Goa Uncensored

The truth is... in India anything is possible. So in Goa...ANYTHING is possible.

First thing after breakfast you take a walk down the beach and you get offered Marihuana, Opium and Cocaine. There's absolutely no problem about it. They offer it to you openly and I'm pretty sure the Police know all about it.
Second thing when you walk around is that you should watch out for the Scorpio guys. They walk around in groups of 2 or 4 and they carry a pin or a needle in their hand. They stop you and point at your ear, a bit panicking saying there is a Scorpio on you. Of course there isn't, but when you let them approach you they sting you with their needle. The next thing you start panicking as well thinking you just got stung by a Scorpio and then it's up to them to take care of you. I don't know exactly what they do... sell you a medicine or take you to some fake doctor. But one thing's for sure, they want money! I've been warned so when they approach me I automatically step back and tell them firmly to 'get that thing out of the way'! But it's weird how they keep doing it to all tourists over and over and over... they must know that most people know this trick by now. Anyway... I've got 3 hours left here in Goa, so if anyone tries it on me this morning, I'll scream and yell and fall on the floor faking a heart attack! Ha, see how they really look when they're in panic! ;-)
And then there is the weird atmosphere concerning clothing. Women wear bikinis and some even think it's okay to go monokini. Now, I don't have a problem with that. For all I care people can just walk around naked. But there are a lot of Indian tourists and people who come here to work. For them it's shocking. Just this morning a group of 7 Indian men stopped at one of the sunbeds to look at the woman who was lying there half naked. It was as if they were looking at some strange creature, an alien. That can't be pleasant for those women, except maybe if they're a bit exhibitionist. There's plenty of beaches in the world where this is normal and totally not offensive, so why come here? My guess; because it's still cheaper than other exotic beaches and so the less fortunate come here to pretend that they are rich. Thus raising prices and making it less attractive for backpackers. And I think in the end Goa will kill itself by raising their prices but not equally raising the quality. The same hut costs 250 roepie in Arambul, they ask 600 roepie in Anjuna and in Baga it's over a 1000 roepie. And it's equally dirty and equally decorated. It's as if Goa is attracting more and more a kind of clientele we don't really want to be associated with. Russians picking a fight because you look at their girlfriend (but what did you expect when she's naked?), or coming in a restaurant and rearranging the furniture to suit them... There was none of that in Arambul, which is still backpackers territory. But the rest of Goa is heading down a road which will lead to decay.
And then the contradictory attitude from the Indians. They are appalled, but yet they sell these clothes and drugs themselves. Bikinis, tops, shorts, thongs... so maybe they need to decide where they are heading with Goa. Keep going down this path? It seems like they live from season to season here and they have no long-term vision. I can't really blame the workers for that, but there are rich owners and politicians... even they only seem to care about what they will make today and not tomorrow.
I might still be coming back to Goa, but it will be Arambul or some other backpackers beach, nice and relaxing! But first I've got people to meet, places to go, roads to travel and in a few weeks my trip will take me to Kerala where there are plenty more beaches to discover and to hang out. Let's hope it's more backpack and less Russian over there! ;-))

Goa

So I left Mumbai last week on Saturday and everything went smooth. The travel agents in Mumbai were scaring all the tourists how it is high season in Goa and there is hardly any ticket left for the train, so you would have to fly or take a very expensive bus... But I just went to the train station on friday and got my ticket for the next day. I think I was lucky because there were no tickets for Sunday or Monday, but the man behind the counter told me he had a cancellation for Saturday and still had 2 tickets. One of them was mine if I wanted it, so I took it! They're not usually this helpful... normally they just say 'yes' or 'no' so I was really happy that this man helped me! Thank you!
On arriving in the station Saturday night I waited in the Ladies waiting room to avoid the staring, since I was there 3 hours too early and in a bad mood. Mumbai had worn me out and I was tired. I get a bit aggressive when I'm tired and so people around me better watch out. Of course Indian people don't know that so unfortunately for them I was not in a smiling mood. No, I was on the path of war and so the first guy that took a picture of me without asking... well, let's just say everybody around us knew that I was NOT happy with that! And one guy who followed me all around the station won't be doing that again soon, after I threatened to call the Police to come over! These are things I can normally cope, but that day I just didn't have the energy.
Mumbai Victoria Railway Station is one of the biggest railway stations in the world, and probably the most beautiful one but that's hard to see through all the dirt and the filth. So if only it wasn't in India... then it might be worth a visit. Soon 2 more tourists came and it turned out they were also heading to Goa with the same train. Now I could leave my stuff with them and go to the bathroom, finally! My mood started to change slowly slowly... ;-)
When the train arrived in Mumbai at 22:30, there was complete Chaos!! The train hadn't even reached the platform yet and the open carriages were already full. Everybody wanted to get on this train. They were pulling and shouting... thank god I had a ticket for second class AC. When I got on, we were 6 tourists all cooped up together in the same compartment. We had ourselves a little party before going to bed and took the risk of eating 'train-rice' and 'train-tea'. It was perfect and after reading a bit one by one we fell asleep.
The next morning we arrived and the first stop was mine. An Argentinian and an Irish guy were heading the same town, called Arambul, so we shared a taxi. Arambul is in the North of Goa and it has a big backpackers scene and no big resorts. We got ourselves a hut near the beach and stayed there for 3 nights. We didn't do much more than reading, go walking, play yahtzee... just relaxing. It's all I needed after Delhi and Mumbai. I felt tired and overstimulated. So being here was exactly what I needed. Wednesday, me and the Irish guy, Peter, went on to Anjuna, which is a beach more central in Goa and a bit busier. We've been here 2 nights and again there's not much more to do than read, swim, eat, drink... a bit more parties, but Peter ended up going alone, because it's just not my thing. And now I've had enough. I'm getting tired of doing nothing and although we had a nice long walk up the cliffs and hills to go to the next beach (which no other tourists seem do over here; walk)... I'm ready to move on. I got my ticket for the nightbus and will be leaving tomorrow night to go to Hampi! I'm excited about that and feel it's time. Goa is nice and relaxing, but it's boring after a while and some beaches have little to do with India. Apart from the hassle for sunbeds and bracelets on the beach and the occasional beggar... this is a very Western part of India. People walk around in their bikinis, eat pizza, drink cocktails... things you would never imagine them possible in India if you are for example in Rajasthan. It's hard to believe this is the same country. There is also a change in scenery and the people are different. There are Christian churches everywhere and even in the front-yard of many homes you see crosses in stead of a statue of some Hindoe god. There are only a few Hindoe temples, so I think the majority here is Christian. They still mix it up with a bit of Hindoe rituals, that's just the Indian way and let's be honest... Christianity was forced on them, so it's only natural that they rebel a bit.But it's different and therefor it's worth coming to Goa when you want to learn about India. Good to know these places exist and maybe I'll come back here later when or if I'm tired... :-D

Confrontational Mumbai

I have reached the end of my stay in Mumbai and am taking the nighttrain to Goa. I 've spent a week here and I still feel like I haven't seen it all. I guess I'll have to come back... and I will. I like Mumbai!
But at the same time I hate it. When you first arrive you are blown away by the bright lights and the Western feel and look of the city and the Mumbaikers. But gradually you start seeing through the attractive facades and you see the underbelly of Mumbai. It's a city where officially 18 million people live, but the truth is that they estimate that 60 million people is the real amount of people living here. So 42 million people living here are not registered. Four times Belgium is living here without officially counting as a Mumbai citizen. But then who are they? Well, they are just about everybody in this country who comes down to Mumbai looking for a better life.
Some of them are working, long hours for little pay... but they figure it's better than nothing. One older man I met has been working here for 16 years as a tour guide. He visits his family in the East somewhere in the jungle, one month a year. His kids are grown up and he has one grandchild he hasn't seen yet. But what can he do, there are no jobs where he is from and here at least he makes enough money for himself and to send some home. Imagine being away from your wife and children for years on end... just to be able to provide?!
Another group lives in the slums, but that is not necessarily a bad thing, it depends on which one. You see, there are two types of slums.
The old slums, filled with Mumbai people or people who have been here for decades. Some of them have become villages on their own. There is a post office, there are street names and the people earn some money through crafts. Some have even managed to set up small factories in the slums and are making life better for themselves, their children and their neighbors. They can afford to send their kids to school and some of the younger people even have fairly decent jobs in big companies like in banks or for the government. These slums are gradually becoming more and more upgraded. There is a lot to do about this, because the land these slums are on is officially nobodies. The land used to be water and through the dumping of waste and the bric-a-brac from the people the land is now vast and build upon. So who's is it? For now, the government is claiming it. It's worth a lot of money in this overcrowded city and of course government officials see how this land can be very productive, so there is the ever hanging threat that they will sell it to private companies. And then where do these people go? Back to the slums? Huh?
And of course there are new slums, at the edges of the city. This is where the new people end up. This is not a part of town where you and I go. When you book a tourist tour, they will take you to the slums, but it will be an old slum... a better slum... a safe slum. The others are not for publication. You don't want to know what happens there and you surely don't want to see. Image the most horrible things and that's what it's like. Or at least that's what I think it's like. Because I've seen some pretty horrible things on the street open and blank already, without shame... so I don't even want to think about what's hidden. There's burn-victims begging for money, young girls with babies on their arms begging, children hardly older than 1 year who can barely walk but know when to hold up their little hands when tourists pass, whole families living on the street, in every corner, behind every building, in front of every temple, in between fences... they are everywhere!!
And yesterday it really hit me. A young man came up to me and asked me if I wanted a tour of the city? He was a tourist guide or so he claimed. I told him 'No' and walked on. So he kept following me... "ma'am, you need change money... No... you need tickets, train, bus... No... you need hash, drugs... No... you need company... No... you like Indian men... No... you want boys... No... girls..." He offered me just about anything. So I asked him to 'please' leave me alone, and he did, turned around and went up to the next tourist. Leaving me shocked! Did he just offer me children?! Children? For what? To do what? Well, to do whatever you want! Because many people's lives are worth nothing in this city. The city tours take you to the slums and the Red Light District where 13-year old girls stand along the street working and they sell it as an attraction, but in reality this is where most people in Mumbai live and 'work' and it is NOT a pretty sight. I didn't go on a tour like that. And tourists should stop going on those tours and they should stop giving money to beggars, because that is what makes 'begging' lucrative and so there will always be people around to exploit that. I felt bad ignoring so many people the past few days, but somehow it's the best thing to do. It's not up to tourists to give these people a better life. It's up to India to take care of it's citizens. I have no idea how they will ever change this situation, with the overpopulation making it worse and worse as the years pass, but some things are gonna have to change... soon! I just hope the world is ready for that!

Booming Bombay... or to be political correct; Mumbai.

After bumping into a few familiar faces in Delhi, even people I met here on my last trip in March, I took the overnight express to Mumbai. Just in time, because it started raining in Delhi and the temperature dropped. Winter is coming and in december it will be cold, or at least India-cold. So the train took 17 hours but for the first time in my life I traveled first class. Yep, first class! That is... Indian first class. Do I need to explain more? Our second class seating train is cleaner and more modern than this first class express sleeper. But it was comfortable. They bring you your food, make your bed and when I asked if there was any chance of maybe smoking a cigarette at the next stop, the first class manager adviced me to just take it to the bathroom and smoke through the window. Yep, first classers can do just about anything! But I don't like them. They are the rich and they act like it. I got stuck in a compartment with a mom and her son and a man, woman and their daughter. The mom alone was just so stuck up... I wanted to slap her in the face. She was friendly to me, being a western and because her 4-year old son kept climbing on my lap... indicating he really liked me, he even fell asleep on my shoulder, but she was rude to the staff and even to the other passengers. Apparently her father is some big-shot businessman in Delhi. Pfff, see if I care! The family was friendly, but you could see they stayed in the background because the other woman was 'more' than them. Bizar, how you feel the difference in casts more in this first class train then in any other place. Here, the rules are still applied. He who is more... has the power! So maybe next time I'll take second class again. The difference in price and comfort is not that big, but the people are a bit more open and relaxed. I did sleep well and arrived in Mumbai on sunday morning.
WAW!!! I love Mumbai! I checked in to the perfect hotel. It's in a hip neighborhood, Colaba, and I have a room on the fourth floor with a window facing the sea and the Gateway of India. It's the cheapest place in Mumbai (12 euro/night) but clean, with satellite TV in the room and the communal bathrooms are new and get cleaned every hour. The manager is friendly and helpful and everybody in Mumbai keeps assuring me how safe this city is! Yep, I feel good!
Mumbai is the Indian version of New York. You've got the old colonial architecture; both from the Brits and the Portuguese. You've got modern theater and museums, galleries. You've got markets, cozy little boutiques and the big shops with brands going from Only till Dior. You've got street food and fancy restaurants and this morning I had breakfast in a pastry shop... chocolate-mousse-cake... mmmmmmmmm!! It has everything and I'll be staying here at least till Friday. It does get really hot in the afternoon, but that's the perfect time to go into a museum or go to the cinema like I did the first day I was here. The mornings you visit the city and in the early evening you can stroll along the Colaba Causeway right down by the sea. I know I sound like an advertisement but believe me, if you spent the same amount of money you would spent on a week New York, you'll be treated like royalty here! 
Of course, Mumbai, just like New York, is scarred. The bombings left their mark. Tourism is down and security is high everywhere. The Taj hotel where the bombings took place is just in my street and there is no getting in or out without leaving you passport and going through a scanner. Even cars get turned inside out before they are allowed in. You don't think about it when you just walk around, but it's in Mumbaikers minds all the time. They talk about it openly and they tell you about their experiences.
My first confrontation was when I went to the cinema. You know, how they show you a sign at the beginning to put out your mobile and don't be too loud and in case of fire go to the exit... well, the first image here was to tell us: " In case of an explosion, please remain calm and assist police as much as possible..." Uhhh? WHAT? But then, this is daily reality here in Mumbai. They're scared it will happen again and they try to incorporate this fear into their daily lives. Amazing how they handle it! Makes me love them even more! ;-)
One more thing about Mumbai, it is the capital of the movie industry in India, including Bollywood. And yes, the scouts wander the streets and asked me if I could be an extra. Ha! Yep, in a real Bollywood-movie... and we would get costumes and make-up, and food and drinks, and they would pick us up at the hotel and drop us off, and we would get payed 500 roepies. So I went yesterday and well, all of it is true... but Indian-true. That means, ahum...
First of all... it wasn't a Bollywood-movie, but a second rate Indian soap with unknown actors that act as if they are better than the rest while they actually can't act at all, the male lead part is played by "Oliver" half Indian, half German and his arm muscles compensate his lack of brain muscles, the female lead smiles all the time with her mouth showing big white teeth, but her eyes are shooting fire, and she is constantly surrounded by 6 people to do her hair and make-up, and to top it all this soap is new and this is the pilot they are making to show the channel after which they will decide whether it will be shown on TV or not, so maybe they will just throw this away and for the actors there will be no big break through!! Ha!
Second... this was a night club scene in New York and all the girls had to wear dresses, the kind we in the West would never wear except maybe if your name is Paris Hilton, I refused to wear a mini-dress and so they made me a waitress with jeans and black shirt. The make up was there consisting of one lipstick and props were an over-sized eighties bracelet and earrings. When someone didn't want to put it on, they said it was to show the West.. Huh? We ARE the West and if we say that we wouldn't wear that shit, than the WEST it not like they think it is... so much for reality! No wonder all Indians think we're sluts! It's television making them think that!
Third... we didn't get breakfast although we were there at 7 in the morning, but had to wait till 2 o'clock to get lunch. The pick up was a crap bus that picked us up and dropped us off at McDonalds and it started at 7 in the morning and we didn't get back till 10 at night.
So yes, what they promise is maybe true... but Indian style! ;-)
But you know what... I had a blast. Me and some of the other extra's just laughed with the whole situation and it was good to meet all those people. Some are students in Pune where I'll be going next, so I can meet up with them. We made fun of just about everything and played our own little roles. It's an experience and I had fun, that's all that matters. Or maybe... yes, I almost forgot... I got upgraded! Yep, me! The waitress became the barmaid, friendly colleague of the main character, and when she gets off work she comes to say bye to me and I have to say it back... "bye" with a big smile! Joehoe, I got a part, a speaking part!! Yep, I should be on the credits: "bye-girl: Emma De Spiegelaere"! And it wasn't the assistant director, but the director himself that came to give me instructions. Haha, I'm a star! :-D
Well, this star has to go now, the streets of Mumbai calling! x

Old Delhi, New Delhi, Delhi, Delhicious!!

I never thought I would ever say this in my life... but it's good to be in Delhi. Rishikesh was nice but at the end I was a bit bored. So yesterday morning without making any arrangements I decided to just go back to Delhi and see if I can get a ticket to Mumbai. So I leave my Guesthouse and go to the main road and a Vikram (small open air truck) is going to Haridwar where I can take the train to Delhi. He gives me the choice to either go alone and pay 300 roepies OR he can fill it up and we share the price. So I decide to wait untill it's full. And boy, was it full?! 7 young Indian men join me, between 22 and 25 years old. So this is a real test. They come on to me straight away even though they are all married with children. So I play the virgin-card. I tell them I'm getting married in the spring, a June-wedding because that's my birthday and my fiancee is working to build our house. Because in my country it is the man who pays for the wife... haha. Yep, if you're going to lie, you might as well add some shocking ingredients to the story. So after telling them they can NOT put their arm around me for a picture... they actually tell me I am a respectable woman and they haven't met many western respectable women. That is not true, they haven't met many western women at all so they only know the macho stories that go around India about Western women being easy! So in such situations I play the Virgin-card! And it pays off! Ha! They end up teaching me some words and how to nodd my head the right way.
So I get to the trainstation and I buy 'some' ticket for 'a' train to Delhi. It leaves in 2 hours, so I go to the platform to check it out. It turns out it is fully booked and the ticket I have is not for a seat but for 'space' in an open carriage... Yep, this is gonna be hell. So I wander around and then the conductor comes up to me saying they still have places in 2class AC. Thank God! All I have to do is show up in an hour and pay for the ticket on the train. You see, the system is a bit weird. They have different types of tickets for different groups; senior citizens, ladies, foreign tourists... and even when these tickets are not sold but all the normal tickets are sold, it says the train is full. So as a women and foreign tourist, if you just show up when the train is going to leave there is a 95% chance they will still find you a place. So perfect for me, no?!
The trainride takes 8 hours and different people come up to me to talk. One guy is going home after having attended a spiritual lector by his Guru. Man, he was all spiritual talks and stories and I ended up asking him to leave me alone because he was tiring me.
It's past 10 in the night when we will arrive Delhi, Old Delhi. I've never arrived there in that station and so I'm a little bit worried about how things will go. I booked a room in the neighbourhood where I always stay and so I will have to get a taxi or something. And just when I'm about to step off the train there is an older man, French. We start talking and he booked a room in the same hotel. Waw, what luck I now have a travel-partner and I don't have to go into the night all alone. And it turns out he speaks Hindi. What more do you want; Older, male, Hindi-speaking... all the things Indians respect! So he fixes us a ride on a bycicle-rickshaw and it was sooooo nice. A nightview of Delhi! Through the labyrinth of little streets we reach the hotel. My room is big, clean and nicely decorated (which is a rarety here). AND to end my day even more perfect... They bring a beer up to my room, the first since last week! Jammie! Yep, I slept 8 hours straight and feel good!
Today I got a hold of a ticket to Mumbai for tomorrow, it was the second last one, so again it is a lucky day! Let's hope this vibe stays with me a little longer... maybe it is Karma, who knows?! ;-)

Rishikesh

So I'm still in Rishikesh, the world capital of Yoga. I discover new Ashrams every day, there must be hundreds around here. But for Yoga-class I stick to mine. Opposite my guest house there's an Ashram that offers classes in the morning and the afternoon. I try to go twice a day, but 7:30 in the morning is some days a little too early. It's amazing though how fast your body seems to adapt to the stretching and after 3 days I'm almost able to put my hands flat on the floor when bending over... if that means anything to you. Well, it basically means I'm getting pretty lean! ;-)
The Yogi (= Yoga-teacher) is funny and very energetic. He's very small and skinny, with a long beard. This sounds old, but he's actually younger than me. He wants us to smile all the time and I do, because watching him and hearing his funny accent makes me laugh. And now he thinks Belgians are happy people! He doesn't learn names, he gives us numbers. I was number three, but he calls me 'Belgium'. For some reason it is the only country he can remember and so I guess that's better than being a number.
Apart from Yoga and meditation there is not a lot to see here. I visited all parts of the city and also some of the temples. Rishikesh is an important city for pilgrims. And so every day from 6 in the morning till 5 in the afternoon (that's when it's light) hundreds of pilgrims pass through Rishikesh. All going to the temples. But for some the highlight of their visit to Rishikesh is seeing Westerners. The Pilgrims come from all over India and some from pretty remote places. They have never seen Whites before, so they tend to spend more time staring at us than looking at the temple. When I visited the temple yesterday, I was the only White there and so all the Pilgrims asked to take pictures. It's not allowed to take pictures in the Temple, but the guards gave them permission to use their camera's because it was for taking pictures of me. Hilarious situation!
And I have breakfast near the taxi stand and sometimes when there are a lot of Pilgrims waiting for a taxi they stare at me drinking coffee. I think this is how animals in the Zoo must feel; dozens of people standing around in a circle watching your every move, taking pictures and today even feeding me! A little boy came to give me popcorn...yep, just like in a Zoo! :-)
I'll be staying here one more day and then I'm ready for the next step. I used this week to heal from my cold and to get my eating and sleeping pattern in order. Now that I have and my body is lean enough, I will be trying to get to Mumbai. But it's not as easy as I thought it would be. All the trains are full, so I'll have to put myself on a waiting list and hope people don't show up. Anyway... I'll go back to Delhi first and then see what my options are. But everything in India has a way of working out, so I'm not worried. And if I really can't get to Mumbai... I'll have to stay here and live in an Ashram! Haha!

Oh my God...

Yes, I'm talking about God because he is everywhere. Everywhere, but mainly here in Rishikesh. Yep, all the Gods come together here and have themselves a good laugh with their cup of chai. The enlighted spirits that wander the streets here are numerous, even more numerous than the holy cows. And they seem to float and wear white clothes and have white hair and think arrogantly that their inner beauty is amazing when all the Indians want to see is their tits. Pardon my language. Yes, after getting up at 5 this morning, spending 5 hours on a train and another hour in a rickshaw I'm a little sarcastic today. Don't get me wrong, Rishikesh is beautiful, with clean air and it has a really good vibe. I'll be hanging around here for a bit and apart from the enlighted, the other 50% of tourists are actually really nice. I found myself a room for 'one hundred pipty roepie' and it looks like a 'tree hundred pipty room', so I'm happy about that. Maybe if I do stay longer I will look for a 'pipe hundred roepie' room that looks like a 'one thousand roepie' room. Just wait and see how I sleep tonight. :-)
I'm happy to be out of Delhi because I started sneezing every 10 minutes. Since I got off the train, the sneezing stopped and I haven't used one tissue yet. Yep, must have been the air! Divali was nice, the lights and candles everywhere and fireworks and firecrackers. From a safe distance at my rooftop restaurant it looked all very beautiful.  A bit dangerous maybe when small flames seemed to fall on various rooftops and electrical knobs, but hey... that just adds to the suspense! Will it or will it not... burn?! Ha!

I don't know what happened with me, but I seem to have the Air of being an experienced India traveler?? Beggars don't even come up to me so much anymore, vendors smile but don't really hassle me and tourists come up to me to ask all sorts of questions. There must be something about me. Some Indians still try like at the hotel... the receptionist this morning wanted to get me in a taxi for a 1-minute drive, so I laughed. Then he wanted to sell me a bus ticket and again I laughed. (Yes, I laugh a lot these days.) So he told me that I know a lot...maybe too much. So I answered I know enough to keep men like him off my back. He didn't laugh. Wonder why?! :-D
Anyway, things are a lot more relaxed than last time and that changes my experience of India. It's different. 
But I'm glad this is not my first trip to India. I would advice everybody that comes here for the first time...don't do it alone. Not because it's not safe, it is, but because you need someone there to hold your hand and toughen you up! That was my lesson last time and now I'm so happy about it, because it's what makes traveling here a lot easier. I felt it the second I arrived, maybe that's what people are picking up about me? Let's hope I can keep this up!

From Delhi with Love!

So, this is it! I'm in India, Delhi. My trip here went smooth, very smooth. If this sets the tone for the next couple of months, I have nothing to worry about. Wednesday morning Kristel and Steph gave me their last coffee. Probably because they knew it would be my last decent coffee for a while. Ha! Abderahim kept me company at the station and waved goodbye as the train left the station. Sniff! Check in at the airport went good and they gave me a seat at the exit, so lots of leg-space. I watched Alice in Wonderland which I've been wanting to see. My pickup in Delhi showed up and even though it was one of those 'shrunken' little cars, I was happy with it. There was a lot of traffic, but this car is like a rat and can fit the tiniest holes. So whenever it saw a bit of space in between two huge trucks... there we went! Very efficient if you need to be somewhere fast, not so good for the heart! ;-)
The hotel is OK, but to my suprise it's Delhi that surprises me the most. It's still yellow and it smells the same, but they must have known I was coming. They prepared the city for me and removed all the cows and dogs. I am so thankfull for that! ;-) Or maybe it's because of Divali-festival?! Anyway, it all looks cleaner than I remember and there's less hassle. Is it the Common Wealth Games; are things really about to change in this city or is this just my mind that was expecting the worse? Probably a bit of both. There are constructions going on everywhere, so I guess Delhi really is cleaning up. Well on the ground, because the visibility in the sky is like 20 meters. But I'm also a different person than 6 months ago. I know how to dodge the hassle-bullets. When an old man tried to read my lines (yes, the foreheadlines tell you all about yourself and your purpose on this planet), I told him I was not ready for a great spiritual mind like his... so we both started laughing and he winked at me while leaving me to be. He knew that I knew what he was up to!
I'm not doing much here in Delhi. A cold, mixed with allergies, tiredness, destressing and a bit of jetlag and that was my cocktail the last 2 days. This morning I took a bit of medicines and now I'm better. But I'm taking it easy; reading, watching TV, wandering Pajar Ganj and talking to strangers (sorry, mom and dad...). But tomorrow I'm moving on and taking the train to Haridwar and Rishikesh up North. At the foot of the Himalaya where the air is fresh I'll be practising my yoga and relaxing...mmmmmmmmm... :-D