Bea goes to India 2006

A place to house periodic comments from Bea while she backpacks her way through India and Nepal.

Monday, February 06, 2006

Agra day one

it feels like we've been here a lifetime, but perhaps that comes from how different everything is.

my bag arrived intact @ 3:30am Sunday morning with our last team member {who had a different schedule} -- I was unbelievably happy to have a change of clothes and the rest of my things. We have left Delhi this morning on a 6am train -- arrived in Agra soon after 8 and have spent the day as a combination of tour of the Red Fort and a walk/shop excursion.

hoping to have an early evening -- we will get up and be to Agra for sunrise... and perhaps back later. and then we leave the following day.

I'm warm, but I am reminded that it is the "cool" season by seeing people bundled with sweaters/coats/headgear... it seems their blood has thinned.

someone asked me what I imagined it would smell like -- many scents I would do well to forget!!!! [dust & smog, urine, garbage, and dead animals]... ... But also jasmine, spices, and some quite wonderful food. I think you have to deal with the less-than-pleasant bits and treasure the wonderful ones!

I feel the same way about sounds -- it is so incredibly unrelentingly noisy -- when you are in a relatively quiet place, it seeps into your bones...

My job this week is accommodations -- assist the rest of us to get settled when we're checking into a new place... since there are twelve of us, we will look for 6 rooms most of the time, and bunk together in similar clumps I expect... Other roles will be leader, 2nd in command, transportation, security, finances, entertainment, supplies... the roles will rotate on a weekly basis, so it is an interesting process to learn different aspects of our overall needs while we are here.

some weeks some jobs will be more of a challenge -- I would be a bit stressed to have some roles this week, given what we are doing. Accommodations for the weeks we are in Mandore would be a cake walk. Transportation will be rough though, because we are to maintain our bicycle fleet.

a subset of us are discussing whether we should go to see the Golden Temple as a mini-excursion one weekend -- I think the answer is yes, but we have a few logistics to work out. it will be a fast&light experience, but that might still mean 3+ days journey -- night train to Delhi and then a 2nd train out in the morning...

clothes are a challenge -- I will need more warm-weather gear and will continue to look for something cheap that I can work in and not mind if it is wrecked.

tired, but somehow that's OK -- off to wash up some laundry, and then perhaps lie about before we do dinner. some are talking of a movie, but I'm not sure I'm up for that today... especially since I want to be fresh tomorrow.