Mumbai, India (May 2019)

Posted on June 3, 2019 by drbonnieanderson under India

Our time in Mumbai (Bombay) had a rushed beginning. For security reasons they locked the exit door for a few minutes, splitting up our group. We were finally allowed to exit and had a rushed bus ride to get to Gandhi museum before closing. The museum is in a house where Gandhi used to live and did some of his critical work.

We drove along the Queen’s Necklace along the shore, but we were warned “don’t get in the water” because it is so polluted.

We had an early start to take a 1 hour boat ride to Elefanta Island and the caves carved in the 1400s. We rode a “mini toy train” to the base and hiked 120 steps through a shopping gauntlet to get to the caves. Chitra our guide explained about the carvings of Lord Shiva throughout—telling a story. It was very hot and muggy. It was interesting to watch the aggressive monkeys stealing food and drinks.

We had a very interesting time at our Tara Consulting Services visit. Sarah and the others daughters went to the pool instead.

We had a very fancy dinner in the hotel. There were lots of cricket players staying in our hotel for a big tournament, so many of our group got tickets and went to one of the matches. It was 136-8 when we left. Akash Tigers (blue) had just hit, and the Eagle Thane Strikers (yellow) were up to bat next.

We had an interesting visit to P&G Mumbai, and they even fed us lunch.

Jaipur, India (May 2019)

Posted on June 3, 2019 by drbonnieanderson under India

Our hotel was a former palace. There is still a room reserved for royalty only ($15,000 per night).

We saw some snake charmers on the way to the Amber Fort. There are lots of snakes in India, and snake charmers are still very important to remove snakes from houses and help with snake bites. Since they don’t kill the snakes, and don’t have good medical care, India has the highest rates of snake bites in the world.

We got a tour of the Amber Fort /Amer Palace (built in the 1600s) in Jaipur. We got to ride in the back of pick up trucks to get up the narrow, steep streets to the fort. Elephants are another option.

The “small wall of India”

We had a tour of a textiles factory, demonstrations of block printing fabric and carpet making.

We drove through the Pink City—old colonial part of town all buildings are required to use the same color of terracotta pink.

We had a business visit to Jaipur Foot where they make prosthetics for free. They use flesh-tone PVC pipe (heated up) and interesting technology for the knee joint. They don’t turn anyone away, most done within a single day but if not they can sleep in the dorms. We had a detailed presentation from Dr. Mehta the founder. Our group was able to give them a generous donation. Many of the workers have prosthetics themselves.

We drove to the outskirts of town to ride elephants–ours was a 28-year old named Lakshmi.

With a few others, we attempted to take a tuk tuk ride to McDonalds. Our driver didn’t know where to go, and there were too many of us in the vehicle. Although finally got there, McDonalds was closed for remodeling, but we were able to walk to Dominos nearby.

Delhi/Agra, India (May 2019)

Posted on June 3, 2019 by drbonnieanderson under India

Due to flight delays, we arrived in Delhi late (and the hotel even later).

3:30 am outside the Delhi airport

With 2.5 hours of sleep, we still made it to church at the Vasant Vihar Ward in the basement of a non-descript building. They had a very nice Mother’s Day service and gave us flowers.

After a quick clothing change, we headed out to the Gadodia spice market. It was closed due to the election, but we could still walk up the narrow stairs several floors to the roof. It was very hard to breathe—so many spices, especially chili peppers in the air.

After lunch we had a long bus ride to Agra and dinner at the hotel.

We got up early for our sunrise tour of the Taj Mahal. Our guide Raaj had traditional Indian clothes for the faculty leaders and our daughters.

We got the “high value tickets” and tour of the mausoleum—but no photos allowed there. Intricate carved marble.

We had a tour of Agra Fort, just down the Yamuna River from the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal, was imprisoned here by his son. You can glimpse the Taj Mahal out the window.

We had a tour of the Akhbar marble factory tour and demo about inlaid stone carving used in the Taj Mahal.

We got to visit one of Mother Theresa’s Sisters of Charity organizations. It was really sobering to visit the children’s and women’s wards. The community helps provide support.