Visit to the Taj Mahal

Hi friends,

Well, I can no longer say that I have not been to the Taj Mahal. It' s quite a road trip from where we live but we buckled in and, despite queasy tummies, we headed out for our big adventure.

Our driver got me a little bit upset because he only knew the way by going back up to Delhi and starting from there so I think we wasted at least 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours on the road. When you are riding on very rough roads and trying not to either throw up or have a case of diarhhea, then you really don't need to add extra miles to the program. But we eventually reached (as they say here) and checked into our very nice hotel while waiting for the sun angles to get low for the sunset shots of the Taj. After a short break, we headed on over and began our tour. Our tour guide, Del, was just a hoot and we enjoyed him thoroughly because of his sensitivity and his sense of humor. One of his great statements about driving on Indian roads was "Good horn, good brakes, and good luck." That really is a great description of the Indian driving adventure. Another statement that he made that has really stuck with me through the weeks here is, when referring to the sales persons who accosted the tourists as you approach the Taj, "I can give you good advice, but I cannot control your hands." I thought that often that is probably how God feels about us when He sees our lives and choices.

As we were touring the Taj that evening, the girls were in recovery from "Delhi belly" and Dan was holding out but weakley and finally acceded to the constraints of his tummy. I had thought, at one point, that I was going to throw up on the Queens tomb, but miraculously made it out and only later on the grass did the ladies learn how I really felt during most of the tour. That night we all rested really well and everyone woke up feeling better the next morning. My Taj pictures by the morning light are the favorite photos that I have ever taken and partly because of the subject matter, but also because they came out so well.

Since Karen's mom and Aunt Verda came and went, we have also enjoyed a visit from Lynne, Karen's sister. We took her to Old Delhi and just had a blast around town and seeing all the sights. Lynne was so positive and fun to be with, we really enjoyed the visit and taking her out to see the rare sights of Delhi here.

If things go as planned, I will be packing my suitcase and getting ready to go to America again in order to accomodate my boss's request to go and get my recurrent training done so that we don't have the Citation grounded for too long, since my copilot is getting married the 5th of May. He will be off work from the 1st through the 10th and I am trying to make my break coincide with his time off. It puts a lot of pressure on me to get to America, get trained, visit family and friends a little bit and then get back to work in Delhi by the 10th of May. I am looking forward to getting it all done and to being steadily back at work again soon. Living here is just such a fascinating place to be. The sights and sounds and views out the window are just something that you would see in National Geographic but not out of your home or car window. India is such a mix of old and new, rich and poor, modern and ancient and always interesting.

I hadn't put up a blog for awhile so I wanted to do one quickly since I am possibly going to be gone for a couple of weeks and then back flying again. Since our desktop computer seems to not to want to communicate on Skype, I am leaving my computer so Karen can talk to her family and then, when I get back, I will see about getting it fixed. I will try to access through my son's computer while in America and with my American cell phone.

I have lots to tell you next time I get a chance to sit down and write. Right now I just need a safe trip to America and back and another successful visit to Dallas to get my recurrent flight training done.

Talk soon,

Dan

Family visits us in New Delhi

Last Sunday evening Karen's mom and aunt came to New Delhi to visit us. We are having fun and are excited to have some company over here to do some traveling around with.
Karen likes to dress up and get into costumes, etc. so we got into our Indian clothes that we have purchased to wear to my co-pilot's Indian wedding which is coming up in the middle of May.
They would have never recognized us so I went up to them as they came out of the airport and then I took them over to see Karen. You can see pictures of what we looked like when I post our most recent photo album here in a day or two. We have been doing something just about every other day and then, in between, trying to get rested up and ready for the next, big outing. No one can appreciate the amount of energy and time that it takes to do anything unless you have been over here and experienced what it's like. A two hour errand back home where you could hit several of your desired stores, etc. can take more than one day and by the time you deal with Delhi traffic you are exhausted.
Last night (Thursday) we walked to the Italian restaurant at the mall that is nearby. It was a pretty good dinner and as we walked home in the dark we were walking along the dusty road that crosses a field right before you get to our apartments. It was dark and we were walking and talking when all of a sudden a tiny little kitten came walking right up the road towards us. We were shocked because there just aren't any cats in Delhi or Gurgaon hardly and here was this tiny little cat walking all alone. He wouldn't have lived for an hour as there are many Delhi dogs around and if not for one of them, there are cars and cows and people who don't like cats. This kitten cannot be more than two or three weeks old. It's eyes are open but it is so small. Of course Karen and I picked it up and it had to come live with us or it would die. Today we talked to the manager of our complex and he thought there was a mother somewhere but when I went and talked to an Indian woman who had been giving the kitten milk, she said there was no mother. So, now we have 3 cats, one adult, one teenager cat (probably 4 months old) and now our newest addition, who is so tiny you can't imagine that this little kitty could have survived the night if she hadn't run into us. The cat is so fortunate that even though it is a female I have nicknamed it Lucky. We are having to heat milk slightly in the microwave and put some kitten chow in the milk and hope that it drinks enough and maybe chews a bite now and then to get enough nutrition to survive. It seems to be doing okay for now and I have given the new cat residence in the jacuzzi tub in our master bathroom since it really kind of needs protection from the other cats until it gets just a little bit bigger.
Today we went to Old Delhi. This part of town is as different from where we live as night is from day. It was a one hour taxi ride away but it's a totally different world. The streets are very narrow, the electricity runs through very scary looking wires and the noise level is deafening. We did some shopping at the spice markets, the saree market and the jewerly stores. Everyone came away feeling very good about their purchases and the prices. Moreover, we all had fun and it is so interesting that it's hard to process all the amazing sights that your eyes take in.
One of the highlights of the day for me was a whole row of dentists that were lined up along the sidewalk who offered to sell you dentures. They showed a small picture of your smiling mouth and so I went over with my camera and asked how much. I have no idea what dentures cost in America but you could get a full set of lowers for 2000 Indian Rupees ($42) and uppers for the same price, so you could get a complete set of dentures for less than $85. When I tried to take a photograph they seemed less than excited about the prospect. Maybe they thought I was from the government and they were operating illegally, I don't know. You can also see photos of this operation when I post my latest photos. Having been trained to pull teeth while I was in Africa about 30 years ago, I have always been interested in dentistry in the third world countries.
This weekend I will be singing in the choir for the Easter service at the Sunday church. I have been warming up my trumpet and getting ready to play at church here in a few weeks. Now that I have digital sound tracks recorded on my computer, accompaniment is a much easier chore. I wish I were in Tennessee this weekend so I could enjoy the Easter Sunrise Service at Southern Adventist University. It is always well done and something that I really enjoy every year.
Miss you people and hope to have some of you as visitors here before we come home. We are just enjoying this adventure so much. Karen and I just look around in amazement at what our eyes take in every day. It's not for the faint of heart.
The picture is of Me, Aunt Verda, Karen and Karen's mom Anne on top of the spice market today. Many more pictures to follow with details that are hard to describe.