Today is supposed to be a beautiful day, so I decided to book a wine tour and river cruise. The pick up point was on Elizabeth Quay, so I knew exactly where to go. I was hungry, so I stopped at a small café for breakfast but I ended up throwing most of it away because it didn’t taste good. Luckily, the riverboat had mini muffins for us to snack on.
Once we reached the end of the Swan Valley, we all split up depending on our tour. A van was waiting for us and it took us to a winery that also had a restaurant. I had booked the tour with the lunch option, so I went to the restaurant to eat. I had a very good barramundi, which is a local type of fish.
After we had finished up here, the driver took us back into Perth. There was a drop off point by public transportation where we could catch a ride back to wherever everyone was staying. When I was asking the driver for directions, he was nice enough to offer to drop me off at my apartment so I didn’t have to worry about it.
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Our guide apparently also works here, so she took us inside to wind the clock. The clock is one of the old fashion ones that has to be wound by hand every day, and we had the opportunity to do it. She stuck a pole thing into a whole, and then both of us tried to wind it. It was really hard! It took a lot of muscle to turn the pole, which is probably why they give tourist the “opportunity” to do it. They want the free labor. This was the end of the tour, so we each went our separate ways.
After I had finished exploring I caught the bus back down Perth CBD (Central Business District, aka downtown) and walked over to Elizabeth Quay. The next tour I had signed up for was a pearl tour at Willie Creek Pearls. I got there a little early, but since I was the only person to sign up they decided to start early.
The lady played a movie that showed the history of the oyster industry. They used to send people out in diving suits, that were so heavy it would cause them to sink to the bottom of the ocean. Once there, they had to feel around in dark and collect the oyster shells at the bottom. Their only source of air was a breathing tube connected to the boat. Needless to say, there was a high fatality rate for oyster divers. The money was good, but since the fatality rate was so high not a lot of people wanted to do it. It was so bad that men were kidnapped and woke up at sea and were forced to go diving. Eventually better diving suits were created and the process is a lot safer today. Willie Creek Pearls has an oyster farm in Broome that they get their oysters from. They still have divers going into the ocean to look for wild oysters, but it is heavily regulated now. Mostly, they breed their own oysters.
My final tour of the day is a Segway Tour of Elizabeth Quay. I’m lucky I got on this tour because originally I had booked it for Friday without realizing it. It wasn’t until they called me that I realized I had accidentally booked it for the wrong day. Luckily they were cool about me moving it to today. Since my pearl tour ended early, I ended up being early to this one too but then I had to wait for everyone else to show up. Once everyone else came, they got us outfitted with headsets, helmets, and segways. First they showed us how to use the segways, and we had to go through the obstacle course of cones but they are very easy to maneuver. If you want to go forward, you lean forward. If you want to stop, you lean back until you are stopped and center yourself.
Since last weekend and yesterday I didn’t do much, I was determined to see Perth this today. The sad news is it is supposed to rain all weekend here, so I decided to book a tour outside of the city. Hopefully it doesn’t rain… The Pinnacles is one of the main attractions in Western Australia, and it is a couple of hours outside Perth so hopefully it doesn’t rain. ADAMS Pinnacles Tour is one of the main tour companies that go there, so I booked a full day tour with them. It was also nice because they picked me up with some other people at the King’s Hotel, which is only about 3 blocks from my apartment. After they picked us up, they went over to the Perth Casino, where there was another ADAMS tour bus waiting. They are smart in that they have 2 different tour buses rounding up people, and then they separate them into their different tours. I ended up having to switch to the other bus. After everyone was settled in the driver took us to the first stop on our list: Caversham Wildlife Park. Caversham was really cool because unlike most zoos where you just see the animals in cages, you actually got to interact with them. Since we were on a schedule and could only be there for about 1.5 hours, we had a guide who coordinated with the other employees so we could see and interact with the animals. Usually you only interact with the animals at the scheduled time, which we would have missed.
Next we went to the wombat area. Before we got there, I had no idea what a wombat was. I thought we were going to see bats and I wasn’t thrilled. I was really surprised when I saw one! The wombat we got to see name is Asha. Her mom was hit by a car while Asha was still in the pouch. Asha survived, but her mom didn’t. She was brought up by caretakers but can never be returned to the wild so she lives at the Wildlife Park. The same is true about the other wombats that live at the Park.
After everyone finished taking pictures with the koalas, we returned to the bus. On the way, most people stopped to go to the restroom so I looked around their gift shop and bought a couple of souvenirs. And then it was on to our next destination.
After we had all gathered to get back on the bus, the bus driver told us some bad news. Apparently there is one road into and out of the Pinnacles, and there was a really bad car accident so the road was shut down. The only other way into the Pinnacles would be to drive all the way around to the other side, which would be an extra 2-3 hours. So we stood around waiting while he called the tour company asking what to do. I was cool skipping the Pinnacles, since I still have a couple of months here but the rest of the people signed up for this tour to see the Pinnacles and they wanted to drive the extra couple of hours. Eventually the bus driver came back and told us that the accident was cleared, so there was traffic but cars are getting through. So we loaded on the bus and drove to the Pinnacles.
Yesterday was the day I finally landed in Perth. I was too tired yesterday to go exploring, so today is my first day. I was exhausted, so I ended up laying in bed until noon, when I finally convinced myself to get up. Since I didn’t know anything about the city, I planned my route. I had a list of what I wanted to get accomplished today, which was: 1. Find somewhere to eat lunch, 2. Find a grocery store, and 3. Find the Crowe office. I looked on my Maps app and saw that the Crowe office was on my way to the grocery store and there were a lot of places to eat over there, so I grabbed my backpack and phone and took off.
Once I had everything put away at my apartment, I decided to relax for the rest of the day. I turned on the TV and found an Australian show called Bondi Rescue, which follows a group of Australian lifeguards on Bondi Beach. It is Austrlia’s most popular beach, and they can have 20-30 thousand visitors a day during the summer. It was pretty interesting. I also started researching weekend excursions to occupy myself with.
After about 5.5 hours, we landed in Kuala Lampur. Here, I had about 2 hours to kill before my next flight. Since I didn’t leave the airport, I didn’t have to go through immigration so I just found my gate and waited. They also have their gates set up differently than I’m used to. It is again the closed off room, but at least they weren’t letting people inside only to make them leave. They had chairs down the hallway outside the room/gate, so I waited there until they started allowing people in. My carryon had to go through the scanner and I had to got through a metal detector again, but I had no issues. Once I got inside, I had a little bit of time to charge my phone before it was time to get on my final plane, this time to Australia. My final flight was about 6 hours, so I had time to watch movies and read my book. Still, I was exhausted and glad when I finally landed in Perth at about 3pm. Once there, I got my bags and went through immigration, which was very easy. Since I’m from the U.S., I could go through the electronic immigration process instead of talking to a custom’s agent. I just had to wait in a small line, scan my passport, take a picture at the kiosk, and I was through. After I collected my bag, I had to wait in a longer line so they could make sure I wasn’t bringing any fruits or seeds in, but even that line moved quickly. My work had arranged for a driver to pick me up, and he was outside the doors waiting on me. He was very nice, and he gave me some ideas of places to see around Perth. His daughter also does walking tours, so I’ll have to remember to look her tour up. He took me to my new apartment, where the real estate agent was waiting to give me the keys and a tour.
It was around 5pm when I had finished, and it was already getting dark, so I decided to take the rest of the day off and go exploring tomorrow. I also had a TV, so I turned it on and found a station that was playing NCIS to watch before I went to bed.
I’m very glad I had the room to myself last night, because I was sick all night and into the morning. I’m also glad I brought toilet paper with me, because Indians don’t seem too keep it stocked in their bathrooms. All night I was in and out of the bathroom having diarrhea. At one point I was having diarrhea and I threw up in the sink. I tried to clean it up as best as I could, but I feel bad for cleaners that come in after me. Since I was up all night, I got little sleep and I still didn’t feel good in the morning. I didn’t want to risk a repeat, so I ended up staying at the hotel instead of going out to see the different sights in Delhi. Checkout is at 11am, so I went downstairs at 10:30am to pay for an extra night in the room, even though my flight is tonight. Otherwise, I relaxed in the room and napped on and off. I want to be completely well before my long flight to Australia tonight. My flight from Delhi to Kuala Lampur left at 11pm, but I had to get to the airport 3 hours early. I had already paid for a pickup, so a woman from the cab company came to pick me up. This cab company is supported by G Adventures, and it gives a job to a woman who needs the money to support their family, when usually women find it hard to find good employment in India. She came to pick me up on time and the hotel guys helped me load the cab. It was a lot different driving with her in a small car than in our big bus. Our bus could force other cars out of the way, whereas she could not. It also doesn’t help that Indians don’t appear to have traffic laws and driving between the lines is optional. I was very surprised we didn’t get in a car accident on the way to the airport. Her passenger mirror ended up hitting another car while we were going, and the guy from the other car yelled something at her, but she just kept going. Needless to say, I was glad when we arrived at the airport. At the airport it was very crowded. Usually there aren’t many people around airports at night, but not here. I had to wait in line to check my bags and for Security, but luckily it wasn’t too bad. The gates are set up weird here. Each one is closed off like a room. So I went to the gate, sat down, and started working on my blog. Then, about 45 minutes before the flight they make everyone leave, stand in a line outside the room, and let people in as they check tickets. Why couldn’t they have done that originally when I first walked in? After reclaiming my seat again, I didn’t have long to wait until it was time to get in line again and board the flight. I’m glad I had a window seat, because once I got on I pulled out my pillow and went to sleep. I was the only person that signed up for the bike tour of Jaipur. Because of this, I had to get up and leave the hotel at 5 am. Kush arranged for a rickshaw to pick me up and take me to the bike place, and then when I finished to pick me back up to take me to the hotel. I later found out that he always uses this driver because a prior tourist accidentally left an expensive iPhone in his rickshaw’s back seat and instead of taking it he returned it to the tourist. Kush got his phone number then, and every time he needs a rickshaw driver in Jaipur he calls him.
After the concert hall, the guide took me to get chai tea. The only problem was that by that point I wasn’t feeling well. I drank more water, hoping it would help but it didn’t. When the guide turned away to purchase the tea, I ended up throwing up water on myself. I didn’t want to tell him I threw up, so I said I spilled water on myself. But when I drank the tea, I ended up throwing up again on the side of the street and there was no hiding that. The guide was super nice about it, and we took a break on the street while I recovered. If there were other people on the tour I would have bowed out and returned to the hotel, but since it was only me I felt I had to continue.
When we got back to our starting point, my rickshaw driver was waiting for me. I got my bag out of the office, and tipped my guide very well. I felt bad that I was the only person that wanted to do the tour and he was very nice about me being sick the whole time. The rickshaw driver took me back to the hotel and I went upstairs for a quick shower because I was very sweaty. Everyone was already waiting downstairs eating breakfast when I got back. I also wanted a quick breakfast, and Kush assured me I had enough time to eat so I order something quick and joined the group. When I joined the group, I left my backpack on the table. When I came back, the table was covered in ants. I quickly figured out that the bike place had ants and they got into my snacks in my backpack. I had to throw away the food, but the entire way back to Delhi I could see ants on the floor by my backpack.
Eventually we made it back to Delhi. When we entered the city, we all put money in an envelope for the pilot and co-pilot for a tip. They had really done a great job in driving and having cold water on hand for us for the entire trip. Guys from the hotel were waiting to take out bags for us, so we just had to walk back. At the hotel, I was also able to get my big suitcase that I had left behind.
After dinner we all went back to the hotel. Karen has a late flight tomorrow, but she didn’t feel comfortable at our hotel so she booked another one in a nicer area of Delhi, even though she had already paid the price for this one. So after dinner she caught a cab to her new hotel and I got the room to myself. Several people had decided to switch hotels, and I can’t say I blame them.
Today we have a more relaxed day since we saw the Amber Fort yesterday instead of today. This morning we had the choice between Jantar Mantar and Hawa Mahal. Jantar Mantar is an observatory where people tracked the movement of the stars and planets. Hawa Mahal is also known as the Palace of the Winds, due to the cool breeze that comes through the structure and keeps it cool.
Kush told us that this is a typical procession for when a person gets married. And there are 3 grooms because an Indian wedding is very expensive with paying for the procession and all the other wedding things, so many families wait until someone else in the family is getting married or a friend and they have a group wedding and split the cost. Kush told us that the Palace of the Winds doesn’t show much, it is just a view of the street and a museum, so all of us as a group decided we would rather go to Jantar Mantar. We ended up getting a local tour guide when we went inside and he was really knowledgable about the different instruments.
All of the instruments were very cool, but we were all ready to leave. There was no shade, which is good for an observatory that is tracking the movement of the sun. It was not good for us because he sun was draining us and we were all pouring in sweat. Coming into the observatory, there was a market so Kush gave us some time to shop before we got back on the bus. We walked up one street and down the other as a group, that way we had the power of numbers when the shop guys tried to lure us into their shop. If someone was interested in an item, we all stopped and looked. I did end up buying some elephants that I liked from a street vendor but that was it.
After we were finished at the print shop, Rob wanted to see a shop that sold the blue and white porcelain items we were seeing everywhere, so Kush found us a shop for that too. No one ended up buying any because they were pricey and we were all worried that they would break on the way home, but they were cool to see. We then went back to the hotel to relax for a while for our evening excursion.
I did not sleep well last night. During the middle of the night it started pouring! The wind was blowing so hard that I could feel the tent moving and I was convinced that it was going to come down on top of us. I had to mentally map out how I was going to escape when the tent collapsed. While I was preparing myself, I fell asleep off and on until morning. Somehow the tent survived the night. They really know how to pitch a tent! But when we woke up it was still raining outside. Karen had also signed up for the bike ride through the countryside, so we went out on the porch to watch the rain. While we were out there, I could see the guys in the next tent and Rob and Susan further down also standing outside beneath the tent’s overhang. None of us knew if we were still going out or not. I could also see the owner wathcing us watch the rain. Eventually it stopped, so we got our stuff and hurried out.
After we were done walking around, we returned to the camp to pack up our bags because we are leaving today for Jaipur. The rain was pounding down when we left, and I’m glad I switched my tennis shoes for sandles because there were huge puddles of water everywhere! Monsoon season is definitely coming. Most of the trip it was pouring, but luckily the rain had stopped by the time we got to Jaipur.
Kush also opened us to us at dinner and showed us pictures of his daughter. He does a lot of tours to support her, which is sad because he is rarely at home during tourist season. After dinner we took pictures on top of the rooftop and then returned to the hotel for some rest.
Today is another travel day as we are going to Dula Village. So we packed up our things and left Hotel Orange for the road. Hotel Orange was a lot better than the last hotel, though there still wasn’t hot water. But that might have been because all of us were trying to use the hot water at the same time.
The next building we went into was the Treasury. They had tax collectors in those days, but the collectors mostly collected food and other valuables. Those valuables were brought to this room. On the walls were cubby holes for jewels collected. In order to retrieve the jewels, you had to stick your hand into the wall. Now it is a place for bats, so it is not recommended to put your hand inside.
When we got back on the bus we had some entertainment as we drove on. Two boys were catching a ride to their village. The boys’ father is a magician, but not a successful one. He taught the boys several tricks, so they wait outside the well and go on tour buses to perform magic. Kush told us usually G Adventures doesn’t support these people, as the children should be in school, but they make exceptions for the rural areas as the people don’t have many options. I also don’t think that is safe for the kids, getting onto random buses. Though they should be okay as long as they target tour buses…
After my nap I went up to the main area, where there was a buffet set up. The food was very good and we all ate dinner together. Tomorrow we have the option of taking a bike ride through the town, and a couple of us decided to sign up for it. Since that is tomorrow morning, I went to bed early so I would be well rested.
The inner chamber that surrounds the tomb is in the shape of an octogon made of marble. Each side of the inner chamber is made out of a single piece of marble. The marble is inlaid with semi-precious stones. There were 2 men inside the tomb to make sure tourist don’t got where they aren’t supposed to. One of the guys had a flashlight and he held it up to the stone and it started to glow because it is a semi-precious stone. The level of craftmanship was extradorinary. I would be so worried of making a mistake that I wouldn’t be able to handle it.
After the shop owner had finished showing s how they make the rugs, it was time to show us the finished products and give us the opportunity to buy. They sat us on a couch facing a huge room with rugs everywhere and gave us the choice between tea and coffee. I got some tea and settled in to enjoy the show. They brought out all different kinds of rugs for us to see, with many different kinds of designs. He also showed us the different kinds of quality in the rugs, which affect the price.
They brought out more rugs, but the older lady from Michigan was the only one that ended up buying the more expensive rugs. One of the other girls bought a small rugh. When they brought out the small rugs, there was one of the Taj Mahal. I had planned on getting a painting of the Taj, but this is even better. So I ended up buyting that as well, but that was only $70, which isn’t too bad considering I was willing to spend up to $100. By this time we got word that the bus was downstairs waiting for us, so we went back down. The bus took us back to the hotel so we could pick up the rest of the group for our next site, Agra Fort. Agra Fort was the main residence of the Mughal emperors. Only about 20% of the fort is open to the public, as the rest is still used by the Indian military.
Once it stopped raining we hurried back to the bus before it could start again and went back to the hotel. We had the option of going to a local jeweler to see how they make jewelry and possibly buy some if we wanted to. By this point I was very tired and I just wanted to take a nap, so I passed. I think I have spent enough many today anyways.
At about 2 am my bag arrived at the hotel. The bad part was that I had to sign for it so they called our room and woke us up. I didn’t want to change, so I ran downstairs in my bathing suit coverup, which was doubling as my PJs for the night to sign the form and bring my bag back up the elevator. But at least I finally had my stuff back! We had to pack up our stuff and bring our luggage down to the bus with us at 8 am. Karen also brought 2 bags and decided to leave 1 at the hotel since we are coming back on the last day. I thought that was a good idea, so I put all of things I wouldn’t need for a week in my big suitcase and just packed up my little one for the week ahead.
We also walked past the train station. Our guide told us that the station is very nice and new, but 1 block away is area with a lot of shacks where an estimated 200,000 prostitutes live and work. It is hard for boys to live on the street, but it is a thousand times worse for women. India is very male dominated, and it is hard for women to find work. Many women who come to the city are forced into prostitution and are hooked on drugs. I can’t even imagine a life like that. It really makes you grateful for being born in a developed country like the U.S. The same could happen there, but there are lots of programs and laws to protect women, especially underage children. The final place he took us was the Salaam Baalak Trust headquarters. He took us up to the roof where we could see the city. He was going to take us inside a gate, but the security guard that had the keys wasn’t answering his phone. We waited a while, and then our guide decided to tell us the rest outside. He spoke about the work that Salaam Baalak did, which was to take 350 children off the street. They put the children into orphanages and send them to school to learn English and become educated. Our guide was one of the kids. He grew up in a rural village. One time his cousin was visiting from Delhi and telling the family how great it was. The cousin worked as a shop assistant, and convinced our guide’s parents to let him come to Delhi. He worked with his cousin a little, but was too young to be employed. One day, he got lost in the city and did not know how to find his cousin. He was living on the streets with Salaam Baalak found him and took him to an orphanage. He was there for a while, but then decided to run away to try to find his family. He didn’t find them, and luckily was found by a nice lady that had 2 sons. She took him in, and he lived with her for a couple of months. After a couple of months, he and one of her sons started doing drugs. She thought he was a bad influence and kicked him out. He was understandably very upset, and while he was begging to stay he mentioned he had run away from Salaam Baalak. She was nice enough to take him back to the orphanage, and this time he stayed there. He got an education and is currently going to school to become a pilot. He does the City Walks with G Adventures to educate tourists about the poor children in India and about Salaam Baalak. He then left us while we walked to the bus. I wish I knew he wasn’t coming back with us, because I wasn’t ready with a tip. And I wasn’t the only one, a lot of the people in our group didn’t tip because they didn’t realize he wouldn’t be coming back.
We stopped at the Gurdwara Sis Ganj, which is a Sikh gurdwara (religious gathering place). We were first taken to a room in a building beside the temple where a guy came and told us about Sikhism. Sikhism doesn’t worship idols or people. Instead, they have a book that tells their truth and was written by one of their gurus. Their religion is very open, and anyone can come worship with them. They also believe everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, and that no one religion contains all of the truths. Throughout history, the Sikhs faced religious procesution, and this gurdwara was founded on the site where one of their gurus was tortured and executed. In order to go into the gurdwara, we had to take off our shoes and cover our hair with a turban.
During the 4 hour drive to Agra, Kush would point out things and answer questions. One of the questions was why Indians don’t eat meat and worship cows. The story to that question is rooted in ancient history. Thousands of years ago the different tribes of India were at war. Many people died and many of the women had no breast milk due to limited food. The babies were dying until one wise man decided to feed them cow’s milk. This allowed the children to eat and the tribe to grow. When the children grew up, they refused to eat cows, as it was the cows that allowed them to survive. Now, the word “cow” in India is synonymous with “mother.” This eventually extended to eating no meat, which is how the Indians became vegetarian. Even now, there is a huge fine if you kill a cow, in addition to paying the people who depend on the cow for milk. It was mid-afternoon by the time we got to Agra. As we had time, Kush decided we should see the Baby Taj today instead of tomorrow, since the Taj Mahal would overshadow it. The official name of the place is the Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah, and it was built by Nur Jahan for her father, Murza Ghiyas Beg. Nur Jahan was the wife of Shah Jahangir. Shah Jahangir was the father of Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal. The tomb is also called the “jewel box”, because it looks like a box. Murza Ghiyas Beg was an exile from Persia, so the tomb is based on Persian design. The tomb is a combination of white marble and pietra dura inlay. Pietra dura inlay is where they carve the marble just right to perfectly fit a piece of jewel into it. The inlays were beautiful!
After the disaster of yesterday/this morning’s flight, I slept in. When I did wake up, I laid in bed for a while and used the hotel’s wifi to decide what my plans would be for the day. I wanted to go to the UNESCO World Heritage sites that Delhi had, so first I tried to find public transportation to get there. The nearest train station was over a mile away, and I didn’t want to wander that far from the hotel. I finally found a hop on hop off bus that went to the 2 sites plus several others and decided to do that. Not long after that was settled, the front desk called to let me know that my roommate was on her way. My roomate’s name was Karen, and she was very nice. She is from Ireland, but is currently working in China teaching English. She was only a year older than me. Right now the schools in China are out for 3 weeks so she decided to go home to Ireland to visit her family. On the way, she made the stop in India for this tour since she has always wanted to see the Taj Mahal. She didn’t have any plans, so I told her my plan of doing the hop on-hop off bus tour to the Red Fort and Humayun’s Tomb and invited her. She thought it sounded like a good idea, so we got prepared to leave. I told her my money was in my lost luggage so we would need to stop at an ATM so I could withdraw some more. She needed coffee, so we decided to walk to McDonald’s, which was only a couple of blocks away for breakfast. On the way out, we asked the front desk for directions to the nearest ATM and how to get to the hop on-hop off office. The guy told us where to find the ATM, and then he kept trying to convince us to let him arrange a private car. We kept saying we didn’t want that, that we wanted to do the hop on-hop off bus, but he would listen to us. He probably has a cousin or other family member he was going to call for us who would split the profit. Finally we just gave up and left to go to the ATM and breakfast. We went to the ATM that the guy directed us to, but it was run down. It looked like a small place, but it didn’t look very nice. We decided to find another one on the way to McDonalds. We found another one, but when I went to withdraw money the ATM denied my card. I know I have money in there and I let SSFCU know I was traveling before I came, so I don’t know why it was denied. As we were walking, we kept getting constant attention from the locals. The rickshaw drivers were following us and every couple of steps they were asking if we needed a ride or directions. We kept assuring them that we knew where we were going, but they didn’t let up. We finally made it to McDonalds, and Karen offered to buy me breakfast since I didn’t have any money. However, when we got there they took card, so I was able to pay for myself. We went upstairs to discuss our plans while we ate. Neither one of us was expecting that kind of attention. From traveling alone, I’ve had attention before, but never to that degree. Both of us were shocked. We didn’t know if it was because we were women, or because we were white and they knew we were tourist. We looked at the map we had gotten from the hotel and compared it to where we were based on the map on my phone. The place where we could get on the hop on-hop off bus was in Connaught Place, which was also the main place for tourists. With the attention we were getting on the street, it was too far to walk so we knew we would have to take one of the rickshaws. Karen pulled out some money to put in a different pocket so she could haggle with the driver and then we went down to brave the outside again. We quickly attracted attention again, but this time we were prepared. I’m so glad Karen was there, because she was quickly able to haggle with one of the drivers to take us to Connaught Place. When he wouldn’t accept her offer, she started walking away and he quickly came around. We got in the rickshaw, and the entire way there I thought we were going to die. In India, there are no rules for driving that I could see. They ignore the lights and signs, and the driver kept zipping us in and out of places. I had a death grip on the seat the entire time. The rickshaws don’t have doors, so I knew if we got in a crash I would have absolutely no protection at all. Luckily, we made it to our destination in one piece, and the driver offered to wait for us and take us back to the hotel for the same price. However, when we looked around it was a lot smaller than I expected. The map made Connaught Place look big, whereas we were on a single streets with several shops. Karen and I went inside one of the shops, and I pulled up the map on my phone. We were at some place halfway to Connaught Place, but not where we were supposed to be. We went back out to the driver to go to Connaught Place, because we thought there was some misunderstanding. There wasn’t. The driver kept trying to get us to shop here instead of in Connaught Place, and we kept trying to tell him we wanted to go to Connaught Place. He and another driver tried to convince us that drivers weren’t allowed in Connaught Place because of barricades. I’m so glad Karen was there, because she kept arguing with him. I thought at first she was being a little intense, if they can’t go there, they can’t go. But then she explained to me that she didn’t believe them, and that this was a trick she has seen before in other Asia countries she has traveled to. The drivers try to force you to shop at certain stores because they get a commission for bringing you. Finally, Karen gave us and demanded that we be taken back to our hotel. The guy kept trying to convince us to shop, but we held firm and told him he was taking us back now or we were getting another rickshaw. He took us back. We decided to take a break in our room before trying again, with a different driver this time. While we were taking our break, Karen fell asleep. I didn’t want to try going alone, so I read for a while before I got sleepy too. I took a nap and when I woke up Karen was gone. I couldn’t leave the room because she had the only key, so I just relaxed. I was only awake for about 45 minutes when she returned. She woke up while I was asleep and decided to try to go to Connaught Place. She was right; the rickshaw driver was lying because there were no barricades. She was able to be dropped off and found a working ATM. By this time, it was almost time for our meeting with our guide so we went down to the hotel lobby to meet our group. This time we were a group of 11. There was one older couple, but otherwise everyone was in university other than me. The older couple was also from the U.S., but they were from Michigan. The rest of the group was from Europe. Our guide led us down the street to an office with a conference room to go over the itinerary. First he introduced himself. His name is Kush is he has been with G-Adventures for 10 years. He went over what to expect while we are traveling and some tips to be safe. At the end he led us to a place for dinner. The place is run by former G Adventure staff and they employ formerly homeless youth. They were able to open the restaurant with a loan from G Adventures, but they have to contribute to the community.
Well, today is my last day in China. My flight isn’t until 1pm, but Qin said we would need to leave for the airport 3 hours early because you can never predict traffic or the lines at the airport in Beijing. She was nice enough to arrange for a taxi for Marie and me at 10am, so we got to sleep in for a little bit. Everyone else had later flights, so we were the first to go. Still, they all came down to say goodbye to us in the lobby and to tip Qin. It was very sad to see the group and know I would not see them again.
The taxi ride went smoothly and we got to the airport earlier than expected. The airport is huge, but all of the kiosks are in the same area instead of spread out between the different terminals. But that was the place that I said goodbye to Marie, since she was flying on a different airline. The lines were long, but they moved steadily so it didn’t take too long to check my bag. I was a little worried that it would get flagged again and Qin wouldn’t be there to translate, but I made it through Security so I assume my bag did too. And then I waited until my flight. I had my book, and I got there early enough that I was able to sit by a charger to keep my devices charged. I was worried I wouldn’t make my second flight, so I looked up a map of the Hong Kong airport while I waited. I only had a 1.5 hour layover, I knew the Hong Kong airport was big so I didn’t know how long it would take me to get to my next flight. If I missed my flight due to my fault in not getting there in time, I would have to pay for the next flight, which I didn’t want to do. At first everything went fine. We boarded the plane on time so I thought everything would be okay and I would have the full 1.5 hours to catch my next plane. And then we sat on the tarmac for 1.5 hours. After the first 30 minutes I knew I wouldn’t make my connecting flight, so I was glad that we were delayed longer because that meant the airline was at fault and would have to rebook me on another flight. It also relieved my stress, because I knew I couldn’t do anything so I settled in to watch a movie. I was right that I missed my flight. We touched down when my flight to India was supposed to be taking off. I’m so glad for the OneWorld Alliance group. Since my connecting flight was a member of the group, they had a person waiting for me with a sign when I got off the plane. 2 other guys had the same issue, and she led us straight to the counter to get another flight. That counter couldn’t help, so she led me to 2 other counters until I got booked on the next flight out in another 2 hours. I saw the long lines of people trying to get another flight, but since she worked for the airline we were able to go around everyone. I definitely could not have done it without her, especially since she was able to speak to them in another language. Once everything got sorted, I went to my new gate to wait for the flight. When I got there I called GAdventures since I had paid for airport pick up to let them know I missed my connecting flight. And then I waited until boarding time. I was able to board and get into my seat with no issues. They did end up having to move me to another seat, since the person’s who seat I was assigned showed up. But the important thing is that I made the flight. I watched a movie for a little bit, but ended up falling into an uncomfortable nap. I wish I got a window seat, but beggars can’t be choosers. When I finally made it to Delhi just before midnight I was happy. I just wanted to get my bags and then go to the hotel. I waited at the baggage claim, and waited and waited. Finally all of the bags came out and were claimed, and my bag was nowhere to be seen. I was worried until I saw one of the other guys that had missed his connecting flight earlier also didn’t have a bag. They told us our bags would make it on the flight, but they obviously didn’t. So then we had to stand in line with the other people that were missing their bags while the 2 guys from the airline filled out their forms, which took forever. Finally, after they had filled out the form and given me my paperwork, I could leave Baggage Claim. I was worried that my driver wouldn’t be there, but right as I stepped out I found him with my name on a sign. I was so relieved, because that would have made a bad day worse. He walked me to the car, and I found out on the way that he had been waiting since my first flight landed. The company never called to let him know I missed my flight. He led me to a car with a woman driver. One of the things GAdventures tries to do is support the poor in the local communities. Women don’t have the chance to have a lot of jobs in India, so GAdventures partners with a cab company that only hires women drivers. Also waiting in the car were 2 people from Kansas that were on a different GAdventures tour. The lady took the other 2 to their hotel first, and then took me to mine. Looking at the outside of the hotel, I was not impressed. The area didn’t look that nice, there was trash everywhere in the streets. But I was so tired at this point that I didn’t care, I just wanted to go to my room and go to sleep. I got signed in, went up to my room, and crashed for what remained of the night.
As we passed through, we saw a door that was decorated with posters. These posters mean that someone in the household is getting married. Obviously the parents are happy since they got several of the posters. Qin also pointed out the blocks by the houses. The blocks mean different things. In the old days, that is how you could tell if you were passing by a general’s house or the house of a diplomat based on the shape of the block.
As we were walking across the square, Vicki was dragging behind. We stopped to wait for her to catch up and she told Qin that she had decided to go back to the hotel. Her leg was paining her and she was walking with a limp. It was also very hot, so that wasn’t helping her either. She decided to get a taxi and go back, which was very sad because the main thing she wanted to see in China was the Forbidden City and she was turning back literally feet away from it. The other problem was she couldn’t catch a taxi from the square, as cars are not allowed to stop. That is why we had to walk there. Qin gave her directions to get to an area outside the square to catch a cab. John wanted to go back with her, but Vicki talked him out of it. At least that way one of them gets to see the Forbidden City and take pictures.
After we finished taking pictures, we went into an underground tunnel that led us to the outside of the Forbidden City. We passed through the outer walls with a huge group of people. Qin led us over to a place we could sit down in the shade while she went to get our entrance tickets. Cogi and Marie used the opportunity to go to the bathroom. Marie made it back fine, but Cogi disappeared. After a while, Qin made it back with the tickets and went looking for Cogi. Luckily she was able to find her. Marie asked Cogi were she went, and Cogi said she walked back and forth across the area several times looking for us but could find us. She snapped at Marie, and said “I’m not like you,” which caused Marie to be silent and let it go.
Qin also told us about China’s last emperor. He ascended the throne when he was 2 years old after his uncle, the emperor, died. He was actually not related to the emperor by blood, but was the blood nephew of the empress. She chose him to be emperor so she could keep power, as he was still a child. That didn’t last long, and he was forced to abdicate in 1912 when he was 6 years old. After he abdicated, he took the name Henry Pu Yi. The government allowed him to continue living in the Forbidden City until 1924 when he was forced into exile. He then went to Japan, which set him up as a puppet ruler when they invaded China from 1932-1945. He was turned over to the Chinese in 1950 and remained in prison until he was granted amnesty by Chairman Mao in 1959. After that he became a mechanic in Peking, China. It makes you wander what he thought, going from emperor to mechanic. After filling us in on the history, Qin pointed across the courtyard directly across from where we were standing and said that was the meet up place in 20 minutes. She wanted to give us time to explore the buildings in the main courtyard before we moved further into the complex. I went up to the main building, but there were so many people that I couldn’t get that close to see inside. It also didn’t help that it was so hot. I finally gave up and went to the meeting spot. After 20 minutes had passed, we were missing Cogi, Peter, and John. Qin had to go out to find them. She found Peter and John easily, they were close to the meeting spot, but up some stairs. However, she looked and looked and could not find Cogi.
Qin came back to the meeting place with no success in finding Cogi. Qin had given us all cards to the hotel before we left, so she said Cogi would have to make her own way back while we carried on.
The palace was starting to close when I made it out. Then it was back on the train. By this time it was getting close to rush hour. When I first got on the train there was only a few people so I sat on one of the chairs, but it quickly filled up to the point that everyone was jammed in together. Luckily I picked a seat close to the door, and I started pushing my way towards it on the stop before my stop. Even then I had to shove the last couple of people out of my way to make it out the door as people were shoving their way in. After I got off the train, I still had to walk a couple of blocks to the hotel. By that time my feet were killing me and I was ready to lie down. I made it to the hotel with no issues. But when I got to the room Cogi wasn’t there. It made me very worried because it didn’t look like she had returned from the Forbidden City. Her bed was made and none of her things had been disturbed. I did notice a Coke can that I didn’t remember seeing before we left, but that was it. I had about 30 minutes before we were supposed to meet downstairs for dinner, and I spent the time worrying about her. I couldn’t remember Qin’s room number, so I couldn’t go tell her that Cogi hadn’t returned. I ended up going downstairs early in the hopes that Qin would be there. She wasn’t, but John and Vicki were. I told them that Cogi wasn’t in the room, and we all wondered what happened to her. Luckily not too long afterward she came through the lobby doors with a shopping bag, so she was fine. After we were all together we walked a couple of blocks to the restaurant for dinner. When we got to the restaurant, Cogi told us of her adventures. When we were at the Forbidden City, she went to the building in the main square to see what was inside and then she got carried by the crowd somewhere. They kept pushing and shoving and she just went with the flow, but then couldn’t find her way back to the meeting point. She said she went to the meeting point, but we waited for a while, so I don’t think she understood where the meeting point was. She eventually gave up there and wandered around looking for us. She found the exit, and stood outside there for a while. Once she exited, she couldn’t come back inside. She said she waited for us on the bridge for at least 30 minutes, before giving up. It sounds like she missed us on the bridge by 30 minutes, it was that close. Then she wandered around until she found someone that could speak English and tell her how to get back to the hotel. She had just gotten back to her room when Qin was knocking on the door to make sure she was okay. Afterward, she went to the market to do some more shopping.
We had fun at dinner, but it was also sad because we knew this was our last time together. At the end, we all wrote down our email addresses so we could stay in contact, but I knew this was the end of the group. People always say they will stay in contact, but they never do. Qin also gave us an embroidered purse that they make in her region of China as a goodbye gift. I’m really glad that I went on this trip, but it has been an amazing experience and an amazing group.
Today is finally the day I get to see the Great Wall! Yay! We had to get up early so we could get to the Wall before crowds of tourists arrived. Since we were leaving before breakfast, the hotel had to go bags for us with some bread, a hard boiled egg, and an orange. It wasn’t too bad. From Beijing we had to drive about 2 hours to get to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. On the way, Qin told us about the Great Wall. It is over 21,000 kilometers, which is over 13,000 miles. It is huge! It also took them thousands of years to build it. The oldest section of the wall dates back to 1122 BC. The section we are going to is only about 5.4 kilometers long. About 1/3 of the wall has disappeared due to erosion or people taking the stones to use as building materials. Still, it is a massive achievement! The Mutianyu section was first built in the Northern Qi dynasty (550-557). It was then rebuilt in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) in order to strengthen it. It is one of the best-preserved sections of the wall. Qin also told us some local stories about the wall. There was a girl named Meng who was in love with a man named Fan. Fan had to leave and was forced to work on building the Great Wall. Meng waited and waited, and several years passed with no word from Fan. Eventually, she decided to go to the Great Wall and find him. She spent a long time asking around until she finally found someone that knew Fan, only to find out that Fan had died several years before and was buried in the Wall. Meng stood by the wall and wept for several days and night, causing the Wall to collapse and she found Fan’s body. The emperor heard this story and decided to meet Meng. He was blown away by her beauty and decided to marry her. Meng agreed, but on the day before their marriage she committed suicide because she wanted to be with Fan. When we got to the Wall, our bus was the first one in the parking lot. After we got off the bus we had to walk up the hill a little bit to the entrance. Just that little bit wore me out. I can’t believe a year ago I was hiking the Inca Trail, but now I can’t manage a little hill. I need to get back in shape. The little bit we walked up convinced the rest of the group that they didn’t want to hike up to the wall. Everyone but me and Vickie originally said they were going to walk up to the wall, and then they all bowed out when they walked up a little. So instead we all took the cable car up to the wall.
At one point on my walk, 2 girls asked me to take a picture of them jumping up in the air. They seemed to think I knew how to take pictures because I have a nice camera… They must not have liked the picture, because I heard them ask someone else after I walked away.
After I got to the bottom I hurried to where we were meeting for lunch. When Qin originally pointed to the lunch spot, I thought the door was to the right of the building but it ended up being towards the left. Luckily Qin was watching for me because I was the last to arrive. At lunch, I showed the rest of the group my tapestry and they all loved it. It was definitely a good buy! After lunch we went back to Beijing. After all that walking, we were all tired. However, I wanted to explore more of Beijing while I have the chance so I decided to go see the Temple of Heaven. Cogi, Bev, and Peter wanted to do some shopping at the market which was right by the Temple. Marie was undecided, so she went with me to the Temple. The bus driver dropped us off by the temple and I gave his tip to Vickie to give him. Vickie and John decided to go back to the hotel to rest for a bit. Cogi, Peter, and Bev went to the market while Marie and I walked over to the Temple of Heaven. When we got there, Marie read the sign about the temple and decided she would rather shop. So she went back to the market to join the others while I went inside. The temple grounds are massive. I guess I just expected a building, but it was actually a big area. It was built in 1420 and the Ming and Qing emperors used the temple to worship the God of Heaven and make sacrifices to pray for better harvests and rain.
After dinner we had the opportunity to go to a Chinese opera performance. It was definitely not what I expected! I expected a performance with a lady singing opera, except in Chinese. It was more like a play. There were 2 generals that were wearing very elaborate costumes and make-up.
The opera was only a couple of blocks from the hotel, so afterwards we were able to walk back without any issues. I was finally able to lay down and relax, which I was excited about since tomorrow is going to be another busy day.
Today is another travel day. We got up, had breakfast, and then it was back on the bus for a 4 hour drive to the airport. Luckily there were no issues with the bus. I was a little worried that we wouldn’t make it after yesterday, but we had no issues.
We got to the airport 3 hours early, and we needed every minute of it. Usually they recommend getting to the airport 2 hours early, but Qin said we would need 3 hours. First we had to stand in a long line to get our boarding passes and check our bags. I was following closely behind Cogi when 2 guys shoved their way in. Cogi was upset because they had a cart and kept shoving at her heels. But we had the last laugh because they had to wait for all of our group to get checked in. It was a very good thing that Qin was there because after I sent my bag through it got flagged. I would have never known and would have gone to Security if I was on my own, but luckily the rest of the group was getting checked in behind me so the lady at the counter let Qin know. Qin ran me around to the baggage, and we found out I got flagged because of my scissors. It is a good thing I tossed the knife back in Shanghai! After that my bag went through and I joined the rest of the group. Peter’s bag also got flagged. By this point we were running out of time so Qin sent the rest of us to Security while she waited with Peter in the baggage room. Let us just say that Security was very thorough. They scan your documents, you go through a metal detector, and you have to have a pat down. Security is tighter here than in the U.S.! And this is a small airport… After we all made it through Security we had about 15 minutes until it was time to board. I wanted to grab some food, but when I went to the fast food restaurants the lines were too long. I just decided to settle for the snacks I had in my bag. About 5 minutes before we were going to board Peter showed up. He ended up having to recheck his bag twice at Security, once for a power pack and the other time for his electric razor. When he finally made it to Security, they told him he had to go back because his bag wasn’t cleared. Luckily Qin was with him and was able to convince Security that it hadn’t been updated in the system, but the bag was clear. The flight was standard to every other plane I hade been on. It was different though that you had multiple checkpoints to get on the plane. The tickets were perforated. When we scanned our ticket at the counter, the guy took a stub, at one point on the walk to the plane an attendant took a stub, and before we got on the plane another person took a stub. That is Communism at work! When we got on the plane, our group was in the back. Once the doors closed, I moved to the last row so I could have the entire row to myself. My phone was running out of battery, so I tried to charge it on the flight. Apparently you aren’t supposed to do that, and I got in trouble with the flight attendant. My phone and iPad ended up dying, so I switched to reading my paper book. It was a smooth flight. When we landed I plugged my phone into my battery pack to charge. All of our bags were in baggage claim, so we were able to collect them without issue. I did like that they have someone in baggage claim to check that you are collecting your luggage and not walking off with someone else’s. Our driver met us by baggage claim to lead us to the van. To get to where he parked the van was 1 elevator. We had to stand in a long line to get on the elevator, shoving our way to hold our place in line. And then when the doors opened we had to rush in. It is a good thing I’m not very claustrophobic because we were canned in there like sardines. We somehow all made it and were able to go down the 2 levels to the parking garage. The van was smaller than the other ones we have had, but it wasn’t too bad. I had always heard that Beijing was so polluted that you needed to wear a face mask all of the time. Every time I have seen images of Beijing there was always a huge cloud of pollution hanging around the city. It was nothing like that. The sky was blue, and I only saw a couple of people wearing face masks. Most people were just going about their day like usual. It apparently was only a couple of miles from the airport to the hotel, but it ended up taking us about 1.5 hours to get there because traffic was so bad. I’m glad I didn’t have to drive and I could just spend my time looking at the buildings. Qin did tell us a little about the layout of Beijing. Most of the cities in the U.S. are laid out in a grid pattern, but apparently in China they are laid out in circles. It makes sense, because the design is based on the ancient city that was originally there. The city would have been in a circle and surrounded by the city walls. As the city expanded beyond the original walls, they added more, still in the circle pattern. By the time we got to the hotel, it was late afternoon and we were all tired from traveling all day. We got our stuff to our rooms and then had a little while to relax before dinner. This time I’m sharing a room with Cogi. We all went to bed early because we have to start early tomorrow. |
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June 2022
AuthorThese are details from my adventures around the world. |