After a few days in Delhi it was time to
move on again. Delhi had been a necessary stop as there were a few things that needed to be done like a few car maintenance issues and a visit to the dentist for me. No, not for toothache but for a consultation regarding the restoration of an implant I'd had a couple of months ago. Because it required bone grafting it couldn't be done straight away so I did a bit of research into having it done here. I easily found out that the savings I'd make in having it done here would more than cover the cost of a return airfare next March so it was a bit of a no- brainier . I looked at many dentists before coming and after a visit have decided that I'm more than happy with my choice. Tarun kindly took me and so finding him in the chaos that is Delhi was no problem. However, Tarun did tell me that I was probably paying too much and that there's a guy that operates on the side of the road in Old Delhi who would most likely be a much cheaper option. No thanks Tarun, this time I'll go with my gut feeling!
So chores done and it was off up northwest to Yamuna Nagar where we were going to stay with his extended family. Tarun described this as a small town but I suspect there were 400,000
or more people living there. ..... some small town! In so many countries I've looked at houses and wondered what they were like inside and how the people
lived in them . So far on this trip I've stayed with four different families and had the opportunity to see how they all live. This has been a wonderful experience do thanks to Tarun and the various members if his family for giving me this experience.
I did several things while in this town but one of the best was going to the vegetable market with Tarun and his cousin. This was huge. I so wish I could buy so many vegetables for so little money at home. Of course when staying in a home the added bonus is that you see how some of these vegetables are cooked.
move on again. Delhi had been a necessary stop as there were a few things that needed to be done like a few car maintenance issues and a visit to the dentist for me. No, not for toothache but for a consultation regarding the restoration of an implant I'd had a couple of months ago. Because it required bone grafting it couldn't be done straight away so I did a bit of research into having it done here. I easily found out that the savings I'd make in having it done here would more than cover the cost of a return airfare next March so it was a bit of a no- brainier . I looked at many dentists before coming and after a visit have decided that I'm more than happy with my choice. Tarun kindly took me and so finding him in the chaos that is Delhi was no problem. However, Tarun did tell me that I was probably paying too much and that there's a guy that operates on the side of the road in Old Delhi who would most likely be a much cheaper option. No thanks Tarun, this time I'll go with my gut feeling!
So chores done and it was off up northwest to Yamuna Nagar where we were going to stay with his extended family. Tarun described this as a small town but I suspect there were 400,000
or more people living there. ..... some small town! In so many countries I've looked at houses and wondered what they were like inside and how the people
lived in them . So far on this trip I've stayed with four different families and had the opportunity to see how they all live. This has been a wonderful experience do thanks to Tarun and the various members if his family for giving me this experience.
I did several things while in this town but one of the best was going to the vegetable market with Tarun and his cousin. This was huge. I so wish I could buy so many vegetables for so little money at home. Of course when staying in a home the added bonus is that you see how some of these vegetables are cooked.
Another highlight was driving to visit and have lunch with another of Tarun's cousins in the town where he was born. A late afternoon walk served to show me just how similar people are all over the world when we stopped to let the children play on a mini Ferris wheel thing and roundabout. Here the mums were all watching their kids and chatting to each other as they would in any playground at home. Then there are the sunsets which are absolutely stunning here ... Probably because of the pollution but who really cares. We hadn't intended to stay at this place but there was considerable pressure to do so . We were off again early in the morning so the fact that all I had with me was a comb didn't really matter.
The next day we had planned a day trip to Chandigarh with two of the cousins. Once again we had to deal with the roads! It was a bit sobering to witness a truck crash on the way and to realise just how easily we could have been involved in this through no fault of our own. Basically as far as I'm concerned all Indian drivers are totally crazy but the roads are unavoidable and I'm very happy that Tarun is very capable and very sensible.
My understanding is that Chandigarh is a sort of model Indian city. It is very different to any other I've been in because the traffic is less chaotic, it's clean and well planned. Strangely enough this was the only time I've been disappointed in India as to me it didn't feel Indian. We did a couple of touristy things like walking by a lake and visiting quite an impressive arty type rock garden before A McDonald's lunch and NZ Natural ice cream in the mall. I had wanted to go to an Indian mall and Tarun as usual obliged, we both thought that a trip to the mall with his female cousin would be a nice experience but it proved not to be so. It was actually quite funny as she seemed to say 'no' to everything I looked at. Turned out that she was trying to be very helpful by telling me that the things were too expensive and she could get them cheaper for me elsewhere. :-) I didn't buy much!
The next day we had planned to go and see the Golden Temple at Amritsar but I developed quite a hankering for more of the Himalayas. When I said to Tarun 'let's flag Amritsar' his response was his usual 'no problem' . Actually I suspect he was quite pleased as he loves the mountains as much as I do so Himalayas here we come!
The next day we had planned a day trip to Chandigarh with two of the cousins. Once again we had to deal with the roads! It was a bit sobering to witness a truck crash on the way and to realise just how easily we could have been involved in this through no fault of our own. Basically as far as I'm concerned all Indian drivers are totally crazy but the roads are unavoidable and I'm very happy that Tarun is very capable and very sensible.
My understanding is that Chandigarh is a sort of model Indian city. It is very different to any other I've been in because the traffic is less chaotic, it's clean and well planned. Strangely enough this was the only time I've been disappointed in India as to me it didn't feel Indian. We did a couple of touristy things like walking by a lake and visiting quite an impressive arty type rock garden before A McDonald's lunch and NZ Natural ice cream in the mall. I had wanted to go to an Indian mall and Tarun as usual obliged, we both thought that a trip to the mall with his female cousin would be a nice experience but it proved not to be so. It was actually quite funny as she seemed to say 'no' to everything I looked at. Turned out that she was trying to be very helpful by telling me that the things were too expensive and she could get them cheaper for me elsewhere. :-) I didn't buy much!
The next day we had planned to go and see the Golden Temple at Amritsar but I developed quite a hankering for more of the Himalayas. When I said to Tarun 'let's flag Amritsar' his response was his usual 'no problem' . Actually I suspect he was quite pleased as he loves the mountains as much as I do so Himalayas here we come!
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