Overload

My mind is melting. I have so many things to blog about, I don't know what to blog about. This week I've been exploring. I went to a Hindu temple and a Baha'i temple. The Baha'i temple was called the Lotus Temple and really was shaped like a huge flower. Baha'i is a religion that combines everything basically.  All religions lead to the same place and if we can unite them all, then we'll reach perfection or something like that. Honestly, I've never understood that philosophy. Religions are all so different, how could they lead to the same end?

 This week was all about using public transportation. I think I've got baby taxis down. Below is a picture of one, which I found on Google. You can fit 3 people in there, and it zooms around like a go-kart, and it's fairly cheap.

 

I also rode the train and the metro. I rode the metro Friday, I think. (I don't have cell phone, so I struggle to remember the date, day, or time...) Anyway, my friends and I were leaving the Lotus Temple and we couldn't get a baby taxi take us home for a good price. So, finally we saw a metro station and decided to try that. The first metro was really nice. It wasn't crowded, it had A/C and several helpful announcements. For example, "Please do not sit in seats reserved for the handicapped, senior citizens, and ladies" and "Please watch for unattended bags, briefcases, toys, and transistors, as they may contain bombs." Good to know. Then we changed lines. This time it was so crowded that it didn't matter we had nothing to hold on to. But then, maybe 2 people moved and all of the sudden, my friend and I were stumbling back and forth across the car. Indian metros definitely don't glide to a gentle stop. Comparatively, the D.C. metro does. Of course we were on a car with all men. They tried so hard to help us. There is a car reserved for ladies, but we would've had to get off the train, run to the front, and then push our way back on again. Plus, we had a guy with us and didn't want to leave him. Next,a guy said, "These seats are reserved for ladies. You can make someone move." But, walking up (or squeezing our way through hundreds of people) to some random men and demanding they move for us is not part of our natures. Not to mention, it would make it even harder to reach the doors on the opposite side of the car when we needed to get off. Finally, the guy found a bar for us to hold on to. The metro ended up being a lot cheaper than a baby taxi, but it took us an hour to get home, as opposed to 15 minutes.

People here are really helpful. When you've just arrived in Delhi and the only Hindi word you know is the name of your destination, taxi drivers will stop and ask directions, a shop keeper offered me a chair when he noticed a I was waiting on my friends and a policeman got a taxi for us (which helps keep the price down).

There's more to this adventure, but maybe I'll save it for another blog. Oooh, a cliffhanger. I bet that drives you crazy doesn't it?