My Trip to India and Nepal My desire to see the Taj Mahal was perhaps the biggest reason why I chose to visit India. Ask a group of seasoned world travelers to describe their most interesting destinations and inevitably the Taj Mahal will be mentioned among the top ten. The story behind this amazing monument is just as compelling; a king so distraught over the loss of his true love that he spends a sizeable portion of his kingdom’s wealth to build what is arguably the world’s most beautiful mausoleum. Forget about the sheer architectural wonder, the enormous trademark dome, the white marble design, the intricate carvings and inlay gemstones…this site is a must-see for the hopelessly romantic. But I must confess, beyond the Taj Mahal I knew precious little about Indian history or culture. Perhaps it was just as well, for India is not a country to be seen in the traditional sense, it must be ‘experienced’. I’m not sure anything could have prepared me for what I encountered over there. I booked my trip to India in June of 2012 – ten months in advance – right after GATE 1 Travel advertised this tour through their weekly promotional email listing. I was very excited and discussed the trip with a fellow traveler named Noelani Musicaro who I met during a recent Turkey excursion. The India trip included a three-day extension into Nepal, a country I was very interested in seeing. Noelani was also game, so we booked the tour at the same time. The entire cost of the package came to just over $3,300, which included the airfare costs, the hotels, most of the meals, all of the additional excursions, and the annoying ‘single supplement’ fee. All things considered, I thought this was a very reasonable price for a 15 day, two-country tour of South Asia. Other than a visit to my doctor for any required inoculations (none were needed since I was pretty much up-to-date on all my shots) I planned almost nothing for this trip except buying a new Nikon Coolpix camera. For someone who likes to write detailed journals, I do very little research prior to my departures. I prefer being surprised and enthralled…and this, for me, usually comes at the expense of naivety. The least I know about a place, the more interesting everything seems once I get there. A friend gave me a Frommer’s guidebook on India for Christmas and I did read up on the areas we would be visiting on the flight over, but for the most part I was as ignorant of Indian culture as most of my well-meaning family, friends and co-workers who offered some of the direst warnings you can imagine. I was cautioned about everything, from the food to the poverty to the sanitary conditions. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect. And, boy, was I excited! As usual, I registered with the State Department’s S.T.E.P. program, which allows U.S. citizens to inform the government of their travels abroad in case an emergency arises that might necessitate an in-country evacuation. I also purchased a separate travel phone for international calls. The previous year I got stuck overnight in Frankfurt due to an airline strike, and not having a phone to contact anyone was maddeningly inconvenient. I 1 kept tabs with the weather and news reports coming out of India, and as my departure date approached I checked repeatedly with the State Department to see if there were any travel advisories for the country. I found nothing to be alarmed about, considering the perennially sad state of affairs in that region of the world. And so, on the morning of April 4th, 2013, I took a taxi to Miami International Airport to begin my South Asian adventure… Days One and Two I had scheduled a taxi pick-up for 7:30 am. Since I live only five minutes from Miami International Airport I decided years ago that I would not bother family or friends with the dreaded ‘airport run’. My United Airlines flight to Newark didn’t leave until later that morning, but I like to check in early and then have a leisurely breakfast in one of the airport’s restaurants while I read the day’s newspaper. When I arrived at Newark’s Liberty International Airport at 1:00 pm I was surprised to see how much the airport had changed since my last visit in the late 1980’s. There was now an auto train connecting the terminals, and everything was larger than I remembered it. My flight to India did not depart until 6:00 pm, so I killed almost an hour browsing in shops before queuing up at the Jet Airways counter in Terminal B. Actually, I was the only one there. The counter representative told me they would be opening in half an hour. I decided to wait since I was the first in line. Five minutes later, though, the counter rep took pity on me (or was annoyed to see me still standing there) and checked me in early. With boarding pass in hand, and relieved of my big luggage, I had a delicious steak burrito for lunch at a place called Currito (a Mexican cuisine fast food joint) situated in the Terminal B food court. Afterwards, I went through the security protocol. I thought I had emptied my pockets of everything but the swirling x-ray machine picked up a piece of aluminum foil gum wrapper wedged deep into the back pocket of my jeans. Immediately, two TSA officers approached me wanting to know what I had in my pockets. “Juicy Fruit” I told them, wondering why the wind-up clock and the bundled package of batteries in my carry-on didn’t register a second glance, yet a sliver of aluminum foil did? I walked the entire length of the Terminal B gate area and parked myself in front of a TV monitor broadcasting a continuous loop of CNN news. From time to time I looked around for signs of Noelani who was also booked on the same flight. Actually, I was a tad apprehensive. I hadn’t spoken to her in over nine months, and had only recently begun communicating via email again. We had a falling out due to a personal matter I’d rather not mention in this journal, and I wasn’t sure how she would react to me. I needn’t have worried, though, because I ran into her while looking for a Time magazine in the terminal bookstore and we had a great reunion. As always, she looked lovely, and we sat down for the next couple of hours and recounted what we’d been up to since our Turkey 2 tour. She told me about her kids and her new online business (Figlie di Fortuna) and a video project called the Kindness Conversations which she has posted on YouTube (a wonderful series of video interviews in which random individuals are asked to discuss what kindness means to them). I told her about my daughter and how my job as a letter carrier was going. We made each other laugh and laugh as we had in Turkey, and it felt nice to be reunited with my traveling buddy. By 5:30pm Jet Airways began their boarding process. This was the first leg of a two- flight schedule. We would be traveling to Brussels and then catching a connecting flight to Delhi. I had changed my original seat assignment to an aisles seat (due to my claustrophobia); Noelani sat in another section. But as it turned out, the window seat was empty so Noelani was able to join me. Unfortunately, the man sitting in front of her was very inconsiderate, reclining all the way back and making it very uncomfortable for her. By the time dinner was served Noelani felt like a caged animal. Frustrated, she returned to her original seat in the back of the plane. I had no complaints, though. This was an Airbus jet, which has more legroom in coach than a Boeing, and because I was now sitting by myself I could really stretch out. After watching the movie The Silver Linings Playbook on my personal screen I popped an Ambien and slept on and off until we arrived in Brussels. The flight lasted about seven hours. We had a three-hour layover in Brussels, the capital of the European Union. Noelani and I spent that time walking the beautiful terminal building and browsing the duty-free shops. We both agreed to buy Belgian chocolates on our return trip. The flight to Delhi took another eight hours. For me, the time went by fast. I saw two movies: Argo (for the second time), and an intriguing action cop film entitled End of Watch. I also managed to sleep for a few more hours. We arrived at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at 9:00 pm on April 5th, twenty-six hours after I had left my home in Miami. We already filled out the necessary entry forms on the flight over and breezed through immigration. It took a while before our luggage was available on the carousel, but once we cleared customs our tour guide, Jayanta Kar (who preferred that we call him Jay) was waiting for us holding up a GATE 1 sign. Eleven other members of our tour group were arriving, as well, and when everybody cleared customs we made our way outside the airport building and boarded our white tour bus.