Incredible Unpredictable India Part 1: New Delhi

I have always been intrigued by India even though I knew it was an underdeveloped country with so much uncertainty it still intrigued me. It finally worked out that I could take enough time off at the end of March so that I could book my trip to India. My friend, Leighton, had told me about this tour company, Intrepid Travels, which did really awesome trips. I had also seen this cool tour of India on CNN which was an Intrepid trip. The trip was called the Golden Triangle, where I would visit New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, and Karauli in a span of 8 days taking various forms of Indian transportation as well as staying in different kinds of Indian hotels. As my time off was approved from work I decided to try and book.

Dana one of my former co-workers had heard me talking about the trip and said she was interested, but as I was beginning to book my trip I honestly didn't think she would still be interested so as I started posting on facebook about my time off being approved and she happened to mention it to her boss and he said he could give her the time off. So she decided that she was going to join me on my trip to India. Originally I was all fine with going by myself because I would meet others on the tour, but knowing that I would have a friend come with me really made me happy.  I was worried that I didn't have a visa first and was scared I wouldn't get one, but the people at Intrepid told me to book the trip because there should be no problem in getting the visa. In any case I was required to get travel insurance so I could have gotten a refund had the Indian embassy said no to me. I did the whole visa process as soon as I could and it ended up being 10 days before I was going to Jakarta and I was really pushing it, especially since a visa for India takes about 10 days to process, but the lady at the visa place assured me my passport would be ready in time and it was ready when she said it would be. It cost me about $100 for a 6-month visa with 2 entries, which I really didn't need, I wish there was other options for shorter visas that were not so expensive. So as the day for departure was approaching I began preparing for the trip I had bought travel sized cosmetics, as well as conservative t-shirts and pants. I got some very cheap clothes at Big C which helped tremendously. Since I had already made it through Southeast Asia with my backpack I decided I would use it again. As the day was approaching I really wasn't excited, I had been more excited for my previous trips than this one. The week leading up to my departure I was still not super excited, but all those around me were. They were also scared for me, for some reason they thought I was going alone and recent news stories out of India were about horrible violence against women. Everybody kept telling me to never go out alone and to be safe. I spent more time saying I will be fine than thinking about the trip. It was finally the day before I left, Sunday, and I had the day off so I slept in and spent my morning being lazy and cleaning my apartment. Dana would be coming over that evening so we could leave first thing the next morning. I usually never have the day before I travel off, it was very nice to have the day off so I could relax before traveling. Dana eventually showed up around 5 and she was hungry. So as soon as we put her stuff down we went in search of dinner. She said she didn't want Thai, since she lives in Rangsit and all there is is Thai food, so I suggested this one place near my apartment that I had been meaning to try out but had yet to go. It was a cool little place with a mainly western food. I had a chicken caesar salad with some freshly baked garlic bread. Dana also ordered us french fries with sour cream and onion dip. The portions were huge and after we finished we were thoroughly stuffed. We got back to the apartment at about 8 pm and decided to leave the apartment for the airport at 6 am. Dana went to bed shortly after we got back to the apartment and I went to sleep a little while later. The next morning we were up bright and early and after we were ready we made our way down to catch a taxi, it always seems to happen when you need a taxi there isn't one, but when you don't need one there are tons. We eventually flagged down a taxi with the help of the security guards from my building.  There was no traffic so we got to the airport relatively fast, we wanted to have a lot of time to get thorough passport control so we could eat breakfast. When we got to the terminal there was a small line and when we got to the counter the man asked about our checked bags. Dana had one but I just had my backpack and I saw no need to check it. The man kind of questioned me about it, he asked about my liquids I said I had some and they were travel size. He kept going on about how even if its 100mL but in a bigger bottle it would be thrown out. I said I understand my stuff was fine, but he kept going on about it so I opened my bag pulled out my zip lock bag and placed it on the counter he said "oh, that's ok." I was very close to saying "I know, I'm American I know how to travel and I know all the travel rules." but I didn't, I didn't want to be taken of the flight before I even got to the gate. We then made our way to passport control which had a relatively long line, but it was moving fast. Once we were through we went in search of breakfast. After we ate time was nearing to board our flight so we made our way to the gate to wait. The plane took off a little late, but nothing too significant. The flight was pretty uneventful but both Dana and I were anxious to just land and start this adventure. One funny thing that happened on the plane was before landing they sprayed us with some kind of mist, I guess to prevent germs, it was the first time that had ever happened to me on a plane. Once we landed we immediately made our way to passport control which had pretty short lines and we were through very fast. As for getting Dana's bag it took a much longer time. It seemed like we were waiting for ages for her bag, I had even gone changed money and returned and she had yet to receive her bag. Once we finally got her bag we made it out to the arrivals hall and we went to find our transportation to the hotel. Thankfully the man was standing right at the exit. He grabbed our vouchers and called his taxi driver then we were on our way. The area near the airport was really nice and was not what I was expecting I kept expecting mass chaos and that was no where to be seen. The driving in New Delhi was crazy I was trying my hardest not to look out the windshield because the driver was stopping very late and I really thought he was going to hit another car. At one point both Dana and I flinched when we really thought our driver was going to run into another car, we made a noise from the back and the guys in the front kind of chuckled at us. The drive to the Karol Bagh neighborhood was not as chaotic as I thought it would be it was very much like Bangkok, so maybe my ideas of India were a little unfounded. The craziness was when we were close to our hotel and we were trying to get down the road that there was clearly no room for a car to fit down, but we made it surprisingly. When we arrived at the hotel we were greeted by very nice hotel staff that immediately ushered us into the lobby. The hotel was not very wide and was designed kind of like a split level house. You walked up some stairs into the reception area and then some more steps into the community lounge. The lounge was the center of the hotel and all the hallways to the rooms looked down onto the lounge. It was 4 floors with 4 rooms per floor. The rooms were not incredibly big but they were adequate. They were interestingly designed with a red, white, and black zebra theme. The wall paper which was zebra print had zebras hidden in it, classy. The beds were surprisingly soft and comfortable, you actually sank into the bed when you sat down. We put our bags down and went down to the reception to find an ATM. The hotel sent a staff member with us to walk around the corner to an ATM that was in a room that you had to step into. I have never encountered an ATM like that. As Dana was in the room I kind of just looked around and observed the surroundings. When I noticed it was taking a while I went in and Dana said her card wasn't working so I offered to use my Thai bank card and she would just pay me back. Once we finished up the staff member took us back to the hotel, as we were walking somebody threw a water bomb at us. At first we both got a little wet, but nothing to substantial and then a minute later Dana got one right in her neck. It was a little shocking but the hotel staff said it was normal since it was the day before Holi. We went back to the hotel and decided to have lunch. I have never really had much experience with Indian food so trying to pick something was very difficult especially with no pictures. Dana had a lot more experience and knew what everything was, I ended up ordering Chicken Masala with rice which was good but super filling. After we finished our lunch we went back to the room to relax before the meeting. We met one of our fellow tour group members, Mary, who is from Ireland. I definitely had trouble understanding her, I probably got about 70% of what she said in our first meeting. Dana said as soon as we got into the room, "you had no idea what she said." I felt bad but I just wasn't used to the accent or the phrases before, I thought that as the week went on it would be easier. In the time between lunch and the meeting Dana and I went to our room to relax, watch TV, and take a nap. When 6 o'clock came we made our way down to the restaurant in the basement where we thought we were meeting, but we were meeting across the hall in the conference room. Once we got in there we sat at a  large table and met our group. With Intrepid the groups have a maximum of 12 people. Our group had Dana and myself, a guy from Australia named George, a girl from South Africa who lives in the UAE named Wendy, 2 sisters from Ireland named Mary and Claire, an older couple from England Andy and Suzanne, a father and daughter from New Zealand named Chris and Georgie, and a younger couple from England named John and Genevieve. We were a good mix of people and our fearless leader was named Bhupender Singh Shekhawat, Bhupi for short. He was from an area near the city of Jaipur so he knew New Delhi, Jaipur, Karauli, and Agra pretty well. He started off the meeting by having us all introduce ourselves and then going over the itinerary. His first concern was our safety he knew we had read the stories in the newspaper and he wanted to reiterate that we would be safe and gave us a list of things to do. He started giving us a lot of times and tipping numbers, it all became a bit confusing really fast. As we were all trying to write down the information he then said "don't I will tell you more later." He warned us that this trip would be long and we should not overdo ourselves. He gave us suggestions on things to do in our free time and how we should accomplish visiting them. Once the meeting ended we all went out to dinner at a local restaurant around the corner. After my filling lunch I just wasn't hungry. As I looked at the menu for something light to eat I just didn't know what to get so I decided to just have an orange fanta and be done with it. We all sat at dinner trying to get to know each other about half the table ate while the other half drank. We were all having a great time but we were warned to watch it because the next morning we were to meet at 7:30. After dinner and drinking we made it back to the hotel relatively early some of us stayed in the lounge playing on wifi while the others went to bed. 
The next morning Dana and I were up bright and early then made our way down to breakfast it was a continental style breakfast with toast, hard-boiled eggs, curry, fruit, and cereal. Everybody had decided the previous night to meet for breakfast so to get to known each other better and talk. Breakfast was good and pretty uneventful not a lot of us talked we were all still trying to get to know each other. At 7:30 we were all ready and we were going to take the metro to Old New Delhi to walk around the old city, visit a mosque, and a Sikh Temple . Before we left we were given the run down. If you take a picture of Indian people you must ask first they will not care but you need to ask. At the mosque there was a 300 rubies camera fee and we would be expected to tip when we returned our robes, Phupi told us to only give 20 rubies. He told us not to make eye contact because, especially if a woman makes eye contact it says that she is interested. As for the metro ride he told us that we could use the ladies only carriage, which can make us feel a little bit safer and is much less crowded. After our brief meeting we began our walk towards the metro station. The neighborhood was very quiet given the time of the day.

Karol Bagh in the morning.

 We made it to the station in about 10 minutes, we were told to stay in a group and to stay where we were and that Phupi would find us. Once we got to the station as we waited for Phupi to buy our tickets we tried to figure out where we were going, we had to make a transfer and the names were a bit confusing I just needed to see it written down. So a small group of us went to the subway map and looked at the name of our stops, after that I felt a bit more comfortable. Once we got our tokens we proceeded through security. There was a men's line and a lady's line where we put our bags through an x-ray scanner walked through a metal detector and then were patted down with a wand. Well at least I felt safe on the train. The station itself wasn't too busy, I had been in stations with many more people. The one thing I did notice, and this is the Thai in me and because I am lazy, was that there were no escalators so we had to walk up and down stairs which was a killer. As we waited for our train Puhpi, the always worrying fearless leader, once again told us our stop and where to go when we get off the train. He then sent the girls to their designated area. It was really weird to have a lady's only carriage. I had never seen it before. When we got in it was very quiet and weird to be in a carriage with only women, but somewhat comforting at the same time. We made the transfer and made it to our final destination with no problems. Once we were out of the metro station we began our walk to Jama Masjid, the Friday mosque in New Delhi, the largest mosque in India. We walked down the streets, which were not as busy as mid-morning would be but they were pretty crazy. The streets were not well maintained, the sidewalks were a little broken, there was trash in the road and on the sidewalks. But it was still really cool to see Chaiwala, Indian Tea, being made and men crouching down with their buddies having a tiny cup. There were tons of dogs some already with their Holi colors.

 There were numerous food stalls much like Bangkok selling all kinds of fried treats. Women were doing ironing with some of the biggest irons I had ever seen and they weren't even electric they put hot coals in the top and ironed the clothes that way. Men were also getting a shave and having their hair cut on the side of the road. You would walk up see a man in a chair looking at mirror as another man was either cutting his hair or giving him a shave. It was all kind chaotic and new, but awesome. This is what I thought an Indian Street would be like. While walking down the street we even encountered monkeys. There were a couple of monkeys on a couple of roofs and people were feeding them bananas. Jama Masjid was a beautiful mosque once you walked through the gate you saw these stairs that seemed to go on forever. 

Once we got to the top Phubi walked to the side and sat down on the ledge he told us to take off our shoes and leave our bags with him he would watch them. So once we grabbed our money and stuff we went into the mosque. We first were handed a long robe to cover our arms and legs. They were quite old with very interesting patterns, the velcro was a little old so it was hard to fasten the robe. The square of the mosque had loads of pigeons and a fountain. There were a lot of families, a lot of them just sitting around relaxing. It reminded me a lot of St. Marks Square in Venice with the pigeons and the way the mosque and the cathedral looked very similar. I first walked around the perimeter looking out the arches at New Delhi I then moved on to the mosque itself. The mosque was a long hall, like a room of arches. The ground was completely covered with prayer rugs.

There was only one or two men in the mosque praying so I didn't feel bad going in. It was very quiet and peaceful. Once I went back out to the square I began taking pictures and started to get to know some of my fellow tour group members, George, Wendy, and Georgie. Once we had had our fill we dropped off our robes and went out to put on our shoes. As we waited for the rest of the group I sat and watched the street outside the mosque. Only one word could describe what it looked like, craziness. The people were driving extremely fast as they were about to turn a corner, there were people on bikes and tuk-tuks passing people, giant tour buses that looked like they couldn't fit down the road somehow make it down the road. People were driving where they shouldn't be driving and all I thought was that "I would never want to drive here." Once everyone was out and ready we moved on to our next destination and we would have to brave the craziness to get there. We did our old heritage walk as we made our way to the Sikh temple. We continued to observe the craziness of Old Delhi and then Puhpi brought us to this one street, it was the market. It was a long narrow alleyway full of electrical wires above our heads, had they not had the wires I am pretty sure it would have been brighter. He explained how we were a bit early and that it is very colorful market full of loads of stalls. He told us to go explore and to meet him at the entrance. Thankfully all the stalls weren't there because I am pretty sure I would have been overwhelmed. We walked down the pretty empty road looking at the few stalls and as we were walking we encountered our first cow, ox as the local men corrected us, in the middle of the road. 

Little did we know it would be the first of many cows, oxen, we would encounter. We eventually walked far enough and there really wasn't much else to see especially when the stalls weren't open so we went back to Phubi and then we were on our way. We eventually got to a very busy road and walked along it till we came to an area where there were a lot of people washing their hands outside a building we then went into this downstairs basement office, we were ushered into this room with old coffee tables and couches we were told to take off our shoes and socks as we sat there a woman walked in and began telling us about the history and customs of the Sikh religion. Since the room was a little bit hot she turned the fans on to full strength so it was very difficult to hear everything she said. From what I could hear it sounded interesting and as we were listening to the story we were handed a yellow triangle shaped fabric, this was to cover our head, you cannot enter a Sikh temple unless you head is covered. Once we were presentable we made our way to the temple. We first needed to clean up before entering so we had to wash our hands and then step onto a watery step to clean our feet. Once we made it through these steps we could enter the temple. We came in when I believe it was prayer time. So there was a lot of chanting and a ceremony at the altar like structure. Phupi lead us around the prayer area and then into the area where people were chanting/meditating. We sat there for a couple of minutes observing the ceremony, we did get a couple of looks, but it was a group of white people it is hard not to look. We then got up and walked around the temple we went out to the outer area and looked at the road outside the temple, it was crazy, it was Chandni Chowk.

There were loads of cars trying to make it around this round about people were walking in front of cars standing in the middle of the road. Cars were going to wrong direction just to get to the lane they wanted to go to. Bikes and tuk-tuks were weaving in and out of traffic barely missing people and other vehicles. After observing the craziness we walked to one of the kitchens, here the chef was creating this sweet dough like substance that is given as a gift to all those who exit the temple. The pots and pans he used to prepare this gift were huge. He has to be very strong to make this everyday. After we went to the kitchen we viewed the temple's housing. The temple houses its members that need help, it never asks for money everything is donated and people volunteer. We then went to see this extremely tall flag pole, which was explained to us that it is extremely tall with an orange flag on the top so that all in the neighborhood can find the temple if they are ever in need. Once the significance of the flag was explained we went down some stairs to the main kitchen and cafeteria. The kitchen was quite impressive with the large pots and a myriad of workers preparing chapati and curries.

 It was all really impressive we all got to flip some chapati and stir some of the food we then walked out where they did the dishes, which was on the ground in a bucket of water and soap. We then moved on to the dinning area which was a room with long carpets going from one end to the other like long lunch room tables. This is where the people sat on the carpet and a silver tray was brought to them. It was all really cool, we were offered to sit and eat but a lot of the people in our group were scared.  I would have done it I just didn't want to offend people or make my group wait so in the end we didn't stay and we moved on to the main prayer room this time to view the shrine of a famous Sikh prophet. Supposedly in the monument case are his arms so we walked behind the main altar and down a flight of stairs and peered into a glass case that was full of gold fixtures and money. A lot of people were stopping and praying as well as blocking the staircase. It was a little difficult to make it through the passage way you had to push your way through, which wasn't very nice considering it was a sacred religious site. Once we made it through that process it was time to exit and get our gift. So as you go down the stairs a man at the exit had a large pot full of the sweet pudding like substance he then scoops it into your bare palm. The whole process is like receiving the Eucharist just instead of a small light wafer you get a hot dollop of pudding.

 It was quite good a little hot but interesting, it is something I have never had before and after because of the oil used in the food, I had a nice moisturizer. I did go wash my hands. We then went back to the first room we entered and took our bandannas off and put on our shoes. We had some of our questions answered then we were on our way. Our metro stop was just across the crazy Chandni Chowk round about so getting across it was interesting to say the least. I felt like I was in Rome again trying to dodge motor bikes, it was like playing a game, but if you lost it wouldn't be pretty. When we all made it across we followed Phupi down this alleyway that went in front of a Hindu temple we stopped for a minute to take photos and for those in our group who were thirsty to stop and get a drink. As we were standing there children flocked to us pointing at food or drinks in the stalls asking for something. Some even yelling "chocolate." It was all very sad, but at the beginning of our tour we were told that Intrepid does not condone begging of any kind, "Do not give them anything." This was our first real experience, in India, with incessant begging. I just ignored them and they left me alone others were not so fortunate. Some couldn't understand why we couldn't give them a drink or food they weren't asking for money. As I said if you give a item of food to one many more would swarm you and you would then have to buy them something. I think I have become desensitized to begging children. I feel bad that I feel this way, but I have been to numerous countries where children beg. They all do the same thing, I equate it to a show they are putting on so I don't trust them. Their situation is horrible but I will not contribute to this life and hopefully they will find a way to leave it. Once everyone had bought their stuff we went to the metro and made our way back to Karol Bagh. Once we got back to our neighborhood a good majority of our group wanted a coffee so we decided to stop before heading back to the hotel. Most of the group had bought a coffee and the rest of the group came inside and to come up with game plans. We were to have a free afternoon so a lot of us were trying to figure out what to do. I was not going to sit around the hotel and wait for dinner, a couple of other people in the group were feeling the same way. We began walking back to the hotel and Puhpi was pointing out good restaurants for us to try for lunch, we all made a note of it and continued walking back to the hotel. Once we got inside we convened in the lounge area deciding to meet in 20 minutes to decide on a place to eat. Once we met again we went in search of food. We ended up going to a vegetarian restaurant a couple of blocks from the hotel. We had vegetarian Tahil, which was the first time I had it, it was delicious and filling. We all sat around discussing things about our lives and just trying to get to know each other. We also were deciding what to do with our day. After lunch we went back to the hotel and we decided to rent a taxi for a couple of hours. He would drive us anywhere we wanted to go and it would cost us 750 rubies for 4 people. Since there was 6 of us we were planning to get 2 taxis but as we were discussing places to visit, George said he had already been and he wanted to pack up his stuff and Dana wanted to stay in the hotel to relax. So it was going to be me, Wendy, Georgie, and Chris exploring New Delhi. Our driver arrived very quickly to the hotel and we were off. The driver drove us past some great temples, sights, and the crazy New Delhi traffic. 

Our first stop was to the India Gate. The India Gate is a large arch, similar to the Arc de Triumph, it was a war memorial to the Indian and British soldiers lost in World War I and the Third Anglo-Afghan War. There was also a tomb of the Unknown Solider and eternal flame under the arch very similar to the Arc de Triumph. You couldn't walk underneath the arch like in other cities but it was still a pretty magnificent structure. The grounds surrounding the gate were less than to be desired. The grounds were not maintained at all there was a lot of trash and dead plants, as soon as you got out of the car hawkers were there to sell any and everything. It was quite irritating, but I have a pretty mean anti-hawker face which has most people leaving me alone. Once we made it through that crowd of hawkers we walked towards the gate itself. We did the walk around took pictures and checked out the surrounding grounds. When we went to the other side of the gate there was this long road that lead to Parliament and the President's house. It was very reminiscent of the mall in London, a long imposing wide road leading to a beautiful structure at the end. Once we walked around the gate and took all the pictures we needed we began walking back to the car. As we did these hawkers came over selling carved out elephants made of marble and sandalwood. Georgie, Chris, and Wendy all wanted some so we spent some time negotiating and talking to all the hawkers before elephants were bought and people were happy. 

Our next stop was Humayun's Tomb, a world heritage site, and one of the inspirations for the Taj Mahal. The area was going through a bit of a remodel, but it was still really impressive. The outer gardens were still under construction, but the Humayun's Tomb land was very well maintained. There was lush gorgeous green grass and large lush trees. There was a definite water structure that had water paths that ran around the land of the tomb and would have fed into a beautiful long fountain, unfortunately there was not water, had there been water it would have made this place even more magical. The tomb was both full and empty at the same time. At some points there would be crowds of people blocking your view and talking. Then you would walk a little bit and be completely alone and that is what made it so magical. The views from the tomb were spectacular and you really got to see the expansiveness of the area. The domes of the tomb were in the process of being repainted I wish I had seen the tomb as it was completed, but to see what it would look like was a treat and in the future the grounds of this site will be exquisite, if they maintain it. We wandered around the gardens especially taking in the trees because both Georgie and Wendy live in the UAE where there are no trees so it was a treat for them to see them. After taking some photos under the tree we went back to our driver to head back to the hotel. We asked the driver to drive us past Parliament and driving down "the mall" was fun.

 We took a lot of photos of Parliament and the President's house then continued our journey back to the hotel. The streets of Delhi are crazy, it is pretty scary to look out your window because you swear you are going to hit another car. I just made an effort to either look straight or not at other cars, it seemed to help. Once we were back at our hotel we decided to go to Karol Bagh market to get some white t-shirts and food for the next day. We gathered a group and went out for our mission, we wanted the white t-shirts for our Holi celebration and the food was because we would be getting up extremely early for the train. Puhpi wasn't sure when we would get fed or if we would like it. As we walked towards the market we noticed some girls on a rooftop spraying people who passed by with a water gun. After seeing them we were on constant alert, as I was walking I felt something hard hit my butt and then I felt something wet on my feet. I thought some guy had hit my butt, but it was actually a water balloon that did not go off and hit the ground then got my feet wet. We had no idea where it came from, usually when someone throws a water balloon you see the culprit but we just didn't see anyone. Now we were a bit scared. I really didn't want to get wet. The entire walk to the market I felt like I was searching for snipers, we were all jumping and any slight movement or noise made us jump, I really don't like that feeling, but it was actually really funny. Once we got to the market we went in search of cheap white t-shirts. Some of us wanted cheap white shirts so that the colors would really show up when we celebrated Holi the next day. We were kind of a tourist attraction, it was a group of white people walking in an Indian market, it doesn't happen everyday. We were constantly being called to and asked to come to their store. The store people are definitely persistent. We already saw some men celebrating Holi and we all kind of stayed clear because we didn't know if we would get into trouble or not. We went to the other side of the road and continued on. After we walked a bit of a distance and found no white shirts. We began walking back and as we were walking back Georgie and Wendy decided to try and take photos of the guys who were celebrating Holi. 

We watched from across the street, the men had put some powder on Georgie and Wendy, it looked pretty harmless and when we crossed the street we too joined in the celebration. It was quite fun and the powder was everywhere, the men and the locals seemed to enjoy us joining the celebration more than we were. After our little stop we continued walking, we stopped by a shop to buy some snacks for the next day. We then saw a stall down the street that had a lot of t-shirts particularly white t-shirts. We walked up and saw all kinds of white t-shirt rejects, shirts from different U.S. cities, Hooters, and Snoopy to name a few. As we were looking for the perfect shirt in our size we were told to watch the Holi powder or we would be buying the shirt. I found a plain white t-shirt and got it for 100 rubies. Once we all got our shirts we began walking back still on guard, we feared that the girls from the roof were still at their post with a more powerful gun or our waterballooners were still waiting for the white person to pass by. Other than being extremely anxious our trip back to the hotel was uneventful. We did encounter more Holi people even a father and his baby daughter, 

who did not seem to like being covered in Holi powder. Once we were back at our hotel we all dropped our stuff and agreed to keep the Holi powder on for dinner. We met in the lounge and the group was surprised with our appearance. We really were enjoying it. Puhpi told us our itinerary for the next day and said we had to be downstairs at 4:45 a.m. We could not be late or we would have to find our own way to Jaipur. We walked back in the direction of the market keeping our eyes in the sky hoping not to be water bombed. We finally arrived at our restaurant called Spicy by Nature. It was a very nice restaurant and we all sat at a very large table near the entrance. The staff was very attentive and the food was delicious. We had a wonderful time at dinner and at this time we were all still trying to get to know each other. When dessert came we were give a complimentary dessert in celebration of Hole. We walked back to the hotel still searching the sky so to not be attacked. It was actually a fun walk back to the hotel we were so jumpy and watching everyone that it was funny. Once we got back to the lounge we were told again what time to meet in the morning and warned us not to be late. Dana and I went up to our room after going on the internet for a bit. We showered, packed, and then went to sleep.