The Journey Begins

LOCATION: Delhi, Nirvana Hostel


Sitting in New Delhi’s Nirvana Hostel, freshly showered, eating complimentary rice complete with an unknown meatlike substance and a side of beer, I am content. It is hard to believe that almost exactly a year ago to the day I was beginning a similar journey to India, but without the same freedom and intention. Both of these attributes are present now. Catching myself smile “just because” has, in the last 24 hours, become a warmly embraced common occurrence. In short, life is good!

To say that the trek to this place, this moment, deviated from our original plan is a crude understatement. First, for reasons still completely understood by me, Ty’s visa wasn’t granted in time for us to catch our first flight on July 26th. Bummer. If that wasn’t bad enough, we then had to pay a whopping $700 to rebook our flight to August 1st. Huge bummer. This divulgence may sound like I am complaining, and in other scenarios that would likely be the intention of these words. However, I instead am infinitely grateful for them, as everything—even the annoyingly talkative thirty-eight-year old guy from Jersey who sat next to me on the plane who whipped out his camera to show me pictures of that “hot new thang” he met at a bar last weekend—seem to have been almost divinely orchestrated to prepare me for what is to come. Upon arriving one notices that this city is filled with car horns honking one hundred times a minute, trash covering the streets, and beggars everywhere, yet the people exude a warmth of spirit and kindness that is unparalleled. This is the first time in a lonnnnnng time where things just feel completely right, completely carefree and positive. I cannot wait to see where this journey takes us!

Ty and I spent our first day in India visiting the Red Fort, a former palace for royalty, in Old Delhi. The architecture was reminiscent of buildings serving similar purposes that I have seen in Morocco, but the delicate carvings in the white marble façade will make this palace memorable I’m sure. That or the two young men who followed us throughout the complex indiscreetly taking pictures of my butt with their cell phone’s camera! After that, we meandered towards the largest Mosque in all of India, peaked inside at its grandiosity, but elected not to venture in since Ty was too scarred after seeing “Slumdog Millionaire” to leave his precious, new REI shoes out front. (If you’re reading this, love ya, Ty!) Instead, and after asking directions from at least four different people, we made our way through the narrow, crowded side streets of Old Delhi to Karim’s—food that is to die for. We feasted on mutton, butter naan, palak paneer, and tandoori chicken so good that I would build a shrine to it. Literally. To end the day, we finished exploring the jagged and seemingly endless streets of the area until catching a rickshaw back to the hostel, showered again, and are likely to call it an early night to stave off exhaustion.
One more day in Delhi, then on to the next one.

NEXT?: Dharamsala, the Himalayas, and the Dalai Lama!