3/31/07
07° 57.65N
092°19.45E

Dear diary,

India is completely overwhelming. No words can fully describe what I experienced these last several days. The poverty, underdevelopment, inequality, beauty and diversity of India simply cannot be understood by reading textbooks. It absolutely blew me away. Over the course of the semester, we have talked in much length about the development of the third world. Education, public health, sanitation, empowerment of women, social programs, reduction of corruption, excreta, excreta…simple right? Wrong! After 5 minutes in Chennai, I realized that I wouldn’t even know where to begin. According to our interport lecturer, there is a restaurant in Mumbai where one can buy a bottle of Don Perion for more than the average annual income in the city. Yikes!

The first day in Chennai, India, I grabbed a rickshaw for a ride to the markets with my buddies Craig and Tyler. Rickshaws are small, three wheeled taxi cabs with what must be a lawn mower engine. In the city of Chennai, rickshaws drive like hell with no regard for stop signs, pedestrians, bicyclists or other vehicles. After our driver ripped us off by taking us to the wrong place and overcharging us, we caught another rickshaw to the markets and spent the afternoon chatting with the local merchants. I couldn’t believe how much of an influence Western culture had on the area. Nike, Visa, Lacoste, Levi’s, Polo, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s and many other brands were around every corner. Once we had had enough bargaining for one day, Craig, Tyler and I caught another rickshaw to Mother Teresa’s Orphanage. This experience was, without a doubt, one of the most intense of my life. For some reason, I was under the impression that orphanages simply held children with no parents. Boy was I wrong. This particular orphanage held so much more. This orphanage held shattered hopes, dreams and futures. Although we weren’t allowed to give anything to the children, I certainly didn’t leave with all my belongings. The orphanage stole a piece of my heart, and in exchange, I stole a small piece of the children’s pain.

The next several days, I partook in a SAS trip to visit the Taj Mahal, New Delhi, and Varanasi. These trips really showed me the beauty and, for the first time, the middle class of India. Our first stop was Varanasi (the oldest living city in the world according to some sources) where we floated the Ganges River at sunrise. Every morning, Indians bath themselves in the holy waters of the Ganges to cleans and purify their souls. Clean, in the context, is only metaphorical as the Ganges is one of the dirtiest rivers in the world. The ceremonial bathing was a spectacle of music, dance, and colors as thousands of people crowded the streets before sunrise. Dead bodies were cremated in open fires before their ashes were thrown into the river. Never in my life have I seen so much before 8:00am. Dear diary, I don’t think Indians sleep.

Our next stop was the capitol of India, New Delhi, where we checked out embassies, the Parliament house, the Presidential residence, and other political structures. I was surprised to see how much cleaner and nicer New Delhi is than Chennai. Nicely paved streets, green grass, luxury cars, fancy hotels, and public parks were scattered throughout New Delhi…none of these could be found in Chennai. New Delhi, along with Bangalore and Mumbai (although I didn’t see them myself), seemed to be the modern face of India. That is, the India people hear about as being the world’s largest democracy and the next world superpower.

Our final stop was Agra where we visited several forts and, finally, the renowned Taj Mahal at dusk. Although the forts were beautiful, the Taj Mahal was truly breathtaking. From the minute that I walked through the gate until I left three hours later, I was in awe at the white marble spectacle that sat before me. Green grass, clear water fountains, and immaculate white marble came together in what is the seventh wonder of the world. Words and pictures will never do the Taj justice. You’ll just have to see it for yourself one day.

After 3 days of intense traveling, we returned to the ship safe and free of Delhi Belly (most of us that is). Over the course of my brief journey to northern India, I had taken four flights, two trains, countless bus rides, and had awoken before 5:00am every single day. I must have accumulated a total of 10 hours of sleep the entire time. That evening, the ship felt like home as it never had before. I could honestly go on writing for days about what I saw and experienced in India, but I will save you the reading (ok but really, I have to get this done before we arrive in Penang, Malaysia in two days). For now, I’m off to catch up on some sleep and reading. On April 2nd, we arrive in Malaysia where I will be traveling to Kuala Lumpur for several days. I will post another entry sometime during our three-day journey between Malaysia and Vietnam. Over the course of the next five weeks, we only have 11 days on the ship. Hang on, because things are about to get crazy.

Finish the food that is on your plate because there really are starving children in India.

Namaste,
Mike