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South Asia Trip (Sept - Dec 2002) Week #6/7 Update |
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Hello
people, Hope
all of you are doing well. Thanks
to all of those that have written back personal messages so far.
Makes me feel closer to home and encouraged to continue on with my
travels in this sometimes strange yet familiar motherland! I
am back in India now and do not have to deal with a language barrier
anymore as in Dhaka. Two
weeks in Dhaka were fun and it was a good quiet before the storm.
I haven’t really been alone so far in my travels but soon I will
be. The last week in Dhaka
was the same as the first: partying in the evenings and aimlessly walking
around during the days. Went
to a Halloween party dressed as a phatan and The 2 Nadias and Daniya were
dressed as belly dancers and Jim as a Yemeni so we were quite sight to
see. Had another good night
meeting more local Bangladeshi people and a few more expatriates here and
there. Bought 12 DVD’s for
my self worth $30 as all the pirated Chinese stuff is available in Dhaka.
I tested each one before I bought them and now have to buy a DVD
player when I get back to Canada. Of
course, after I find a job! Left
Dhaka on Monday morning and spend the day in Calcutta with a couple who
are family friends of my uncle in Mumbai.
Since it was the day of Diwali, it was a relaxed day and at night I
joined the couple (who are in their 40’s) and some of their close
friends on a roof top terrace for dinner and drinks and discussing all
kinds of subjects. I find
that I am able to relate to people in their 40’s and actually have
stimulating conversations and have a good time! The next day I did some sightseeing around Calcutta and it was
very relaxed and mellow. I’d
say Calcutta is like the Vancouver of India as the life is slower nd
mellow with a laid back attitude compared to other large Indian cities.
That evening I took an overnight train to Delhi.
Met a young IT professional and we spent 4-5 hrs talking about life
in India and Canada. He works
for AOL and said that just like how multi nationals have cheap labour
garment factories here, they have cheap labour software writing houses
here too and he works in one of them!
When you ask for technical support by phone on AOL, you are
actually talking to an Indian in India! I
am in Delhi and have been here since Wednesday. Spent
the day at the Red fort and jamma masjid (built by one of the Mughal
emperors and the largest mosque in India).
Walked though old Delhi and saw the famous chandni chowk market.
Then I met Farah's friend shilpa and her friend Luciana for dinner
and we went to this funky Chinese/Thai/Korean place called Orient Octopus!
I stayed the night at a hotel in old Delhi for $6.50.
the next morning (Thursday) I went to Agra I
am off to Jaipur (capital of Rajasthan) tomorrow morning and plan on
leaving on Sunday morning for Jaisalmer, which is near the Pakistani
border and in the Thar Dessert, for a 1-2 day camel safari.
After that I am hopefully off to Pushkar for a world-renowned
annual camel fair where over 200000 people from India come to trade
camels! Till
then I bid you all ‘Namaskar’ and hope to hear from some of you, even
if it is a one liner saying hi! Later, Sameer
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