We said goodbye to the Leela Palace at 5am this morning.
We knew we were protected from the realities of India inside the walls of the Leela Palace. A driver from Palace on Wheels (the train tour we will start Thursday night) picked us up at our hotel. They were taking us to meet the Forrests at the real train station, not the Palace on Wheels station, where we would get on a train bound for Jaipur.
We got in a traffic jam of some sort. We were several yards from the gate of the station. Since we did not want to chance missing our train, we got out in the middle of the road with all 5 bags and walked to the station. One guy stayed in the car and the other came with us, thank heavens. There were people and cars everywhere. Men kept approaching us to carry our bags. The sights and smells of Delhi were up and at 'em this morning! When we got to the outside of the station there were dozens of people sleeping on the ground….individuals and families just sleeping on the ground, wrapped up in their blankets and clothes. I wanted a picture , but I was afraid to stop, plus I was rolling two suitcases.
Our guide went and got the Forrests and brought them to us. Men with fabric coiled on their heads like donuts got our bags and stacked them on their heads and we followed them to our platform. We were amazed at how many people were there at 5am.
There were people everywhere inside the station too. I snapped a photo of this person sleeping.
Finally we were on the train and ready to roll.
The first is a photo of our Canadian friends, Jean and Casey Forrest. We were in a train just below First Class. It was not too bad, full of mostly Indians. We rode the train 4 1/2 hours from Delhi to Jaipur. As we left Deli, the slums came into view. Amazing how these people live in such poverty. They were all waking up to start their day.
Lots of people walking along the tracks
Cows, pigs and dogs everywhere
Trash everywhere
Cows among the trash
Some sort of slate or stone
Indian ladies in their colorful saris waiting for the train, notice the bathroom to the right
Then we hit farm land. Most fields had one person working in them or maybe two ladies working in their colorful saris. We saw rice fields, cotton and sugar cane.
This advertisement was painted everywhere
A lady letting her earthenware pots dry in the sun
Lots of women were sweeping with these short brooms
This man was holding a mirror combing his hair
We arrived in Jaipur and drove through town to the outskirts. We saw lots of cows in the road and some camels too. Men sewing and others making necklaces out of merigolds. We then turned off of the trash filled streets into the most lovely 32 acre resort.
Entrance to the hotel
Greeted by more flowers
Escorted to our rooms to check in
Our room
Our room key
We had a wonderful lunch here at the hotel. We were the only ones in the restaurant at the time.
Here is the lovely pool
More beautiful flowers
The path that leads to our room
Once again that incredible Indian service
This beautiful country is full of extremes…very rich to very poor. Lots of color to filth and trash. What an amazing experience. So much to see. Hard to wrap your head around it all.
Tomorrow we tour Jaipur and ride an elephant!
The contrasts are indeed striking. The pictures of the poor and the filth that they endure on a daily basis is heart-wrenching. The bright colors of the saris contrasted with the browns of the shacks and trash--what a visual. I wonder if they consciously choose their dress as a way of introducing beauty into everyday life. All I can think as I read this is how thankful you will be that you recorded it in this way! Also, I had to laugh at your line, "Cows among the trash." ;)
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