Travels

The Temple of my Familiar

zoejoy — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:18:00 GMT

I will be leaving for the airport in about 7 hours from now, and I feel so ready to come home to the US. Don't get me wrong, my trip has been amazing, and I accomplished what I came here to do which was buy inventory for a small store and get to know some of India. I've witnessed amazing things...and yesterday I had a buffalo charge at me! I escaped from it...it looked crazy, it had a white tee shirt hanging off of one of its curly horns. I will miss the multiude of animals in the streets most of all...but I am ready to come HOME!!

As far as the peacock sightings...I continued to see peacock images and even a couple live peacocks in India, but I started to take the peacock sighting as less of a sign than I did when I was seeing them everyday in the US, since the peacock is the national bird of India, it stared to seem like less of a coincidence. But the other day, I found a book in a free book pile. It was by Alice Walker, and it's called "Temple of my Familiar." I grabbed it knowing I like Alice Walker and I needed some reading material. Well don't you know that the beginning of each chapter is marked with a peacock feather!! So far the book itself isn't really grabbing me yet, but the title is, "The Temple of my Familiar" and I am ready to leave this crazy, beautiful, horrible, smelly, wonderful, strange place that's full of Hindu temples everywhere and get back to the Temple of my Familiar. Were all of those peacock feathers leading me back home?? See you soon Mom!!

Indian Burn

zoejoy — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:12:00 GMT

I don't know where the term "Indian Burn" came from, but it is used to describe when you take someone's arm or leg and twist the skin with both hands in opposite directions to create an awful feeling kind of like rug-burn. Well, I have a theory on the origin of the term...perhaps it came from one of the methods of Indian massage I had last week, in which after I was thouroughly marinading in mustard oil, and after I had looked up that the woman massaging me and had the feeling that I was being treated more as a slab of dead meat being prepared for dinner than being massaged...she proceeded to "massage" me by twisitng my arms and legs giving all of my appendages an Indian Burn. I think must be where the term came from.

Marinading

zoejoy — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:55:00 GMT

When one receives a massage in India, one feels kind of like what a raw steak being marinaded with italian dressing for dinnermust feel like. I've had 4 massages in India and they all had on thing in common: loads of thick oil. The Indian massage is essentially about rubbing loads of aruyvedic oil into the skin, not about therpuetically working on the muscles as I am so used to. I don't think these people have ever learned about muscles or anatomy.

My massage yesterday is worth noting: First, I was coated in a thick oil that reminded me of tofu cooking in sesame oil. I was rubbed down front and back and when I was thouroughly slippery, my massuese took a papaya-sized sack of herbs wrapped in a cloth and dipped it in hot oil, and then used the hot sack to massge my upper back and shoulders. This felt AMAZING and my sore muscles felt like they were finally getting some attention from the penetrating heat. Yay, muscle action!

Something about the smell of the oil mixed with the herbs in the sack was familiar to me, but i couldn't place it, a smell from childhood. My mind drifted for a few moments, and then I pinpointed that smell--Chuck E. Cheese's!! Yes, I was transported back to the Northeast Philly Chuck E. Cheese birthday partys and the little plastic ferris wheel and the pool of mildew-smelling plastic balls that i was always excited to jump into, but I always felt like I was drowing in! This oil had the EXACT scent of the cheese-grease from Chuck E Cheese pizza.

Next, I received a special treatment called Sorhdara, in which warm oil is continually poured over the forehead in a stream. i had this for about 25 minutes and it felt AMAZING as the warm oil dripped from my forehead and down the back of my head as my massuse massaged my head and tugged at my hair at the same time. This time the oil had the pizza smell mixed with peppermint.

Afterwards, i shampooed 3 times and scrubbed from head to toe 3 times, but did not succeed in getting all the oil off. I decided to just let myself marinade a little longer, and I went through the day relaxed and smelling like lunch.

Sarnath

zoejoy — Mon, 9 Mar 2009 22:18:00 GMT

I'm in Sarnath now, a town just an hour north of Varanasi--Buddha gave his first teaching here after he reached enlightenment. Sarnath is full of temples and stupas and monks and in an odd way, it reminds me of Colorado...probably because I have visited stupas and shrines and Shambala centers in Colorado. I'm happy to spend my last couple days here, outside of the Varnasi madness. I'm staying in a tiny guesthouse which usually has no electricity or running water...but the lady of the house makes wonderful jam and fresh bread! And there is a nice garden with hibiscus flowers and tomato plants. My room is a tiny bungalow on the roof. It's very simple, but i like it, and I sleep under a blue lace mosquito net. Sarnath has trees and shade and some green grass to sit on and for that I am so happy! During my travels up to this point, I've only been in dirty cities and i didn't see any parks or green places to sit down. But here in Sarnath, you can actually SMELL the freshness of the earth from time to time. I'm feeling really lucky to have grown up and lived around of trees and open land and greeness and freshness. I feel so bad for the people who live on the streets of Delhi and other cities in India...literally camped out on the disgusting median of the road, surrounded by cars and pollution and poop and pee and noise...not a tree in sight.

Negativity (rant warning)

zoejoy — Sun, 8 Mar 2009 13:44:00 GMT

I HATE VARANASI right now and if I could figure out how to leave for the USA today, I would, or I will. I'm tired of traveling and I'm homesick and I don't care if I miss the Holi festival.

I'm sick of being harassed by people. I'm starting to really hate people. Yesterday, I had to ignore every single person who approached me...pretend like I didn't see them at all. It breaks my heart to ignore people like that, but 95% of people who want to talk to you are trying to get something from you and are not honest people. So I'm just ignoring everyone to protect my energy, but I feel totally isolated. This is when traveling alone is awful.

This place is gross. You couldn't pay me enough money to go in the Ganges River, which is digusting and full of poop, pee, sewage, trash, and dead people. Yesterday, there was a tartantula in my room, and dead bugs on my bed. A "holy" sadu came up to me, put out his hand and said one word to me "money." He said it like a demand. DO I LOOK LIKE A WALKING ATM MACHINE???????? I feel like punching someone. I walked home alone in the dark, got lost, and along the way, there were rats, piles and piles of cow poop, THOUSANDS of swarming moths, and a disgusting flea ridden dog that followed me...I kept trying to make the dog go away, but it wouldn't, and I was scared to be too forceful with it in case it would bite me. I walked home going, "Eww! Eww! Eww! YUCK!!! I HATE THIS PLACE!!! UGGHHHHH!!!" At least me talking to myself like that was effective in getting people to think I was nuts, and thus not approach me anymore. The hot weather and burning bodies and the rest of the grossness are making Varanasi seen like a kind of hell to me.

I'm not sure what's next.

The Taj, Train Karma, Burning Bodies, Bats

zoejoy — Sat, 7 Mar 2009 06:55:00 GMT

I went on a "sleeper" bus to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. The "sleeper" has little bunks on it which in theory you can sleep on- but in practice you cannot because the ride it so bumpy that all of the cells in your body are shaking. I tried pretending that I was on a fancy vibrating bed, but that didn't work. It also smelled like pee in there. And we kept stopping all night long and picking up random packages that got put on the floor of the bus...big white packages strewn all over the floor so you had to step on them to get out of the bus. And then stopping at more random places for random things....big rolls of something like carpets being shoved through the window...people making lots of noise and stomping on the roof of the bus. It was all very strange and loud and smelly...but we did arrive in Agra around 6:30am, just in time to see the sunrise at the Taj Mahal!

I saw the Taj with a guy from Ireland and a girl from Austria. It is quite an impressive sight! The 3 of us shared breakfast on a rooftop overloking the Taj and we spent the day together. I wanted to leave that night to go to Varanasi because there's really nothing else to do in Agra but see the Taj: no need to stay overnight, and I leave for the US in only a week.

When I got to the train station to book the ticket out of Agra, I was told that all of the trains to Varanasi were full for the next 5 DAYS!! Oh HELL no.......I wasn't having that!! No way in hell that I'd spend 5 days in Agra; I was leaving that night...somehow, some way. I got put on the waiting list, numer 70 in line. Ugh.

I prayed to whatever gods were listening to get me safely to Varanasi that night. I got to the train station when the "full" train was supposed to leave. I prayed and prayed that it would work out, I prayed to be lead to an open seat. I waited until most people were on board, then I hopped onto the train without a ticket. I wandered around from car to car, trying to tune into my intuition. I found an empty "sleeper," closed the curtain, and prayed and prayed and prayed, "Please let this train start moving before they find me!"

I felt they wouldn't kick me off if the train was already on it's way...they just might move me to the really crowed section of the train where you have to sleep in the filthy floor. But if they found me before the train left, I thought they'd kick me out and I'd be stuck in Agra. "Please let the train start moving, please please please" About 15 minuted past, "Please please please....!!!" And the train slowly began. THANK GOD.

The ticket checker did find me about 1/2 hour later. I showed him my waiting list receipt, and bribed him 300 rupees...hoping he would be able to find me an OK seat for the rest of the ride. I was lucky, I was able to stayed in the same sleeper all night, and I payed for the ticket on the train. That seat didn't belong to anyone but me. And the ride was smooth, and I slept like a baby and woke up in Varanasi.

In Varanasi today, I spent most of the day at the main place where they do funerals by the Ganges River. I have never seen anything like this in my life:

The family marhes down the street with the body, which is covered with shiny cloth and flowers and bright powders. They are chanting something with the word "Rama". They bring the body down the steps and put in the the Ganges to "bathe" it, then they bring the body up the steps to the fires where the son of the dead, who is dressed in all white and has a freshly shaved head, is the one to set the body on fire. There are about 20 fires going at once and each of them had a dead body in it! The bodies take 3 hours to burn. At first when I looked, they just looked like campfires, but then I saw a guy actually put a large stick into the fire and pull something out...and that something consisted of a torso, a head, and one dangling arm.

Oh. My. God.

Then I could see all of the bodies. Ribs, intestines, legs, feet, unindentifiable charred organs...I was mesmerized. I stayed for a couple hours, just watching bodies burn...just watching it all go up in flames. You would think it smells bad, but it just smells like campfire to me, not like burning hair or anything like you'd expect. It was incredible. Before they burn the bodies they put rosewater, sandalwood powder, and clarfied butter on the dead. After the fire is done, the son douses it with water from a terra cotta jug and whatever part of the body is left goes into the river. There are also lots of dogs and cows and goats standing around that eat little scraps of flesh that are left around the banks of the river.

Only men are at the funerals...I was told by a local that the reason why is that women can't handle funerals because they cry to much. Hmm. I was crying as I watched today. And I wondered how the grieving process might be different when you are the one to set your loved one on fire and watch them burn for 3 hours, as opposed to not seeing the creamtion happen, or just leaving the body intact. I suppose it really seals the deal, giving closure in a faster way than we are used to in the West.

AND, I was talking with a man who led me to what looked like a gazebo, where you look down on the funerals from above. I was watching from there, and then all of these birds came flying out of the roof of the gazebo. I realized the bird were bats, and the gazebo roof was a bat cave!!

Winding down Pushkar, winding down shopping

zoejoy — Tue, 3 Mar 2009 17:20:00 GMT

Today, I am committed to buying a ticket to Agra and leaving Pushkar by Wed night. I've been here shopping for a week and I could stay longer, but I really want to see more if India, go to the Taj Mahal, and spend time in Varnasi. I'm almost out of my budgeted store money.

My time here in Pushkar has been nice...I've shared meals with Diana (the rose quartz woman) everyday. I've met many shopkeepers from all over the world who are here buyng merchandise for their stores. Today, I met Guido, a Peruvian man with a store in Paris. We shopped for skirts together.

I'm learning so much. And I'm realizing that (with any luck) I'll need to come back here...or somewhere...within 6 months of opening my store becuase I think I only have enough inventory for 6 months. Most of the store owners buy merchandise 3-5 times a year.

So far, I've got tons of jewelry or really nice quality- very unique deigns with organic shapes and ltos of faceted stones and natural stones. I've got the most beautiful handmade embriodered wall hangings, fashioned with mirrors and all sorts of shiny things. I picked only the best of the best quality. I've got some scarves and jewelry boxes and today I have someone packing incense for me. I've also got some belts. I just buy whatever brings me joy...whatever I'm drawn to.

The only challenge has been buying clothes. I realized I just don't have a passion for clothing, but I'm buying some because I think it will help fill out the store. If I ever get a business partner, he or she will have to be in charge of clothes because I feel clueless. I can't tell silk from rayon! I'm used to just wearing lots of black myself.

So today, I make my last few purchases, and tomorrow, I'll find someone with a cart to help wheel my things to the courier and ship them off. Tomorrow night I'll be bound for the Taj Mahal!

Perfection

zoejoy — Sun, 1 Mar 2009 02:57:00 GMT

I can be a critical person. I try not to find fault with people, with things, with life. I try not to, and it's hard to try. But I usually wind up finding fault with most things- I'm just a critical person. I was raised that way, raised to be critical, raised to question, raised to pay attention to detail.... I'm somewhat of a perfectionist. At times, this has made my life more stressful.

But....

I HAVE FOUND A NICHE FOR MY PERFECTIONISM!!! Being as critical as I am is the PERFECT quality to have when shopping for merchandise because there are so many different qualities of things. My skill at weeding out merchandise with imperfections is amazing to me...someone can show me the most beautiful embroidered handmade work of art, and I just have to scan it one time and my eyes will immeaditely find everything that's wrong with it! Despite an article's apparent beauty, my eyes will go right to the first thing I see wrong with it. "It's missing 3 sequins here." or "It's a little lopsided." or "There's a tiny hole here" Things most people would never notice...but I do...and it's PERFECT because it will ensure the quality of my merchandise and enable me to have a more expenisive-type store. This will not be your typical hippie store.

Rose Quartz

zoejoy — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:39:00 GMT

I was walking in an entrance to a restaurant today, and all of this crap came falling down on me. I took me a moment to realize, but someone had been sweeping from above and all the nasty crap fell on me! Ughh. I stood there in the stairwell, wiping the dust off of me and coughing, and another woman entered, also on her way to the restaurant upstairs. I told her what had just happened.

Her name was Diana, and she's from England. We are both traveling alone so we sat down and had lunch together. It was a lovely lunch. During our lunch, I remembered suddenly that I had a piece of rose quartz in my bag that someone gave me in Jaipur. I had this strong feeling that she was supposed to have it, I don't know why. So reached in my bag and I gave her the rose quartz, told her I just thought she should have it.

Well, it turns out that her boyfriend died 2 years ago and shortly after his death random people have been giving her rose quartz! Like more than 2 or 3 people. She thinks its a gift from him, because he really liked the stone and said it was good for opening the heart. She thinks its his way of letting her know he's ok. She told me the story with tears in her eyes.

Cow stories

zoejoy — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:12:00 GMT

Cow stories. I have many cow stories.

Yesterday, there was a great bunch of monkeys hanging out by one of the ghats. (A ghat is a place where you walk down steps to a body of water to pray). A man was feeding the monkeys vegetables and they were so cute...one had a baby hanging on to her belly, and some of them were were just chillin on the ground, louging with their legs spread wide. I took lots of photos. I noticed that there was one hungry cow, begging like a poor puppy for some vegetables, and the man kept feeding them only to the monkeys. I said to him, "Feed the cow too. Look, she's hungry." He ignored me. "Feed the cow. I thought cows were holy!" He motioned for me to feed her, but I declined because I didn't want to get my hand full of cow slobber. But it really made me think: Cows really don't seem holy here! I don't understand why they say cows are holy here. They are more like stray dogs. They eat trash. People honk their horns at them and push them away. They are filthy, but beautiful at the same time. I love their eyes. I love the one with the great big horns. I am obsessed with taking pictures of cows.

Illness (again) and Fear

zoejoy — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:15:00 GMT

I left Jaipur yesterday, after spending at least half of my alotted budget on jewelry. After the purchse, the jewelry company owner was driving me back to my hotel, and I started crying! Now, honestly, I have cried in India every single day so far, whether from exhaustion, inspiration, sickness, happiness, sadness. But those tears in the car the other day had the flavor of fear. I sobbed because I could feel the weight of the risk I am taking by spending what little money I have to open a business in a shaky economy. Luckily, he (I forget his name now...maybe Amed?) was very kind and he encouraged me to feel what I was feeling. "When you cry, it cleans you out," he said. He also said not to worry, and that I should have faith in myself and have faith in God that my business will be a success. He said he bets he'll see me back here in another year, buying twice as much. I hope so. I felt anxious the whole night...it was a little hard to breathe.

So yesterday, I arrived in Pushkar...home of the only Brahma Temple in India. I haven't seen it yet because I am sick again and trying to take it easy. : ( The ride to Pushkar was fun...I shared a van with 3 people from Spain as we wound up the hill, passing black-faced, white haired monkeys and of course lots of cows. Someone from my hotel came to pick me up on a motorbike and that was quite a ride! ...Sitting sidways on the back of a motor bike, trying to balance with my huge pack on my back and my small pack in the front, holding on for dear life as we whizzed through the bumpy streets, dodging cows along the way. I took a short walk last night and snapped the BEST photos yet. I want to get out and snap more shots, but I need to rest my weary body.

making purchases and a wedding

zoejoy — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 01:45:00 GMT

Making purchases:

Today, I finally begun making purchases and putting in my orders for my jewelry! Over the last few days, I had a few false starts and I had trouble finding the style and type of quality jewelry I am looking for. But today--BINGO! I spent 7 hours in a shop, picking through sterling pieces with faceted gems and designing my own pieces. I only designed a small amount of pieces, and while I am really excited about them, I think for now, I'll stick to buying ready made pieces because designing my own is extremely time consuming. So I think I have enough faceted pieces now. Tommorrow, I'll shop for pure silver pieces without stones :)

A wedding:

Last night, against the never-ending soundtrack of honking horns, I also heard a marching band going down the street in front of my hotel. I ran downstairs to see what was going on and the first thing I saw was a white horse all decorated in a regal looking mirrored ensemble...it had decorations all over its face and beads hanging from it. And then there was a group of people, maybe 50 people dressed in their finest...the women looked like royalty wearing the brightest, most jewel-encrusted saris I have seen yet. People were setting off fireworks in the street...not little fircrackers, but 4th of July style fireworks were shattering my ears, jolting my whole body, and raining down glitter in the night sky. "What is this?" I asked someone. "A wedding!!" was the reply. The groom was dressed in a fancy white outfit with a white turban and when he got on that fancy horse, the people in the crowd cheered very loudly. Then women started going up to him and waving money around his head. The band was still playing loud and people were feeding something yummy to the horse. I couldn't tell who the bride was because there were about 10 equally stunning women. This celebration went on for about 1/2 hour, and the party walked on to another block....

Illness and inspiration.

zoejoy — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:31:00 GMT

The other night, I awoke at 3:45am, cold, sweaty, shaking, belly unsettled, achy. Oh noooo....I'm sick! What I thought was just congestion from inhaling car exhaust (which by my estimates is the rough equivalent of smoking 4-5 packs of cigarettes a day, ugh), had turned into some sort of illness. I cried alone in my bed, feeling awful and scared because I wasn't sure what kind of illness it was or how long it would last. I just let myself cry, hoping somehow my crying would cure me. As I cried my mind drifted back to memories from the previous day, and then, much to my surprise, my tears turned into tears of happiness as I recalled the events of the day.....

That day, I had finally found the main loose gemstone area- just one block in a Muslim neighborhood on the dirt road with goats and chickens wandering around. On this block, one can find about 10 lapidaries- places where people take raw stone and grind it into pieces suitable for jewelry. There are also a few jewelry shops on the block which are connected with factories that make jewelry. I spent the day in these shops.

The routine goes something like this: I take off my shoes and enter the shop, where I am greeted by friendly men who serve me steaming hot sweet tea. I tell them what I am looking for--different types of rings, pendants, and also loose stones. They dump piles of rings in front of me. Piles of pendants. Piles of any stone I want...and the stones...they are coated with jasmine oil to keep them in good condition! Can I just tell you how delicious they smell?? I marvel at the beautiful stones. I pick a few stones out and arrange them in a pattern. "I wonder if it's possible to make a necklace that looks like this?" To which the reply is, "Of course madam, anything is possible! We can manufacture anything you wish..Why not?"

wow.

So I lie in bed sick and feverish, crying tears of joy in the middle of night because I come to this realization: I believe I have found something to do in this world that satisfies my adult self as well as my child within.

As a little girl, I was always drawn to rocks and gems and jewelry, shiny thing of all sorts....I collected beautiful rocks from around the neighborhood in my little pink stroller, I sold mica rocks in front of my neighbor's house (no one actually bought any) and sold friendship bracelets on my other friend's block (we made $40!) I had a teacher who disapproved of my wearing my rhinestone jewelry to school in 1st grade, and glitter was (and still is) one of my favorite art mediums.

The week that I graduated college, I started making beaded earrings...hundreds of them. I loved it. It didn't have anything to do with my Sociology degree, but it brought me joy!

And now, as an adult, my dream is to have a career where I get to express my creativity, be my own boss, and make a lot of money. So when I realized I could easily design and manufacture my own jewelry here, rather than just buy finished pieces...I touched on the possiblity of what it might feel to satisfy both the needs of my little magical girl self and my adult artist businesswoman self.

I spent the next 2 days sick but inspired, wandering around buying little rock treasures to turn into designer pieces.

one week to figure this out

zoejoy — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 14:56:00 GMT

I have one full week in Jaipur to figure out where to find the best jewelry markets, and figure out how to import to the US. Jaipur, I've heard, the THE PLACE to buy jewelry. Yesterday, I saw a few shops that had some nice pieces, but I was too tired to even attempt bargaining or asking to see what they had stock piled in the back of the shop. Today, I start again, fresh and brand new.

Yesterday, I saw some sights earlier in the day. I went to Jantar Mahar, which is an astologial observatory, built about 300 years ago. There are enourmous instruments that measure time and monitor the celestial bodies. There is the HUGEST sundial there, which accurately tells the time down to 2 seconds! Also, an apparatus to locate the north star, and another so you can tell where the sun is in the zodiac. Very amazing place...I hired a guide for 100 rupees (like $2) to show me the different contraptions.

I also went to the Hawa Mahal, the "Wind Palace"... a gorgeous pink, ornate building in Jaipur. From the street, you can see the intricate stone facade. There is a way into the building so you can look out down onto the street....it took me like 2 hours just to find my way into the building! I asked someone how to get in, and they pointed in the direction of the entrance, "Just go in there, go up, then down, then up." Okay...actually, he should have said something like this, "Go in there, go up, turn right, go down, turn left, go past the Krishna temple, turn again, go up and up and up." Anyhow, my 2 hour detour was fun and I snapped some amazing photos of Indian women and children along the way.

The women are sooooo breathtaking!! And y'all know that I'm not one to objectify women, but you just can't help but be struck by the beauty of so many Indian women. Not only are they just very pretty to begin with, but they are like precious jewels when you see what they wear. The richest women wear the brightest, most eye-catching vibrant colored saris, flowing fabric set with sequins, mirrors, gold thread, or embriodery, inticately decorated. Tons of shiny, glittery bangles on their wrists, kohl around the eyes, huge nose rings. Set against the brown, dirty, dusty, dingy backdrop the the city, they really stand out like royalty. As spectacular as peacocks. And they smile back at me warmly when I smile at them, and they are happy to have me photograph their children if I ask.

A word on traffic in Delhi

zoejoy — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 21:35:00 GMT

I must tell you some details about the traffic in Delhi. It is unlike anything I have ever seen or imagined in my life. Even more crazy than Mexico City...by a lot. So imagine this: Motorcycles, bikes, horse drawn carriages, autorickshaws, bicycle rickshaws, camels with people on top, cars, donkeys, and trucks all CRAMMED into cramped bumpy rocky dirt trash filled streets....all the traffic going at once...in every direction. Bumper to bumper to tail. Not a single traffic light...everything moving at once all the time..like rivers...constant rivers flowing into one another...loud honking, constant honking, yelling, screaming, honking, loud. Pollution. Cows watching the nonstop stream from the side of the road. Now imagine crossing the street!!

Changes

zoejoy — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 20:50:00 GMT

It's amazing how I've gone so quickly from one extreme to the other today....

My day started at 3am in Delhi. I was feeling just awful...frustrated, alone, doubtful, scared. I wondered if coming here was a bhorrible mistake. I was exhausted but I couldn't sleep and had a train to catch at 6am. I went downstairs to see the time (3am) and I ended up talking to the hotel receptionist about how horrible I was feeling. I had a long and much needed cry. Thank God he had an attentive ear and loving heart for me!

I told him how totally drained and alone I was feeling. It seemed that 90% of people I talked to were trying to scam me or take advantage of me. And people spit all the time in Delhi, no matter if you are walking right there, so I got spit on my foot 2 times (I think by accident)...and mind you I was wearing sandals with no socks. Then a rickshaw driver walked right into me and stepped on my foot on purpose! I yelled at him, but it didn't help the stab I felt from his assault. The pollution stung my eyes and stuck in my throat. The markets weren't as great as I had expected....and I had major PMS as well!!

But this story is about change.

So I caught the train at 6am to Jaipur. The train ride was wonderful...complete with complimentary food, drink, local newspaper and great music to listen to. I sat next to a very kind hearted man--a soldier stationed in Kashmir coming home for a visit with is wife and 3 children. We chatted pleasantly during the ride. I laughed as he casually read eveything that I was writing in my journal as we rode! (Here there is no sense of privacy--its no big deal to read what someone has written down!) He kindly showed me to the tourist office in the train station when we arrived, which would have been difficult to locate on my own. He said, "You must call me when you get back to the US so I know that you have arrived safely with your family and you are ok, just call and say you are ok, ok?"

I got a free ride from the hotel transport from the station, avoiding the shifty drivers hanging around the station. This hotel is about 1000 times better than the hotel in Delhi. As I explored the hotel, I began to feel ecstatic...I mean like I-can't-wipe-the-huge-goofy-smile-off-of-my-face-ecstatic!! The place is gorgeous and clean and the staff are super super super helpful. I feel like a queen. This is the setting I need to be in that helps me feel like an actual jewelry importer...not just some dirty backpacking hippy.

And not only that: Some of you reading may know this and others do not, but for that month or so, I've been having many many coincidences that have to do with peacock feathers. To avoid a longer story here, basically peacock feathers have been showing up in my life almost daily for a month in various ways, and it feels meaningful to me. So the thing about this hotel is that it is decorated with images of peacocks everywhere!! Peacocks painted on the wall and carved into the ornate door! And when you walk up to the lookout point at the very top of the hotel, you see a huge image of fully splayed peacok feathers painted on the roof!! It all feels very good to me. Feels like I am in the right place now.

All of this in less than 12 hours.

Beginning of second full day in Delhi...

zoejoy — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 13:36:00 GMT

And so it is morning on my second day in Delhi. Somehow, I am not jetlagged even though the time difference is 12 hours from Denver! I find myself tired around midnight and awake around 6...although waking up that early probably has to due with the symphony of noises outside: people lifting the metal gates to open their store, folks shouting in Hindu, pigeons cooing, and also an unidentified small animal/large insect that lives outside of my hotel window. I can't see what it is since the window is opaque, but I prefer to imagine that is is some cute fuzzy creature at my window. Whatever it is, it can't get inside and that makes me happy.

My hotel is simple and the rumors that I read on the internet about it having roaches have proved false so far! Thank God. And it has hot water too, which is a plus.

Yesterday, I had a lesson in dealing with "touts." A good lesson to learn the first day. Nothing bad happened other than the fact that I wasted time and ended up not following my plan for the day. It is so easy to be followed by touts posing as helpful people. Lots of lessons. It seems that each hour that goes by, less touts approach me. I think I'm starting to give off a less gullable vibe now. Today, I will try pretending like I don't speak English so that I may walk in peace and follow my plans for the day.

Some highlights so far: the wonderful steaming hot fresh food; the best paneer ever! Riding in open air rickshaws in the anarchy traffic that flows down the street like a polluted rushing river...crossing the street is an adventure. Finding out via email from my customs agent that many items I had questions about are duty-free like bindis and trinket boxes! And the holy cows, of course. The strangest question someone asked me was, "Are you celebate?" to which I promptly answered "yes" and ignored the man who asked me...he was my waiter.

Today the plan is to but train tickets for my journey. I could write 10 pages right now on what is comfusing about buying train tickets in Delhi, but I won't! Then, I'll repel the touts long enough to stroll the bazaars of Old Delhi, looking for treasures for my store in the US...figuring out how much they are trying to overcharge me. More to come....