta showed us around the neighborhood and that was when I got a chance to see some of the really poor people. They begged for money and even did their own performances such as dancing. It was like another life they lived compared to many of us in the U.S. living with so many kinds of luxuries.  We also saw students going to school in their uniforms- they were probably middle class or higher. I saw a school van and when it was unloaded, about 15 or so students crammed inside came out.

Later we went to the American Center where we listened to two ladies talking about what the place provided for the public and how they got their job. We went to exchange US Dollar for Indian rupees and the place where we went was very unsafe and shady looking. The ladder was about 2 or 3 feet wide with no railing. Afterwards we saw McDonald’s and everyone seemed happy about that. For lunch we went to an Indian restaurant where we had our first real Indian food. It was kind of exciting getting to try authentic Indian curry and bread. The waiter gave us each a pan with about 6 or 7 different kind of sauces. And then all you can eat Indian bread. Some sauces were spicy curry, some sweet, some just curry, some I don’t know what it is, but my reaction was ehhh. Indian food was not what I expected at all. I was imagining vegetable and meat together in their diets, but I was wrong. Then everyone tried a drink called buttermilk and it had a light green color to it. It had a sour milk kind of taste to it, I never tasted anything like it. I think everyone who tried it was disgusted by it-at least that’s what I could interpret by people’s reactions and the fact that 99% of the drink was still left in their cups. I learned that about 70% of Indians are vegetarians and so that was when I also learned for the next week I wouldn’t eat much meat. Indians have something like mints or candy (not sure what it’s called) that they eat after their meals, I licked it and it tasted like the smell of soap. Later we walked around a bit more and then went back to the hotel for a reception dinner. We got necklace made of flowers and they put bindi(?) on our foreheads. The lady put too much on my forehead and it felt like dripping.

01/09/10 Saturday: Auto Expo, Lotus Temple

Today we went to the Auto Expo, but before that we went to see a march/parade because we were early. We were able to see the gate of India and the security guards standing in front of it. The security guards carried rifle guns which is something I found different than those security guards in the U.S. There was a lot of children on the side of the road too who seemed excited when we passed by. I waved and they laughed so happily. I took a picture with them and many of them wanted to take a picture too. The children definitely acted differently in a positive way than those I’ve seen in America. They even danced for us and taught some people their moves.

At the 10^th Auto Expo, I thought it was interesting even though I don’t know much about cars. I think everyone was amazed at the cheap price of the Tata Nano. It was like the size of a smart car and super cheap. Many famous car brands were showcased. I only judge cars by their looks so I can’t really tell you if they are good or not. I saw many buses that were eco friendly. I guess eco-friendly is inevitable everywhere. There was this incredible bus I saw that looked like a limo inside, but it was for military use I think (I forgot). There was wi-fi in it, a nursing station, and something else, but the bus was very useful- it wasn’t a passenger bus. I guess my group was at the perfect timing at the right place because we were able to see Honda’s new robot Asimo. It was so amazing to me, it could walk and talk and respond. I’ve seen a few types of robots, but only on TV so it was very interesting to see one in real life.

Afterwards, we went to the Lotus Temple. The architecture is beautiful; it resembled a lotus flower exactly. I was wearing flats and I don’t wear socks with flats. Then I found out that in order to enter the temple, everyone had to take off their shoes. I didn’t like the idea of walking on the ground outside barefoot, but I did it anyway to experience what India is about. Anyone who went inside could pray as long as they wished in complete silence.

01/10/10 Sunday: Bike Tour, LPU

Today was the day of the bike tour in Old Delhi. The 16 of us who signed up woke up at 6am for this moment. The tour guide we had was from Holland who was stayed in Delhi for about 2 months helping his friend run bike tours as a side job. I guess it is quite a memorable experience for me because the bike was too big for me. I couldn’t ride it even though the seat was lowered all the way. Maybe it was due to my short legs that caused this problem. I think I held the group up a few times since I kept stopping and at one point I kind of got sad and didn’t want to do it anymore because I couldn’t ride the bike. Then when I caught up with the group again I traded bikes with Allie. (Thanks so much!! =] ) The whole bike ride was a crazy experience where I got to see an array of daily life of people working, making food, ox and donkeys working, and a lot of the middle class people. I actually saw people cutting up meat, I think it was pork and I accidently touched some blood that was smeared on a car as I passed by on my bike. We went through some narrow back alleys that had a lot of cow dung everywhere and trash too. We saw a lot of tiny bonfires and I didn’t know what they were for, but then I noticed a few people gathered around each bonfire to stay warm. It was like a mini gathering and bonding moment for them. Trying to maneuver through traffic was totally insane as no one follows the traffic rules. You could drive on the wrong side of the road if you really wanted and not get in trouble. All I heard was constant honking and beeping. Oh, some vehicles have a very interesting honking sound that sounds like it could be a ringtone. Literally anything that has wheels can be on the road- bikes, rickshaws, cars, trucks, buses, three-wheeled vehicles (apparently there’s 22 modes of transportation in India which I don’t know them all). We went up an old building to the roof and I saw a view of the city from above, it was quite nice with some temples. In Old Delhi was where I saw the difference of the wealthier and poor by the look of the houses. We went stopped by a tea shop to drink some chai which had a ginger flavor to it. Then we headed two a restaurant famous for its bread eaten along with curry sauce which had goat meat in it which I don’t think I will eat again, but the bread was pretty good. Then we headed back in the other direction to end the tour. While trying to cross the dangerous highway a motorcycle almost crashed into me. There were about 3 people on it and I don’t remember hearing the driver honk. As we both stopped, he was about half a foot away from me. Scary. Someone told me that they were even laughing as I left that area, but I’m still alive and well.

So after the bike tour, we took went on an 8 hour bus ride to Lovely Professional University in the city of Punjab where I met my e-buddy Kanupriya. Everyone ate dinner together and shortly after there was a bonfire and lots of dancing. We were brought to the hostels that looked nothing like the dorms in Binghamton. All the buildings looked pretty much the same on campus- mostly brick and very bare inside. It was very new to me that in order to shower I had to mix the water to get warm water, but it wasn’t bad except the hot water ran out pretty quickly.

01/11/10 Monday: LPU

Today we listened to the vice chancellor talk about the university. I remember someone mentioned that when boys and girls go to school separately they do better in school and I thought it was interesting. Their campus was different than U.S. schools in that no one is allowed to drink or smoke. He also spoke about how students are only awarded scholarships on merit based, but not need base. Then later we toured around the school a bit and looked inside their classrooms. In each of their classrooms, there is a webcam so the teachers can interact and see what the students are doing. To me it sounded like they were security cameras. Afterwards we went to a temple where we learned about the many gods of India. Then we went to Lovely Autos where they sold the more cars than other dealerships. Then we were off to Lovely Sweets where they had over 150 flavors of sweets. Some of them were really sweet and some were perfect. It seemed to me that Indians liked to use ginger in a lot of things such as their tea and sweets. They gave everyone a free box of sample sweets. The store was jam packed with customers and we were allowed to try any sweet we wanted. Later, we went to a show and dinner which was neat because outside of the restaurant there were small shops, camel riding, and shows. When we got back to LPU, we gathered at a bonfire.

01/12/10 Tuesday – 01/15/10 Friday: Infosys, DSCL, PwC, HCL

When I arrived at the Infosys campus I was so amazed at the layout and building design. I have never seen of such a workplace that provided so much for its workers. They have a gym, lessons to learn musical instruments and yoga, swimming pool, and hostels for the workers. I think everyone was wowed when we learned that Infosys used a dashboard that revealed information about its workers and that other workers of the same level can look at other workers’ information. At night we went to a reception dinner by Gupta’s family. We went to some bazaars, it was crazy. People followed you down the street to try to make you buy something. They were pretty desperate as they cut the price down by 70%. If you really have the time to shop at these bazaars, you can get some great deals.

We took the metro which India is still building in some cities. Security is quite strict in India. You can’t even take pictures in the metro, in temples, and some tourist sites didn’t allow bags either. We were headed to the light and sound show. A few others and I were late so we had to kind of run through the place and the path seemed never ending. I never heard of this type of show. I kind of had a higher expectation before I went, but it was still okay.

01/16/10 Saturday: Taj Mahal

I think we woke around 5 or 6 am so we could arrive to the Taj Mahal early, but that didn’t happen. The bus broke down because apparently the gas tank fell out? So we were all stuck waiting for about an hour until another bus came. After arriving at the Taj Mahal, I think everyone should come to India just to see it, if nothing else. The layout was impressive especially the inlaid stones for the designs in the walls. I remember the tour guide saying that it took a person 11 years to make a part of the Taj Mahal. It was surprising to me when the tour guide showed us that there was even an optical illusion embedded in the architecture of building. For some reason, before I saw the actually Taj Mahal, I thought that the domes were gold. The Taj is really a world wonder.

We went shopping for a while where little kids clinged on us and tried to sell us their goods. They don’t take no for an answer and they kept trying to sell their goods while we walked all the way back to the bus. Sometimes I wondered to myself where their parents are.

01/17/10 Sunday: Elephant/Camel Rides

This day was fun because I’ve only seen elephants at a circus and camels for the first time. Camels are kind of nasty because they will spit on people or maybe they just have a lot of saliva. Climbing up and down these two animals is quite a journey due to their size, but nonetheless still enjoyable to ride. We fed the elephant some bananas and peanuts. I fed the elephant some sweets, I guess they eat anything.

Overall, I think going to India is worth it to see the infrastructure and the way people live. It’s a whole new experience to be in a completely different country than America. I think in order to actually see cultural differences are to be there to experience it and to see firsthand how things really are. Some places were different than others- some were really run down and not fit for people to live and some were really beautiful homes.