More Pics from New Delhi!

Ok! My beautiful computer guru Katie Jo has helped me through messaging in Facebook to figure out a better way to get my pictures on my blog...Hooray! Thank you Katie:) So I am hoping my blog will be caught up soon, or at least have a more steady flow! These are the rest of the pictures from my second day in New Delhi...

Red Fort

It's amazing to imagine all of this in pristine condition

Used to be a working fountain

Men with guns are everywhere...

Crazy streets...

Our first tuk~tuk ride!

Lunch at this famous restaurant

Snake charmer!

In retro spect...this was a little crazy!

Fresh produce at our first bazaar (market)

Above...my friend Brenden and the snake charmer...

More Pics from New Delhi!

Red Fort

Shrine

Ajeet called this the "tourist trap" the entrance into the fort was filled with venders selling over priced items!

Red Fort

This is where the Emporor would sit, the Prime Minister below and in front would act as a "messenger" between the people and the Emporor.

Can you say...sensory overload?!

New Delhi
Yesterday(1/4) I spent the day at the hotel while I awaited the arrival of my friend and travel companion Brenden. I slept until I woke up...which was so lovely:) Made some hot tea, ate an apple I had bought at the Amsterdam airport and then soaked in a nice hot bath. I had lunch in the hotel restaurant, a traditional Indian dish...vegetarian...cooked vegetables in a spicy sauce with a coconut chutney and some yummy bread that was much more dense than naan. It sure did taste great but was not very nice to my tummy:( Delhi Belli I have heard it called...the food takes some getting used to but luckily I brought some essential oils with me and just rubbed some DiGlaze on my stomach and it felt better within 10 minutes! I have used it twice now and has been very useful:) Other oils that I have been using so far: Purification to spray on my clothes to freshen up. Thieves on my toothbrush and the bottom of my feet to stay protected from germs. Lemon in my water (that I have treated with a UV light of course!) which is very cleansing for the body. I am happy to have internet at the hotel so I have been able to blog and check email, and was even able to talk to my Grandma, Mom, Sister, and my 2 nephews on Skype! It was so wonderful to see them and talk although it was just for a short while.
Even though I am staying in a 5 star hotel right now the slums can be anywhere in India...the view from   my room...

Brenden finally arrived around 1am(1/5) and I was so happy to see him! He is a true friend of mine from California that will be traveling India with me until his departure on the 24th of January. It was really great to share our stories of our journey here with each other and catch up after over a year of not seeing each other. I think we went to bed at 430am but didn't get much sleep because of some noise in the hotel that sound like construction:( So we finally just gave up and got up and made tea and coffee then went down for a breakfast buffet that is included with our room. Really delicious...huge variety of both American style breakfast and traditional Indian, like a flat pancake (similar to a crepe) stuffed with a potato onion mixture served with tomato chutney, coconut chutney, mint chutney, and a yummy vegetable soup~mmmmmm! A unique selection of juices including fennel bitter melon, beet pomegranate, chinok apple, and many others...and maybe the best fresh squeezed orange juice I have ever had! 


After breakfast we set up a car and tour guide for the day to see New and Old Delhi. Now this is where you say: "SENSORY OVERLOAD!" I was so glad to have the experience but would not want to have it too often! We were so so so glad to have a guide and a driver that knew what they were doing and where they were going! Our drivers name was Deepram, and our guide was Ajeet Singh Kasana. Ajeet speaks 5 languages including English and French! We spent the day seeing some very old historic buildings beginning with the Presidential Palace (Rashtarpatai Bhavan), The Red Fort...this is where the Prime Minister and the Emperor used to address the public twice a year...we spent almost 2 hours touring all the old buildings and hearing stories of how they used to be so beautiful decorated with gold and paintings, the floors covered with beautiful handmade rugs. From there our guide walked us across the street through the madness that they don't even consider "traffic"...I tried to get pics of what the streets are like and they don't seem to do it justice! The street is full of cars, toktok's (the worlds cheapest "car" ran on clean energy, rickshaw's (bike pulled buggy), Indians on all sorts of bikes transporting all sorts of things, and people everywhere walking right in the middle of all of the chaos! It is defenatly a learned skill just to walk around, much less drive around! We took a ride in a rickshaw for about 30min then walked through a bazaar (market). The bazaars are outside winding through very narrow streets with tons of little tiny shops and places to get food...but watch your toes! Even through the bazaar people are riding their motorcycles...way scarier than California! Hung somewhere above or around the doors (more like a wide opening...you cant really walk into the shops) to each shop you will find a decorative gathering of a whole lime and chilies...said to protect and keep evil spirits away. 
We also got to see the biggest Mosque (Jama Masjid) in India. A Mosque is used only for prayer, this one holding 25,000 people on the inside and 35,000 around the outside! Can you imagine how powerful that would be?! Then energy cultivated by 60,000 people!!! So awesome:)
Ajeet then took us to lunch for out first true Indian meal outside of the hotel..it was soooo delicious! I ordered a ginger ale...it was yummy but looked nothing like any ginger ale I have ever had! Then we felt the urge to sit and hang out with a snake charmer! A little scary but come on! When do you get to do something you have probably only seen in the cartoons! After that we tried to make it to the Minuret before it closed but we were too late! We got to see it from a far which was still cool...the tallest structure in New Delhi. It was supposed to be even taller but the man who began building it died before it was done, his son wanted to finish it in honor of his father and died in the process, so they decided it was cursed and stopped building but never tore it down! 
What a day! We got back to the hotel around 730pm, Brenden passed out as soon as he layed down...I tried to blog but ran into some issues with loading pics (which is why you haven't heard from me in a while!) so I took a nice hot bath instead (I have to take advantage of those while I can!) read some of the book I brought with me (Shantaram...so good so far!) and hit the sack around 10pm:)

I keep running into to problems when I try to add pictures:( 
I will try to add some later...I got some really cool ones! 
But for now I need to get off this computer! I will continue my adventures of New Delhi but I have arrived in Rishikesh as of today, January 8th...I am already in love with this place and can't wait to tell you all about it!
I love you all so much and miss you so much too but am doing fine, eating well, and drinking plenty of water:) 
Many blessings~Q
XOXO

Presidential Palace

Presidential Palace

Crazy streets!

Rickshaw

The beginning of my journey to the other side of the world!

Amsterdam
On my flight from Denver to Detroit I just so happened to be seated next to a sweet Indian couple who had been living in Westminster for the last 5 years and were headed back to Bombay to reunite with their family...they were very excited and happy to share advice and traveling tips! I believe them to be a bit Americanized~ I have to say I was sad when they pulled out their McDonald's after take off:( But, to each their own...right?! Once we landed in Detroit the three of us walked together to our next gate to catch our flight to Amsterdam. With a lovely window seat once again this time I had the company of a couple from a city near Amsterdam...Hannah was very nice and we chatted for a while before we each settled in for a movie, dinner, and some sleep. I awoke to breakfast being served and Hannah offered some advice for the airport...get Euro's first then get in line for a train ticket~time and frustration saved! Thank you Hannah:) 
As I was putting my backpack on to head for the train the plastic piece that holds one of the straps on broke! Thank goodness my Dad sent rope:) I tied it right up and was on my way to miss my train! But luckily they run every few minutes so it was no big deal! The train ride was nice and I loved to see the city passing by...headed to Central Train Station I found a tourist info building across the street and was told to take the Tram 1, 2, or 5 and my hotel would be a 2 min walk from my stop...after some searching I found my Tram got off at my stop but the Hotel Pulitzer was nowhere to be found...and nobody seemed to have ever heard of it~I think most of the people I asked were traveling also. Finally a gentleman asked if I needed help finding something and he knew right where to send me:) After about a 20 min walk after wondering around for some time I thought my back was going to fall off! I had to stay with my breath...just as if I was practicing yoga~come to think of it...I guess I was practicing yoga...off the mat and in the world! 
Once I made it to my room with a view of a canal I freshened up...layered as many clothes as I could and headed out for a walk around the city! Not even 5 min into my walk I was approached by a handsome British boy telling me he liked the way I looked and wanted to know where I was from...he couldn't believe I was American and when I told him I was headed to India he understood and thought I would fit right in! He offered to show me around his neighborhood and asked if I "smoked"...of course I declined with a No Thank You and went on my way. It was very cold and windy but I was determined to see some of the city~ I love the oldness of it all...the canals are so cool and the vibe is awesome with everyone walking or riding there bikes there are few cars on the side roads which was nice. As it started to get dark I spotted a coffee shop from across a canal...I headed over anxious  for some nice hot tea, as I approached I realized I must me in the Red Light District...! A large variety of herb displayed behind the counter told me to keep on walking! So I headed back to the hotel for some dinner, a shower, and an early bed time! I was so exhausted...slept for 10 hours:) When I awoke around 7am I was surprised to see it was still very dark outside and learned from my server at breakfast that in the Winter it stays dark until about 9am...and it did! 

Head to New Delhi
This time I caught a taxi to the train station to head back to the airport to board a plane to New Delhi! I made it with plenty of time and met an older couple from Amsterdam that reminded me of my brother-in-laws parents...headed to India for 3 weeks to hopefully get some pictures of tigers! They were very nice and kept me company waiting in line to board.
When I found my seat the row was empty...as I awaited my new neighbors for the next 8 hours I was praying to be blessed with some nice Indians that would hopefully offer assistance in getting a taxi safely to my hotel. Someone was listening because a very nice Indian man by the name of Gurinder Singh sat to my left...he asked me to call him by his nick name...Babbi. He was so pleasant, we shared stories, and hopes for the future. He asked me "With what feeling do you come to India with?" I knew we would be friends when he was telling me how he likes to make his tea in the morning...'boil the water, add fresh tea leaves and fresh pressed ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, and milk...and you make it with love~ all this love you put into the tea then it will be good for your body, and your mind' Made with 100% Love:) At one point I tried to watch a movie but Babbi kept talking to me even with my headphones on! Made me giggle:) He did let me sleep for some time and said"Good morning!" when I woke up. And wouldnt you know...the airport Gods were listening! Babbi walked with me and helped me find my luggage, showed me where the ATM was so I could get some ruppees, and then took me to the prepaid taxi service inside the airport where I got a taxi with no problem! Now it was time to leave Babbi and head outside on my own...I took a deep breath, reconnected with sankalpa (intention) and went out into the fog filled sidewalk, found my taxi at pillar 40 and was on my 1st crazy ride in India! It was so foggy you could barley see anything! They have lanes...but don't use them~on the other hand they use the horn non stop and continue to blink their lights as they are squeezing in between cars! I just kept praying that this Indian man was taking me to where I had requested and there would be no monkey business! And he did. I arrived just fine to a beautiful palace of a hotel where I was escorted to my room and felt very safe and at ease. The room is amazing and I am feeling very pampered, trying not to get used to it, knowing that this is most likely quite the opposite of the majority of what I am about to experience. I have made it to the other side of the world...and the journey continues!
Big Love~Q

Babbi and I at the end of our flight.

complimentary tea in my room:)

beautiful shower

Shanti (peace) from New Delhi!

Art from my awesome nephews...will help anywhere I stay feel a little bit like home:)