The end.

The time has come. Day 140. Last day in India. Not sure how I feel; my emotions are all over the place. Here's the last post from India. (Blogging has become such a routine that you might be reading about what I have for breakfast next week!)


On the 27th, we flew from the small Dehradun airport (near Rishikesh) to Delhi. Had wanted a train, but reserving two weeks in advance wasn't enough. All full. Quick 2 hour flight, then cab back to RAK Hotel in Paharganj, where I stayed in January and where papa and I stayed when he arrived. I'm a regular. Did a little shopping that afternoon, only bought a dozen or so more books. Papa tried to stop me this time, but was not successful. (I'm pretty sure I'm still under the luggage weight limit for the plane. We'll see in a few hours!) There was rooftop movie at the resto we had dinner at, so we decided on a relaxing evening of The Darjeeling Limited. I saw it years ago, but it was much more fun watching it while in India!

Alarm went off at 5am the next morning, for our 6:15 train to... the Taj Mahal! Great 2-hour ride to Agra, quick taxi drop-off at one of the many gates, 1km walk to the ticket counter (20 rupees for Indians, 750 for foreigners!), then as we were about to go through the arch bringing us to the view of the Taj, papa closed his eyes and asked me to lead him through, so he could open them when it was in full view. I think he liked what he saw. I thought about not even going since it's such a touristy place and I've seen it in photographs so many times, but of course, it's just not the same when it's right there in front of you. The majestic white marble monument of love (Shah Jahan had it built for his beloved 3rd wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died while giving birth to their 14th child) is definitely a sight to see. However, we thought it would be a full day visit, but it took only a couple hours. We were done by noon. Our return train was at 8:30pm. Hmmm, how to spend 8 hours in Agra. We could have stayed longer on the Taj grounds, wandering the gardens, reading under a tree, but the stifling heat made that an unattractive option. So we checked the guidebook for an AC resto nearby and got a cycle-rickshaw ride there. Stretched out lunch and dessert for 2 hours, then went on an internet search. Stopped first at a fancy hotel, thinking they might have AC web, but there was no web at all. 2nd place was a hole in the wall with 2 ancient computers which wouldn't even turn on. Finally had mild success at the third place, which had a fan on the ceiling, but unbearably slow internet. Only strayed 10 minutes. Had hoped the web stop would pass an hour or two with blog writing and e-mails. Spotted a Cafe Coffee Day, modern spot that always has AC. It was about 3:00 by then, still 5 hours to spare. Went across the street to a bookstore and each got a magazine to bring to CCD to pass time as we sipped our drink. After an hour there, we decided to head back to the train station early and see if we might be able to get on an earlier train. No luck. All full. It was almost 5. Walked around the station looking for a decent place to sit, and found, upstairs, the retiring rooms. These are rooms you can rent for a day if you have a train layover. So we haggled a price two hours, and checked into a strange but large and cool room (AC!) that had bed, fridge, couch and bathroom. We both had a little nap, exhausted from the heat, and papa even managed a bit of a shower. Left the room shortly after 7, and wandered the train platforms for an hour. Finally, our train arrived and we were on our way back to Delhi. After the onboard dinner and a chat with our neighbor, papa created the IPPPLC (International Pickle Packet Pealing League Competition). Long story. IPL is the name of the cricket league here, so the Indian got a kick out of this. Lights out by 11:30 last night.

We hadn't planned much for today, but ended up doing quite a bit. Showered and packed this morning, then got a tuk-tuk ride to Jama Masjid, a famous mosque in Delhi. After being at the Taj yesterday, it was hard to be impressed. We had to remove our shoes, of course, and the ground was so hot at some places that the burning under my bare feet brought me to tears. These may have been also partly caused by my strange emotions today. Back to hotel, then delicious Indian lunch. After a bit of web, we took the metro (modern, squeeky clean, and AC) to Lotus Temple, a Baha'ai House of worship. Even after the Taj, this one impressed me. It's a huge dome-like structure in the shape of a white lotus flower. Inside, there are hundreds of benches under a very high ceiling. We sat for a final meditation in India, then hopped back on the metro. Brought our packed bags down to the lobby of the hotel, did some final souvenir shopping, and now I'm here, writing my final blog. It's 9:15, we are leaving for the airport at 11. Papa's flight is at 3:30am, mine is at 4:50am. It's going to be a long night at the airport... luckily I have plenty of great books to choose from! 

Oh, by the way, I mentioned heat and AC quite a few times in this blog. And it's not without reason. Today's weather in Delhi: high of 44, low of 30. Can't wait for June in Montreal!

I still have yet to write about Papa and I's time in Rishikesh, so I guess I'll have one blog left to write from home. And I find it fitting to end with Rishikesh, the place where my love-affair with India began, and the place I know I will return to many more times. 

Last quote. Rabindranath Tagore, an Indian poet, beautifully described the Taj Mahal as, 

"A teardrop on the the cheek of eternity."