Giving many thanks

We have received so many emails, blog posts, facebook messages, and other messages from family and friends, and I just wanted to thank everyone for thinking of us and keeping us in your prayers. We are far away from Mumbai, where the terror attacks occured, but it is still a shock that something so coordinated and horrible could happen in such a huge city. We never had plans on going to Mumbai, although the Delta flight does go through there - we ended up on American because Enrique didn't want to go through Mumbai, because there was "nothing to see" there (Historically speaking). So by the grace of God we are not in Mumbai and our flight doesn't go through there either. We leave tomorrow night 1 AM Delhi time (around 3:00 PM East Coast time) and fly from Delhi to Chicago. We arrive in Chicago really early and hope to fly standby on a 7 AM flight to Atlanta. If we can't get on that flight we are booked on a noon flight, so either way we should be home by Saturday mid-afternoon.
On Sunday I might just buy a turkey and attempt to make my first Thanksgiving meal. I feel like we have so much to be thankful for - our family and friends back home thinking of us, and the fact that we are safe.
Jaipur is a beautiful city and probably my favorite town so far on the trip. Its surrounded by mountains and has a wall that looks so much like the Great Wall of China going around the entire city, up and down through the hills. We visited some extraordinary palaces today and we rode an elephant too, right down a busy street. The streets here are so busy - with every mode of transportation you can imagine... bike, camel, motorcycle, rickshaw, cars, cows, and the occasional elephant too. Its really insane.
Thank you for thinking of us, and continue to keep us in your prayers. This has been a really incredible and beautiful journey, and we've seen the most "foreign" land of all of our travels (and all of Enrique's other travels before he knew me!). We agree that its been facinating and a little mind-boggling, and very wonderful. That being said, we are very ready to return home now.
Love you all,
Meagan

The Taj Mahal!!!

We are in Agra and woke up early this morning to see the sunrise over the Taj Mahal. Its hard to describe the way the white marble glows in the sunlight. Its a marble from this part of India that has a translucency and the whole structure just lights up from within when light is directed at it. We also visited a huge fort in Agra where the ruler who built the Taj Mahal was imprisoned late in life (by his own son!). He built the Taj Mahal for his wife who had died during the birth of their 14th child (14 children in 19 years)... her tomb is there and now so is his. He wanted to build an identical mosoleum on the opposite side of the river bank in black marble, and have a bridge built between the two, one for her, one for him. But his son wanted to seize power and as the black Taj Mahal was just beginning to be built, he imprisoned his father, took over the rule of the land, and of course never finished the black marble Taj. The Taj Mahal was built in 22 years - which seems pretty fast for its size and stature.
We have this evening free, so we've decided to go back and see the Taj one more time. The sun sets at about 5;30 here and its 4:00 now. our driver is on his way to the hotel to take us there, so i'd better go.
Hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving if I don't have another chance to post before Thursday!!
Love, Meagan

Varanasi and Kajuraho (sp?)

I'm finally in an internet cafe, typing on a real computer. Thanks to Sarah who posted my last couple of entries for me! I apologize now because the capitol letters about to stop... The 'shift' button is on the opposite side of the keyboard, so I'm having trouble locating it and it will just be a lot easier from here to be a little less formal and not capitolize every other word.



ok, so varanasi was insane. its the city along the ganges river where hindus come to be baptised and where they want to go before they die, to again be emersed in the river and then cremated along side it. its a city of extreme spiritual importance in their culture. we took a sunrise boat ride along the ganges to see some of the relgious rituals being performed. it was almost dark when we boarded a small row boat with a local guide who took us out on to the river. Although it was so early, the river bed was alive with the temples bells and their notstop clanging. Early risers were washing clothes by soaking them in the water and then slapping and beating them against rocks. Others were bathing. the air had a chill that early in the morning (around 6 AM) and i couldn't believe my eyes (although Fodors had warned us) when a body wrapped in wet cloths floated by our boats. I had to look away and try not to get emotional... its their tradition and if they don't have enough money for cremation, to be let go into the river is their way of burial. The whole trip up the river was surreal... people bathed, washed clothes, swam, and bodies were cremated in the temples along the river beds, smoke stacks rising from the gnats (the hindi word for the river-site temples), all the while the sun was rising on the opposite side of the shore and bells continuously rang out loudly.

The poverty in both Delhi and Varanasi were beyond anything I have ever seen or ever thought I could see. I think I mentioned it before in an easrlier post, but now that we are out of Varanasi and Delhi, I'm so relieved to see that its not absolutely everywhere. Yes, in Karajuraho (sp?) and Orcha where we are now, there are many many very impoverished people, and its beyond any levels of poverty in the U.S. BUT, I'm telling you, Varanasi and Delhi took it to new levels. I think the difference was the squalor. Here in Orcha (and in Kajuraho) there are very very poor people in the streets begging for money, but there (in varanasi and delhi) not only were they impoverished, but the conditions around them were the worst I'd ever seen. The amount of trash -- piled everywhere, paving the streets... and the dirt - dirt roads, dirt floors, dust flying everywhere, in the hair, on their skin, coating everything in a fine layer... and the feces... yes, its that bad. Piles of cow dropping everywhere in the streets. the levels of poverty and the conditions seemed straight out of a unicef ad or a national geographic. And this is IN THE CITY, near the river... you just don't usually see that in the center of the tourism areas... its usually hidden away, but this is just right there, and its so sad.

But the good news is, its not that bad everywhere. We flew from Varanasi to Kajuraho (I think I'm botching the spelling) yesterday and visited the amazing temple ruins there yesterday and again this morning because they were so amazing. The temples were discovered in the late 19th century (I think) by an englishman. They were in the middle of the jungle, completely covered in growth when they were found. The temple domes are meant to replicate the look of the himilayas, each one a peak in the range. And the carvings and sculptures that make up the walls and peaks are so intricate and so in tact, we had to go back this morning again before our guide drove us on to the next city.

We are in Orcha now, which is between Kajuraho and Agra (where the Taj Mahal is). Its a tiny town with two main streets, but it has a wonderful palace that we visited when we arrive. Though the drive was only 102 miles, it took us 4 hours (which is normal) because the roads were so bad. The road was not much bigger than a single lane for most of the drive and our driver never topped 40 mph, with herds of water buffalo, wandering cows, and many other obstacles constantly slowing us down. But it was a scenic trip with a lot of farm land and several villages.

Better run for now, Enrique is waiting for me to go to another site in Orcha.
Hope everyone is doing well!
Love, Meagan

Chaos

Because I still have no computer access and am typing this on my blackberry, I'm going to save time (and battery life!!) tonight and just paste an email I just sent my mom in as our blog entry from Varanasi. Sort of lazy but I want my blackberry to make it to see another day!Here it is:Hey Mom!Still no computers at this hotel but I found another wireless network so my blackberry works again. But sadly the battery is getting low so I have to keep it short and sweet so I don't run out. Its nighttime in Varnasi and we are chilling in the room. We're pretty exhausted from the chaos of the streets here. Its the most chaos I've ever seen. Horns blaring, bikes, pedesrians, rickshaws, cars, just madness. We went to see a Hindu ceremony on the Ganges tonight and tomorrow morning we are going on a sunrise boatride along the river so that should be cool. We have to meet the guide at 5:30 AM so hopefully our jetlag kicks in for at least one more morning so we wake up bright and early!! We go to Karajo (sp?) tomorrow.To answer your questions we flew here from Delhi (on a big nice plane) and most of the women wear sari's but not all. Some are fully covered, face and all but not most.And the poverty is all around, everywhere... Not just in pockets like we have seen elsewhere but everywhere you look. Its really kind of sad. And the conditions they live in, I can only describe as squalor.Not to sound like we're not enjoying the experience but I guess its only our second day to its somewhat overwhelming! But it is like nothing I've ever experienced (good and bad)and we are seeing some really amazing things.Love, Meagan

We're here!

Hello from Delhi!
I'm sitting in a dark hotel room waiting for our guide to arrive at 9 AM for our first day of tours. Its dark because enrique has decided to try to sleep for 30 minutes before the guide arrives. We woke really early because of the jetlag and had breakfast (cornflakes) at 7 AM. I'm sitting up and not napping because guess what happened for the first time in two years!!?? I got a nose bleed! Awesome timing. So I am sitting upright with toilet papcer crammed in my nostril.

Warning: I'm typing on my blackberry so excuse my typos.

So our flight out of Chicago was pretty eventful. First it was delayed an hour because the plane wasn't ready. Then it was delayed another hour after we had boarded because they had problems shutting the cargo doors. That's pretty important since we didn't want our bags to fall out over afganistan or iran. Finally we are all set to go and the flight crew decides that this toddler up near the front of our section is too sick to fly. His mom throws a fit when they tell them they have to leave the plane. I felt bad but the kid was really ill and it wasn't good for him or anyone else for him to be on a 15 hour flight. So finally the airline doctor convinces them to get off the plane and then they have to get back into the difficult cargo doors to find their 3 pieces of luggage out of the hundreds of bags under the plane. We finally left about 3 hours late. But besides all of that, the flight was pretty good believe it or not. They sped up or found a good tradewind and we made it to Delhi only an hour later than we should have. And I slept pretty about 10 hours of the flight. We haven't seen much yet since it was 1 AM when we landed.

Well, my fingers are getting tired since I'm posting this morning from my blackberry so I will go now! Hope everyone is doing well back home. I will post more soon as possible, preferably from a real computer!

Love, Meagan and Enrique

India itinerary

We leave for India in 2 days! I spent the day packing and organizing and hoping I don't forget anything vital! We leave Tuesday night and fly Atlanta to Chicago, and then Chicago to New Delhi. Its a 15 hour flight (not counting the flight to Chicago and the layover there!), so we'll be in transit for quite a while. But as soon as I find the internet access and the energy, I will post from India! Also, I think India is about 11 hours (maybe 10) ahead, so when you're wondering what time it is where we are, just fast forward about that far!

Nov. 19
New Delhi International Airport Arrival

Nov. 2oth
Delhi Sightseeing
Delhi Sightseeing (New Delhi & Old Delhi )
Sightseeing of Old & New Delhi with visit to Jama Masjid,
Red Fort, Raj Ghat, Birla Temple, Jantar Mantar, Humayun's tomb,
Safdarjung Tomb, India Gate, Parliament House and Qutab minar.

Nov. 21st.
Delhi to Varanasi
Varanasi Arrival, Afternoon Sightseeing of Varanasi which includes Ram Nagar Fort
and Museum , Pandit Malaviya Temple , Great Mosque of Aurangzeb, Government Museum Mathura , Ghats.

Nov. 22nd
Varanasi to Khajuraho
Khajuraho Arrival & Sightseeing with visit toLakshmana Temple , Kandariya Mahadev Temple, Jain Temples , Hindu Temples , Chaunsath Yogini Temple

Nov. 23rd
Khajuraho to Orcha
Visit Orcha Fort

Nov. 24th
Orcha - Jhansi to Agra
Relax

Nov. 25th
Agra
Visit Taj Mahal,Agra Fort & Sikanadra

Nov. 26th
Agra to Jaipur
Enroute Visit Fatehpursikri

Nov. 27th
Jaipur
Jaipur Sightseeing with visit to City Palace, Stone observatory,
Hawa Mahal, Museum & Amber Fort.

Nov. 28th
Jaipur to Delhi International Airport Drop