10-14-19 - New Delhi - Sihk Temple & Scouts
/Day 120. Kyle & Leanne joint blog.
It’s the third day in a town awaking for sunrise but today’s it’s for our flight from Kathmandu to Delhi, India. Wakeup call @ 4:45. We thought our tour manager was being conservative encouraging us to leave 3.5 hours before our flight but we needed every second to battle traffic and the airport lines.
In the van to the airport, we notice an odd orange shade to the moon but we are too tired and sleepy to even attempt to open the photo taking app. Turns out we were in the perfect spot to record the Hunter’s moon (aka Travel moon or Dying Grass Moon) of October which is when a full moon appears orange and being on the other side of Earth for some reason means we actually see it as Orange on this morning. Justin has a more coherent scientific explanation that it hard to absorb at 5am. Like our elusive Bengal tiger sighting in Chitwan, this sighting will just have to be remembered in our minds and not in our Apple Photos iCloud storage. Some photos you just miss.
Leanne has already decided she will to return to Nepal at some future point for more adventure and trekking and service - a good sign we enjoyed our week.
We had our first real flight delay but it was only an hour and with no connecting flight, we are nonplussed when they announce it. On the flight we are rewarded with our final views of the snow-capped Himalayas which have been a big focus for us this last two weeks. The white of the snows blinds us slightly but can’t stop us from staring at the natural beauty within our view.
We arrive in Delhi to its large modern airport in stark contrast to the one we just flew from. Kyle attempts to withdraw cash from three different ATM’s but all of them give the “sorry, this ATM is out of cash” message. Either there has been a run on the Indian banking system, the airport was the victim of a mass coordinated ATM heist, the employee who refills the ATMs got fired or we just have bad timing luck.
We meet our bus driver who leads us to a huge 21 seater bus with plush, comfortable seats. Yes, that three seats for everyone one of us. After getting tossed around in a small van with rock hard seats for the past weeks, our butts are thanking us over and over. Our driver gives us a flowered Lei with more than 100 carnations each. We are handed LifeStraw water bottles and sanitized neck pillows. Leanne thinks to herself that we must have overpaid for this leg of the trip but India is relatively cheap compared to some of the other cities we’ve been.
Upon arrival, six hotel employees come rushing out of the hotel to get our bags. We are used to carrying our own bags so I politely try to decline their services but am summarily dismissed and tossed aside by the lead porter as the other five just miss trampling me. After checking in, two employees are assigned to walk us to our room. “No really, it’s not necessary, just point to which way the elevator is,” Kyle says which is met with a smile and “come this way please,” as if I hadn’t said anything. The people walk us to the elevator, press elevator buttons and walk us to our room.
At this point there are now eight people waiting for their tip when Kyle realizes we had no Indian Rupees because the airport ATM crisis. He starts frantically digging through his bag offering them random Nepal Rupees or Chinese Yuan bills but they aren’t going away that easily. Finally, Kyle finds our US Dollar stash which they are will to take.
We only have 45 minutes before we have to leave for an afternoon excursion so buffet lunch at the hotel is are only option. It’s now after 2pm and we are the only people in the restaurant. The maître dee walk us to our seat upon which three waitstaff rush over to serve us even though it’s only a buffet. The buffet is good and they have a cook who is making fresh pizza and pasta. We know it’s bad when they start making dishes of food we didn’t ask for and bring it over to us. One waiter brings a whole fish dish and looks crestfallen when we all politely decline. When we get the bill, Kyle almost falls off his chair. The buffet is insanely expensive for India but the real fun is that they have tacked on dedicated separate mandatory service charges for the maître dee, for the food servers, for the drink manager, for the people cleaning up and for the cook that bring the bill up 35%.
The warm welcome continues when we meet our tour manager, Savine, from the local office. She gives us several gifts including personalized stationary, stamped postcards, a portfolio holder, beautiful embroidered table runner, travel journals, earrings, bangles, bracelets and a hand mirror! It was like we arrived at Christmas. We can’t remember anyone we never met before being so nice to us ever ever ever. Boy we feel welcomed!!!!
Savine then introduces us to our guide, Gautam or GG for short, while we are in Delhi. After a quick briefing, we are introduced to the bus driver and bus assistant. “What in the heck is a bus assistant?” you might be asking. So were we and it took us a while to figure it out. At first, said bus assistant just sits in the front of the bus next to the bus driver. In the end, we compiled a list of what he did which were puts a step on the ground for when you get off and on the bus, dispense hand sanitizer when you get on the bus, we fills the water bottles and he periodically hands out green mints. Entirely unnecessary but we can’t figure out how to fire the bus assistant without causing all sorts of backlash with the tour company.
We conclude that the bus assistant is the symbol of the India tourism full employment act. If un-employment goes up, they just hire more and more people to throw at the tourists. In the first hour after we arrived at the hotel we counted 18 people we had to tip or earned service charges. We are actually looking forward to getting back to being on our where we will do all of SE Asia ourselves.
Just and Corey continue their internationals scouting quest. Corey contacted a Boy Scout of America troop in New Delhi and the Scoutmaster arranged a special meeting with some scouts from his troop to meet our boys. We drop Justin and Corey off to meet local scouts at the American Embassy School. The security at the school is Pentagon level. There is a full security team and a full blown x-ray scanning machine. Once through, the boys are placed into a holding cell (complete with floor to ceiling steel bars) until the scoutmaster arrives on the other side where they are permitted to exit the cell into the scoutmaster’s custody. And this was for two American Boy Scouts. One can only the imagine what would have happen if they showed up and said we’re here for the “Free Hong King & Tibet” revolution and independence organizational and planning meeting.
The rest of us head to Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, one the most prominent Sikh temple in Delhi to see the temple known for its association with the eight Sikh guru, Guru Har Krishan. The temple was built as a shrine by Sikh General Sardar Bhagel in 1783. This is our first exposure to Sikhism so Maester of Religious Studies John has sent out an educational video in advance explaining the religion so we don’t enter as totally clueless American buffoons. One of the main hallmarks of the religion is that they believe followers should worship not only Gods but also fellow humans through an intensive dedication to community service and giving back.
We remove our shoes and socks and given a covering for our heads. We proceed into the main inner temple which is another well attended place of worship that gives us access into its sacred place of prayer. There is a prayer service with songs, chanting and prayer in process with a couple hundred people on the floor worshipping. We learn that the prayer service goes day and night, seven days a week and many Sikhs attend every day and they will have 20,000 – 25,000 people over the weekend.
Outside but still within the complex, there is a huge pool, Sarovar, filled with holy water. Worshippers dip their hands and feet into the holy water for purification. Our guide assures us it is acceptable for foreigners to dip their hands and feet into the holy pool and to receive a food blessing. We are one of only a handful of tourists to start with and we’re pretty sure we’re the only ones partaking of the holy pool and food blessing. We do feel it’s important to stretch our thinking and see and experience other religions and cultures from the on-the-ground perspective of the locals.
Next we go to their community kitchen Bangla Sahib in Langer Hall (still within the temple complex). Wow! We enter and are overwhelmed by a massive volunteer operation. The Sikh temple serves 20,000 people free meals every day. Any religious affiliation is welcome to a meal at any time. We settle behind an open grill and get work cooking and flipping round bread slices. The Sikh volunteers take a break and enjoy watching the American tourists perform community service for their temple.
Very cool, interactive experience. What is surprising is that Sikhism has 30 million followers (twice the size of Judaism) and we’ve haven’t even heard of it before (besides John).
We ride by the President’s house, prime minister’s house, several embassies and parliament at sunset. We pass by the Estonian Embassy and Kyle announces he’s contemplating a post Internet career working for the Estonian consulate in India. “Dad, but you’re not Estonian,” Ashley points out. “Yeah, but I really liked Estonia and I could do a great job marketing their country.” Well maybe not, but applying to the American Embassy in Croatia is definitely still on the table.
We pick up Justin and Corey and head back to the hotel. Another early night to make up for the early wake up call.
The kids find a Dominoes across the street from hotel so instead of a curry with naan, looks like we are “za-ing” it tonight.
