Delhi and Shimla

My stepmom, Pam, has drafted these colourful descriptions of our travels together with my dad and she has generously allowed me to post them on my website. They capture the essence of India better than I could have (and I'm too lazy to write my own accounts!) Here is one:

~~~
India is wonderful, unbelievable, colourful and chaotic. Often it reduces you to laughter or sadness. 4 lanes of traffic weave into three lanes plus a donkey cart or elephant on the highway shoulder. Foods smell wonderful and occasional open sewers, not. The women and flowering trees are a rainbow of colour contrasting the grey dusty streets.

We've been to see an orphanage and woman's project sponsored by Child Haven, a local Ottawa charity. Despite the beggars often encountered, these projects and many others give a sense of hope. The orphanage is for Tibetan children who are refugees from the troubles in Tibet. They are very bright and full of laughter and regalled us with songs and what they are learning in school. The woman's project teaches young women to sew clothing that they can sell in the market. They also learn how to use the computer and learn some health and nutrition. There was a woman about my age who is a family planning teacher going door-to-door in a poor Delhi suburb giving away condoms and birth control pills. It was good to see these programs are in place despite American government pressure to the contrary.

Today we are in Shimla, about 250 km north east of Delhi, in the foothills of the Himilayas. In fact we can see the snow-capped Himilayas in the distance. We're up over 7600 feet so are finding it a little difficult to breathe at times. But it is beautiful and the people are all very friendly although few speak much English.

This morning we went to the top of the mountain, the old British viceroy's residence and British summer seat of government. It's also the site of the Simla Conference where Indian independence was negotiated in 1947. The structure is Elizabethan and dates over 200 years -- very beautiful. Some interesting pictures of the conference attendees with Gandhi at one point kicking up a storm in a crowd and Nehru sharing a belly-laugh with Lady Mountbatten (Indians say that they were in love).

Tomorrow we're off to Dharamsala, the site of the Tibetan government-in-exile and the residence of the Dalai Lama. Dharamsala is closer to Tibet in the west and is apparently very different in culture from the Hindu area we've been in to date.