So right now we have settled down in a jungle community outside of Auroville called Sadhana Forest. And WWOOOOWW is this place awesome, but I will get to the down and dirty with details of Sadhana later. First I will try and recap where we have gone and what weve done so far.
So when we got off the plane in Delhi we came face to face with india modern art all around the airport...from paintings of shiva to giant mediation hands protuding from walls. So excited that we were finally in India...of course I did the tourist thing and took some pictures of the airport. We met a guy named Al in the airport who taught us the power of kindness. The culture shock alone in Delhi has been known to send the whitest of westerners packing back to their home country. Luckily our new friend, Al invited us to stay with him in his hotel room for the night while we get ourselves settled into India. He bought us drink and food, and gave us the queen size bed while he insisted he sleep on the ground. Al is the man! He works as a field technician for a company called INFINIA, which builds the newest model of solar panels around the world. Now he was working on one in Delhi. Meeting Al was a good transition into the hussle and bussle of indian city life.
The next day we took off, carrying our bags and pushing through the crowds. The whole time keeping one hand in my pocket watching my money, just in case. I mean you hear things about 3rd world countries and i wasnt about to get my wallet or passport stolen by some pickpocketer. The heavy musk of Delhi slows down your breathing by a half a second, but that is enough to turn your lungs into dumbbells and make you start breathing like darth vader. Trying to navigate ourselves in this mess with little water and extreme 100degree heat made everything kind of hazy. So our first plan of action, find a hotel room and then figure everything out from there. Started walking to the center of town, thinking that would be better than getting a taxi. After walking for about 20 minutes, we flagged a rickshaw. A rickshaw for all those who dont know, is a small taxi cab that can only go about 20 miles an hour. And are usually hired by hotels and travel agencies to bring unsuspecting tourists to their providers. And we were just those tourists. So no matter how many times we asked him to bring us to the YMCA Youth Hostel he would not move from the travel agency he had just stopped out front of. Out of the travel agency an indian John Stamose walks out telling us to come inside, have a coke and he can help us get a room for the night. Of course we accept, it is John Stamose...pheebis loves John Stomase. Being half coherent and in a slight haze, the next thing I knew we had planned a month of our trip with his company but i was also handing him a third of my cash. BOOM Bam...just like that we had hotels booked, got tickets for trains and buses and for the next week we had a personal driver. WHHAATT!!! We got scammed! We did not need all those extra emenaties and we did not need the luxerious rooms they put us in but we were stuck and he did not do refunds. That was just our first experience at being scammed. We needed to get faster on our toes if we were to keep our money and survive in this new world.
So the next week we had a personal driver named Nick (NEEK). Who drove us from Delhi to Jaipur and then to Agra where he dropped us off at the trainstation. Neek told us stories of his family and jokes about white people. He brought us for dinner at his families house in Jaipur...which was sweeeet. Home made indian food and whisky umm ummm. In India guests are considered gods, and they live up to that reputation. Stuffing your plates with food until your bellies are verging on exploding and at least for me, continually crying at the unusually curry content and spciy pickles that I have never heard of. Oh yea pickles in India are not pickles, they are SPICY hot peppers.
Okay well getting tired so I will finish this later. Its getting late at the Sadhana and Ive got to be up at 530 for breakfast duty and plant work. First day of work, yikes!!
Adam,
ReplyDeleteWOW. What an incredible experience. Sounds like you are soaking it all up as well. Much warmer where you are then here and way more than vermont. Who is the baldy in your pictures? Are you going to get that ripped? How long does that take? Have you heard from michael? He is at the other end of the spectrum from what you are doing so he might benefit to hear from you.
So is it a learning experience to be brought back into your path or is this the path in and of itself. What is the story for new years?
Will you pop back for the holidays. We can put you up in the keys if you feel the temperature change would be too jarring up north. Also I could use some good indian recipes. They are starting to get tired fresh fish every day. NOT! I could do one of those pizzas you liked. As for meditating out on the jette as the sun sets on the coral reefs, would that work? We don't have a crystal like the one you are tuning in on. Not one that big anyway.
Be well. Feel free to write if there is something you need that only I can provide.
selikson
ps. Saw Sarah at the March on DC last weekend. She's getting pretty radical.