Valuable Lessons Learned in India - Part 2

* Being just 5 minutes late for the train is just long enough to be susceptible to a sweet talking con man.

With all of our years of international travel, you would have thought we would have seen right through the guy that told us our train had left and that he’d help us to get tickets for another train. Worse than that, not only did it take us 2 days for the full implications of his con to finally sink in, but we later discovered that our train was actually 25 minutes late. Instead, we’d already been put in taxi to a Ticket Office to book tickets for a train that didn’t actually exist. That nice reservation clerk then offered to book us a car (presumably the guy at the station would have gotten a cut). Luckily, some part of our brains started functioning again and we passed.

It’s nice that the driver’s wise enough to wear a helmet on the highway, but guess he’s not too worried about his wife or child. We failed to manage to get a photo of the many ladies carrying babies on motorcycles or the family of four with one child in front of the driver.
There was an endless parade of interesting vehicles on the shoulder of the highway including these wheelchair cycles. Sorry, but also missed taking a photo of the fellow walking two monkeys.

Valuable Lessons Learned in India - Part I

I usually wait to end my entries about a trip with the Valuable Lessons Learned, but as we started learning our lessons as soon as we arrived, it seems more appropriate to start here.

* Telling a taxi driver there’s an extra tip if he drives fast is not a great idea if your wife’s nerves are already frazzled.

Our flight was 2.5 hours late and it took a ridiculous amount of time to get through customs; after very little sleep, we were already dazed. Rather than having a relaxed 3.5 hours between our flight and our train trip to where the wedding was being held, we had a tense 20 minutes to get to the train station. While Jimmy found the taxi ride exhilarating, I found it horrifying; I spent much of it with my eyes closed as I feared not just for our lives, but for the many people that crossed our paths in cars, on bikes or on foot. Amazingly, we survived and arrived only 5 minutes late.

Rickshaws are used throughout India, but no idea why they were allowed on the highway. We never did manage to ride in a bike rickshaw, but had many rides in auto rickshaws (which are actually 3-wheeled scooters with a vinyl roof and back and cloth on one side. They all had meters in them like real taxis, but were never used. We always made sure that the fare was agreed upon before getting in (a 40-minute ride cost under $5, so a very economical way to get around).

Off to India...

When Jimmy’s co-worker Davinder invited us in December to his wedding at the end of January in India, I basically shrugged it off. I mentioned it to Marianne after taking care of her kids for a weekend and was surprised when she said she’d look after the girls as this wasn’t an invitation to turn down. Frankly, I had no idea what to expect, but booked our tickets and on January 29th we arrived in Delhi. There’s definitely stories to tell, but in the meantime I have so many photos of incredible things we saw on the highway, that I’m doing several entries, so bear with me.

After all the things we’ve seen carried on bikes in Holland, we didn’t think we could be surprised anymore, but we constantly were. Need some bamboo?

Not entirely sure what this fellow is carrying, but appears to be a trash man.

Ice, Ice Baby...

This winter has definitely been our coldest yet in the Netherlands. While our last real snowfall was 5 inches on December 22nd, 3 weeks later the bike lanes and sidewalks were still covered in ice. We heard rumors that the main waterway through our area, the Vliet, was frozen, so when David and Andrew slept over on January 10th we went out to investigate. While our route onto the ice through a small marina was a bit nerve wracking when we heard cracking underfoot, our worries disappeared once we got onto the main canal. The kids had a blast seeing how far they could slide.

Views in Southwest England...

Although we had walked through the tunnels carved into the White Cliffs of Dover, it wasn’t until we drove down to the beach, that we could get a good look at these infamous cliffs composed of chalk with streaks of flint. As the sun was setting fast, there wasn’t time for a long walk, but we enjoyed the views.
The following day, we took a long walk through the fields of Kent. We were impressed with the ancient laws that allow the public easements on all private lands to get from one point to another. In our case, we were just trying to get to lunch, but it was nice not having to worry about getting yelled at for trespassing.

A Day at Dover Castle...

On Saturday, Camilla had previous plans to take her girls to London for a play, so Tristram played tour guide for the day. We set off early for Dover Castle so we could get a spot for a tour of the Secret World War II Tunnels (unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos). These tunnels were originally dug in 1803 as barracks, but were abandoned in 1826. In 1939, they were converted into an air raid shelter, then into a strategic command center and underground hospital. The large scale evacuation in May 1940 of 338,000 Allied troops from Dunkirk (across the English Channel) was planned from here. The fortress itself was known at The Key to England as it sat at the closest point to the continent. We enjoyed seeing the brightly painted reconstructed furniture in the Great Tower, built by Henry II in the 1200’s, and the actors re-enacting a crucial moment in Henry II’s history.

The Kentish Family Hash...

The reason we needed to arrive in Kent so early was that Tristram (aka Trust the Suit) was haring the first Kentish Family Hash. He found the perfect place to start--the Hare & Hounds Pub (a piece of trivia: the hash was fashioned after the children’s game of hare & hounds) . There were an impressive 13 kids and 12 adults, but unfortunately I failed to get a photo of the crowd. We all enjoyed running through the fields. The beer break featured homemade soup, which was perfect for warming up during the light snow flurries. Afterwards we enjoyed a good British ale back at the pub. Then on Sunday, we took a 1.5 hour walk to The Crown Inn for a nice pub lunch with Camilla’s sister and family.