The Ashram

View from the ashram before sunrise

I don't have time to write a long post because there is so much studying to be done but I thought I would post something short in order to keep everyone updated.

A day in India

Thank goodness we were on the orange bus for the ride some Armitsar to Chandigarh

Carl and I traveled from Amritsar (where the Golden Temple is) to Chandigarh by bus early in the morning. The ride was a peaceful four hours with scattered little towns and wide open rice fields. We arrived in Chandigarh at about 1 in the afternoon.

The Golden Temple

The Golden Temple

This blog post was composed by both Carl and Cara on the bus.

Adventures in Old Delhi!

Carl in front of the Red Fort

Yesterday Carl arrived all the way from America! He wanted to get a real taste of India and I was ready for an adventure after trying to read the Bhagavad Gita for a week. We headed out to old Delhi via the metro. We got lost twice in the a crazy small back allies of the bazars. As we walked deeper and farther into the markets, sunlight disappeared and pathways got longer and narrower. We started asking a lot of questions about what we were seeing around us. For example how does anyone make enough money to survive on; there seems to be way too many products and not enough people buying them. There was what felt like a square mile of tiny shops all right next to each other selling the exact same light bulbs...all the shops were the EXACT same! Also there seems to be a million rickshaws but no one is riding them! The drivers are all sitting on the side of the road. 

Carl and I decided that there are some things, probably most things, that we will never understand about India. Like why would a man on the side of the street ask me if I would like my ear cleaned whilst holding a q-tip? Seriously, why? Has anyone ever said yes to that man?!

Namaste!

Sightseeing

Infront of Qutb Minar

Saturday was really fun! The day before I was feeling pretty homesick and lonely so it was  nice to have a good day. Sid picked me up and we went to see a couple things in the city. We went to the Qutb Minar which is the tallest stone tower in India. It was named for the Muslim sultan Qutub-ud-din Aibak. The first Muslim mosque is next to the tower. We also went to a couple markets and looked around at all the beautiful colorful clothing, fabric, shoes and so much more. It was nice to go out but India is so exhausting. I am sure I will get use to it but there are so many people and so much going on all the time, that it takes effort to just be aware of what is happening right around you.

The first couple of days

View from a rickshaw 

Everything is going well so far! I am a little jet lagged and have a bit of a cold but I am using this time before Carl gets here to rest up and get better. 

Flight to India

I've made it to India!