Today was sight-seeing, tourist day. Nancy and I were getting ready to start a fun-filled day that we had planned last night, when Johnny and Jenny showed up at our door! It’s great to have them here so that the whole team is finally together. I was surprised by their willingness to drop their bags and come with us after an early flight.
First, we went to a Sikh temple called Gurud Wara. There was a crowded mob of chaos outside of the temple doors and as we trekked through the jumble of vendors selling silver Sikh bangles and worshipers, we took off our shoes, washed our feet in the fountains, put scarves over our heads and entered. As I looked around this expansive veranda of holy space, I became so overwhelmed with a feeling of spirituality. It is the closest that I have come to this feeling in my life and though I’m not ready to whip out the bible, I think that there is some spiritual element that I may be missing in my life. As people laid out to nap in the shade, others rinsed their bodies in the pool in the center of the temple to rid their sins or just be blessed by the holly water. Some women smiled at me, and I smiled back even though it made me feel like a stupid tourist invading on something that I didn’t understand. Men just stared as we walked by and children paid little attention. At certain moments, like stepping through a doorway, people would bend down, touch the ground and bow. I wasn’t sure if I should mimic the action and since I didn’t want to be disrespectful, I didn’t, but now that I think back to it, I wish I had. Maybe it was more disrespectful to walk through the doorway without bowing. The best part was being in the presence of a holistic love of God.
After the temple of chaos and love, we took an auto rickshaw to Lodi Gardens. It is the equivalent of Central Park in New York; enormous trees bend over dirt and semi-paved paths, skinny chipmunks scurry across the road, and vendors sell ice cream to help you bear the heat. There were a few historical archaeological sites with old tombs that I took pictures of, but we were restricted from entering. After a short walk in the blistering heat, we stopped in Lodi Garden Restaurant. The place was fancy shmancy and we felt like we were walking back into a hidden oasis, complete with air conditioning. I had an Italian-inspired pasta dish and a lot of complimentary bread. I think I needed a break from Indian food. I realize now how much it will lose its appeal when I return to Salt Lake City.
The next thing on the list was visiting Humayun’s Tomb which is the inspiration for the Taj Mahal. Despite the fact that I could care less about the dates, names and stories behind the monuments, I can’t help but let my imagination wander and picture myself living in the days when people got buried in tombs the size of castles. The architecture was elaborate, though cracking and falling apart at the seams and the buildings had an overpowering stench of piss. One of the tombs that we entered had a dark, steep, stone staircase with tall walls. As I stood to get a glimpse of the coffins from a birds-eye-view, Johnny looked up and saw a bat dangling right above my head. Startled, I quickly jumped out of the way. I’ve decided that bats are alright, as long as they are not two inches away from me.
The heat is getting to the sticky, uncomfortable degree. Upon arrival back at the apartment, I took a freezing cold shower to rinse off my own evils. It was a productive day of sight-seeing though I know that we were a little ripped-off by the auto drivers. The other interns don’t negotiate prices very well, and while I am willing to go along for the ride and bite my tongue, I just imagine how pissed off Aviva would be at my lack of bargaining that she drilled me on in Africa.
Peace. Love. Ice Cream.
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