"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." Jawaharlal Nehru
Namaste!
This is Allie writing - the students are out taking full advantage of our short time here in Delhi, so I offered to write the blog for this week
.
Since we last posted after our time in northern Thailand, we've spent lots of time in transit - from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai to Bangkok to Surat Thani and down to the beaches of Phang Nga Bay on the Andaman Coast, then back up to Surat Thani and then Bangkok.
We had a bit of a "vacation" after all of the students' hard work on the road up in the Lahu village, enjoying 5 days on beaches and boats. During our 2-day trip on a longtail boat we got to snorkel and kayak around the stunning limestone karsts that jut out of the aquamarine waters of the bay. We also spent a night in a group homestay with a Muslim family. Our host took us on a walk through his village, showing us and explaining some of the agricultural mainstays of the area, including cultivating and tapping rubber trees, growing pineapples and raising bulls for bull fighting. Our tour was capped off with a gorgeous sunset before we headed back to the house to help make dinner
. Some took turns crushing about 20 chilies, garlic, cumin and pepper into a paste for an incredibly spicy chicken curry, while others chopped vegetables or fried eggs. The food was fantastic - vegetable omelets, mushrooms and onions and shrimp in a savory sauce, chicken curry, pan-fried fish, steamed rice and lots more that I can remember. We finished with a dessert of fresh pineapple and watermelon - staples of our time in southern Thailand. In the morning we had more delicious local food - fried dough with a sweet coconut sauce, sticky rice with coconut custard steamed in banana leaves, and fried chicken and coconut with rice - before heading back to the beach for another 24 hours of relaxing.
We returned to Bangkok on another overnight train from Surat Thani, and then the group had some free time to do a little bit more exploring before we left for India. Some went to Chinatown while others took some time to recharge and repack. We also had some valuable group reflection time and a celebration dinner at posh hotel by the river
.
We arrived in Delhi yesterday and have jumped right into the sheer mass of humanity that is this diverse, chaotic, beautiful city. After everyone's first experience with Delhi traffic on the way from the airport, we had an excellent first Indian meal together. Rich northern Indian curries, fresh paneer, garlic-studded naan and cool mango lassis were favorites, with lots of tasting each others' dishes. We spent the late afternoon exploring Pahar Ganj, the main market area around our hotel, shopping, sampling Indian snacks and getting mehndi (henna) done.
This morning we ventured in rickshaws to the National Ghandi Museum before another lunch of curries and dosas and dal. The students had this afternoon free to explore the city in smaller groups, with some choosing to return to Pahar Ganj to do some more shopping and others heading off to visit the iconic Red Fort or Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque. The group I was with spent a few hours weaving through the busy streets and bazaars of Old Delhi, enjoying the sites, sounds and smells of everyday life in the city. Today is part of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim festival celebrating the end of Ramadan, so we also got to witness Muslim men and boys leading goats, sheep and camels through the streets on their way to sacrifice them for Eid.
Based on some of the conversations I've had over the past day and a half, India is already beginning to challenge some students' perspective on issues like poverty and development. It's definitely a step up in intensity from what we experienced in Thailand, and I'm sure that will spark a lot of productive group discussions over the next few weeks.
Tomorrow we're off on our first train journey in India, to Jaipur, for a 5-night homestay and lots of cultural activities.
Allie
Beaches to Bazaars
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Delhi, Thailand
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2025-02-15