Day of Beauty

7/17/10 - 8:30pm

We had a nice relaxing day in the neighborhood today- for once, no taxis or autos!

After sleeping in and having a leisurely hotel breakfast, a couple of us headed over to Lodhi Gardens. This is a large park well within walking distance of the hotel, which contains a couple buildings that are about 500 years old! It was very lush and green, but VERY HOT. We saw some interesting birds (including a Kingfisher) and explored the beautiful old stone buildings: there's a mosque, a couple tombs, and some stuff that we weren't exactly sure about. It was nice to do something a little touristy, but like I said, it was incredibly hot and humid and we were dripping sweat just walking around.

The heat and humidity here… it's a constant presence as long as the sun is up. I've begun to adjust, but it makes it difficult to do anything that's not absolutely necessary. It is nearly unbearable- the thing that keeps me going is that there are so many wonderful things to see and do here in India.

Anyway, on the way back from Lodhi Gardens we stopped at Fabindia which is pretty much the best store ever. It has "trendy" traditional Indian clothing and housewares too. I bought some more clothes to wear to school (and beyond). I tried to limit myself, because I know I'll want to go back at a later date for more!

Some of the ladies in the group (myself included) then spent the afternoon at a salon having a day of beauty. I got a head massage and an Ayurvedic facial, and had my eyebrows threaded. The head massage is something I've never heard of and I am hoping to enjoy several before I go back to the states. They put oil all over your scalp and then give your whole head, shoulders, arms, and neck a vigorous massage. Afterwards, they allow the oil to soak into your hair and scalp before shampooing it out. I don't think I can put into words how invigorating and wonderful this felt! Ditto with the facial. And my eyebrows have never looked better. Beauty treatments like this are quite affordable in India… further proof that I am living like a queen over here!

Pizza for dinner, and then we stopped at the store next to the hotel to talk to Gaurav. Gaurav is becoming one of my favorite people here. He runs the store which is in the same building as our hotel- it's basically an Indian version of a Bodega. Anyway, Gaurav is our key to success because he can special-order stuff for us if we need it, plus (and this is totally crucial) he is helping us coordinate transportation to our schools since he is pals with the taxi drivers in the neighborhood. Knowing people who can help you out is super important when you're a stranger in a strange land, and luckily for us, Indian people seem to take a lot of pride in helping and protecting foreigners. So, Gaurav is happy to help us negotiate with taxi drivers for transportation to and from school, and thus we are happy to buy snacks at Gaurav's store and chat him up once or twice a day.

OH! I almost forgot to mention that I ate at McDonald's yesterday. I know this sounds insane, but McDonald's in India, like every other food establishment, is super vegetarian friendly. I had the McVeggie, fries, and a soda. This is not something I would ordinarily do at home- being that nearly everything at McDonald's has some kind of beef product in it- but how could I pass it up?

The heat really wears you out, and we had a day of excitement, so now I'm back at the hotel watching TV, reading the paper, and drinking a huge bottle of water. I'll probably go to bed soon! It's my brother Ben's 29th birthday- HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENJ!!!!- so I tried to call him, but ended up leaving him a voice mail. I talked to my dad for a little while, and now my prepaid phone is almost out and I won't be able to add minutes until tomorrow. I guess this puts a damper on my plan to call Jason!

Tomorrow we'll be doing some sightseeing- going to the Qutab Minar complex and who knows, maybe somewhere else too- and I hope that this coming week I'll be able to get out one or two afternoons to check out some attractions that are nearer to the hotel. I want to squeeze in as much as I can while I'm here!

I'll post some pictures tomorrow!