Wow. I truly feel like I am on the other side of the globe. India is a way incredible and diverse place. It even smells different, I mean smells. Cow dung, burning cow dung, Indian food, incense, flowers and garbage all mixed together equals the aroma of India. It’s actually not as bad as it sounds. I’ll start from the beginning: My friend Mark and I had a great flight on Qatar Airlines. We really thought the airline was particularly good. We had a lay over in Saudi Arabia. At the airport, Mark and I experienced the most diverse group of people we have ever seen in one place. There were so many different skin colors, colorful robes and great turbans. Women covered from head to toe while other women were dressed like me, very casual travel loose cotton clothes. It was truly amazing.
Mark, interviewed a man from Oman and thought his English was broken, be was very friendly and welcoming. Anyway, we had a fascinating layover and definitely made me want to learn more about the variety of cultures in that part of the world. We landed in India around 3:30am and even though we hadn’t much sleep, we were wide awake due to our excitement. As soon as we left the airport, I could feel the amazing energy of India. After we managed to get a ride to our Udaipur palace hotel and unpack, we hit the streets. Our first day in India was surreal and beautiful. We met up with one of Mark’s friends, a Buddhist nun. She made us feel great just by being near her. Her name is Venerable Tenzin. We walked all around one of the nicer parts of Udaipur with her, Mark had a great interview with her, and we filmed her getting her head shaved. All Buddhist shave their heads because they are working on not worrying about appearance, so they can dedicate their energies towards their practice. Anyway, it was great walking around town. We got so many looks from the people we were passing. A Buddhist nun, a 6’6″ blond man and an American girl dressed very differently from all the other women on the street. We were quite a site for all those people. It was a great first day and we learned a great deal about Buddhism.
Mark and I headed back to our hotel room and crashed for a whole day, jet lag and excitement finally met and Mark and I lost.
Related posts: