This is India...

WARNING! EXTREMELY LONG POST AHEAD!

Well I managed to avoid getting typhoid, malaria, dengue fever, and all the horrible diseases the doctor warned me about when going to India. But I came home to a snowy and freezing Chicago and got one heck of a cold. The drugs I took to help relieve the sinus pressure today knocked me out at 5pm so of course I woke up at 1am and can't get back to sleep. Luckily for you it means I now have time to write a good long post about my trip to India!

It all started with a trek through the Chicago streets with my luggage. My classmate Lenka and I were supposed to meet at the school between 3 and 3:30 so we could go to the airport together. It took me longer to get everything together than I expected and then I barely missed the train at 3pm so I had to wait until 3:15. I didn't want to have a big heavy coat to lug around in India so I decided to just brave the cold in a thermal t-shirt and button up shirt. I finally got to the school at 3:37 with snow falling on me. The security guard informed me that if I was looking for a blond girl who isn't "from around here"...she already left for the airport. So I lugged my nearly 50 lb suitcase over a couple blocks to the blue line and headed towards O'hare. As my sister and brother-in-law found out recently (although I had forgot), the blue line does not go all the way through to the airport on the weekends. So I had to lug my suitcase up some stairs out to the street and onto a bus about half way there. Then I had to get off the bus...back on the train...and finally arrived at O'hare. Once in the airport I saw that there was actually no line for the international ticket counter at American Airlines but noticed they also have self-serve kiosks. In honor of my wife who loves self check out at Wal-Mart and other self serve things, I decided to give it a try. I got through the whole process and then a screen popped up that said, "Sorry, you must use a live attendant. Thank you." So I turned around to go to the human service counter and somehow in the 5 minutes I was at the kiosk, 100 people had jumped in line for the international counter at AA. After a 30 minute wait in line, I finally reached the counter. The ticket agent then told me that I had already checked in at the kiosk and did not have to wait in line. I informed her that I tried to but it refused to print my boarding pass or luggage tags. She had to get a supervisor to override something and then I was finally checked in, my bag on its way. At this point in the trip it weighed 46 lbs. The attendant told me I could only buy 4 lbs of souvenirs. Ha ha.

Once I got to the gate, I finally met up with Lenka and we had one last American meal at the food court before our trip to India. I had chicken fingers, mac & cheese, and bread. It was delicious. After all this I was still at the gate 2 hours before the plane was scheduled for departure. Unfortunately because we got our tickets late, Lenka and I were not able to sit together on the 15 hour flight to Delhi. I sat next to a very nice Indian man who liked to talk. Luckily he went to sleep pretty soon after take off. I sweet talked the nice couple in front of me into letting me use their ac/dc outlet to plug in my laptop. I was able to essentially finish my U.S. Free Trade Agreements paper. It felt good to be so productive, especially since I can't sleep on planes. I watched a couple movies, some TV shows, and played a few games on the AA network. We finally landed in Delhi around 10:15pm Delhi time. After a small scare with our luggage (ours must have been the last two on the plane), we found the sign for our conference and met a few of the Indian students who were there to pick us up. When we got out to the curb our taxi wasn't there. Apparently the taxi driver had fallen asleep in the parking lot and they had to go wake him up. It was at this moment we began to notice how bad the smog was. Besides the distinct smell it was hard to breathe at first. We finally got our taxi driver awake and took a one hour ride to the hotel. We couldn't see much on the way to the hotel because it was dark but I could already tell it was much dirtier and far different than anywhere I had ever been in my life. Once we got to the hotel we were informed that we had roommates for the week and that mine was from Australia. It was after midnight by the time I got to my room and I had not slept in nearly 30 hours. After a quick hello from my roommate who had already been sleeping, I hit the sack and slept really well.

I woke up around 8am the next morning and learned that my roommate was from Canberra, Australia and he worked for the Aussie government while pursuing his MBA. Adam (that is his name) proved to be a good roommate and we hung out quite a bit during the trip. I went down for breakfast and honestly have no idea what it is that I ate but it was delicious. I met Elisabeth who was Austrian at breakfast and along with Lenka we decided to go to Nehru place which was very close on the map. We could exchange money there and possibly shop a little. It was during this excursion that we learned how not to scale maps in India are! We walked probably 3 or 4 miles having to ask for directions a half dozen times before we finally found Nehru place. Eventually we did find it and we exchanged our American dollars for rupees. The exchange rate is essentially 50 to 1. I felt like a rich man with a few thousand rupees in my pocket. We made it back to the hotel for lunch...only to find out there was no lunch provided and the information session had been postponed until later in the afternoon. So we met some of the other students in the lobby and decided we wanted to go buy some bottled water and grab lunch. So Lenka, Adam, myself, and Donna (Adam's classmate from Australia) went out together. We found a lovely pizza place and had lunch. Lenka and I split a cheese pizza and had two cokes for a total of $4. Here are a couple pics of us at the pizza place.

Later that evening they picked us all up from the hotel in a bus and we went to India gate which is a monument built in honor of the freedom fighters of India. In case you were asleep in world history class...India used to be a British colony until it won its independence. After India gate we went to the opening ceremony of the conference that was entitled "Crushed Ice". We were requested to wear our national outfit or something that identified our country. After the speeches and a few cultural dances and music shows the party started. We had a good time and Adam and I may have been the only two who successfully avoided the dance floor. People in India love to dance! Below are a few pics from India Gate and "Crushed Ice".

That gets us through the first day in India. Day two meant the preliminary round of the debate competition and a trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. My roommate and I overslept and had to get dressed in about 2 minutes. We both wore suits assuming everyone else would do the same for the debate but we forgot about the trip to Agra. Needless to say we were the only ones in suits and we had to wear them all day! The topic for the preliminary round of the debate was, "A borderless world is like an odorless perfume...pointless." We drew for the motion so we had to argue that borders are good. We naturally attacked it from a legal perspective or control of borders being the definition of a country. We threw in some cultural preservation and topped it off with protection of natural resources and local economies of scale. We were scored individually and found out later that day on the way back from Agra that both Lenka and I had advanced to the final rounds. The debate started late and lasted longer than it was supposed to. We were supposed to leave for Agra at 10:30am but we didn't pull out of the parking lot until noon. On the way there we stopped for gas and a bathroom break. We had not been informed as to what the lunch plan so we all bought snacks at the gas station. They apparently didn't have enough change for all of us...so instead of rupees I was given various candies as change. Ha ha. Once we were back on the road they passed out prepacked lunches. I mainly stuck to rice & chicken, and bread because everything else was so spicy. There were two different buses on the trip and apparently our bus had all the forks. We found out later that the other bus had to eat their lunch with their hands.

The Taj Mahal closes at 5:30pm...we realized about half way to Agra (it is 200 km from Delhi) that we would be cutting it close. Once we finally arrived we had to take an electric bus the last 1 km. As we got off the electric bus we could see them closing the gates and all began to run to the ticket counter. We thought surely after 5.5 hours on a bus and having a group of 50+ they would let us in to at least snap a few pics. They don't bend the rules for anyone. You only have to be inside at 5:30 and you can stay as long as you wish. We got there at 5:32 and were denied entry. The students talked a shopkeeper into letting us stand on his roof and take pictures from a great distance. It was dusk so the pics didn't really turn out well at all. As we were leaving the roof the shop keeper started charging everyone 200 rupees for the privilege of using his roof. Luckily, myself and 4 others had been able to sneak out before the fee was collected. So we all boarded the buses for the 6+ hour trek home. We were all pretty much in shock that we had come that far and didn't get to go in. Everyone was pretty upset but by the end of the week it proved to be an experience that brought us all together as a group and helped us to forge some good friendships. On the way home we all shared a lot about our lives and got to know each other much better. We stopped at McDonald's for dinner which was interesting because they don't eat beef in India (sacred cows and all). Everything on the menu was chicken but it wasn't chicken nuggets or anything like that. Instead of the Big Mac they have the Maharaja which is crazy spicy. I just got a chicken burger (ground chicken which is grilled like a burger) and fries. It was actually pretty good. We finally got back to the hotel about 1am...we finally got out of our suits and hit the sack.

Day 3 was the final round of the debates. The topic for the final round was "Peace, love, and harmony are the emissaries of stagnation and destruction...the world needs chaos to evolve and grow." I drew to be for the motion so I was against peace, love, and harmony. We competed individually in the finals and the audience was permitted to ask a question at the end of your speech. I focused on defining the terms...a typical lawyer approach and pointed out that the greatest innovation and growth of business into a global economy occurred after WWII. One of the audience members took great offense to my claim regarding WWII. He asked how I could stand there and say that WWII was a good thing when 70 million died. I pointed out that I didn't say the War was a good thing...the advancement that came after was the good thing. I didn't place probably because I wasn't yelling or angry. Parliamentary style debate is much different than moot court or anything you do in law school. It was interesting to see how different it really was. My classmate Lenka placed third overall and her friend Hanka from Czech Republic took second. It was nice to see the international students succeeding against the Indian students since they had the topics for weeks and we had them for about 1 day.

After the debate we had lunch at the school cafeteria...spicy, spicy, spicy! Then we were able to convince the organizers to take us to see some temples. We were able to see two temples that were very impressive. They were not the typical touristy sites either. I really enjoyed seeing a real temple and people practicing their religion right in front of us. We had to remove our shoes and socks which gave some cause to reconsider but it was a wonderful cultural experience. Here are a few pics of the debate and the temples we visited.

When we got back to the school we were asked to participate in a team-building competition against the Indian students who had won the event earlier in the day. So two guys from South Africa and myself decided to represent the international students. The objective was to pass each other through a web of string without touching any of the strings. Then you had to move a bunch of fruit from one basket to another about 20 yards away but you couldn't use your hands. They told us the only rule was that you could not crawl under the web. We had seen the Indian students picking each other up and slowly handing each other through the web but I had a different idea. Once they said GO! I got down on all fours and the two guys from South Africa jumped off my back and over the web! We got a standing ovation for our ingenuity. Then I crawled through the web on my own and they started the relay. We ended up winning and our prize was a big box of cookie straws. They were delicious and I was glad to have something to eat that wasn't spicy finally!

We had about an hour to kill between our thrilling victory in the team-building competition and the Mr. and Ms. Amaze competition. So we convinced the security guard to unlock the game room with the pool table and I taught a girl from Israel and a girl from Sweden to play "billiards" as they called it. Then we went to the Mr. & Ms. Amaze competition. It was essentially just a fun personality/beauty/talent contest. Lenka ended up wining Ms. Amaze. The prize was 50,000 rupees but Lenka thought it was only 5,000 rupees so she decided to announce publicly on stage that she wished to give her prize to the two other finalists. Later that evening when she was telling us about it, we all realized that it was 50,000 and not 5,000. So Lenka basically gave away $1,000. She was pretty upset but in the end I think she was ok with it all. The next day was our Delhi tour. The conference organizers had arranged for the whole group to visit a few famous sites in Delhi. We went to Qutab Minar, Ashkerdam Temple, and Dilli Haat market. First up was Qutab Minar...here is the info from Wikipedia regarding it.

Qutab Minar is the world's tallest brick minaret in Delhi, India. Construction commenced in 1193 under the orders of India's first Muslim ruler Qutb-ud-din Aibak and the topmost storey of the minaret was completed in 1386 by Firuz Shah Tughluq. The Qutab Minar is notable for being one of the earliest and most prominent examples of Indo-Islamic architecture.

Next up was Ashkerdam Temple, it was actually only built 5 years ago. The entire structure was built without any steel and served to revive an ancient artform of India. It had a movie theatre, boat ride through time, and a modern food court inside. It was unbelievably beautiful but for some reason we were not allowed to take our cameras inside. So the only pics we have are from a distance at the bus.

The last place we visited on our Delhi tour was Dilli Haat market. It is a tourist market that sells all the traditional crafts and items of India. You bargain for a good price and I really enjoyed talking them down. Some of us were better than others. I paid 70 rupees for a pashmina that another guy paid 400 rupees for. The starting price on some hand-carved wooden elephants I wanted was 300 rupees each...I paid 70 each. I also got Lori a few nice things which I can't mention here because I want her to surprised. We finally got back on the bus and were taken back to the hotel to freshen up before the big concert. The concert featured the group 'Boney M'...they must be before my time because I had never heard of them. Here are some pics from Qutab Minar, the temple, and the entrance to the market. I will also throw in a pic of Lenka as Ms. Amaze.

Fortunately for Lenka and I we had a few more days left in India. A group of 8 of us were able to hire a couple taxis for the whole day and go back to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. It ended up only being 7 because 1 got sick but we left our hotel at 6am and headed to Agra. We stopped about half way there to stretch our legs and go to the bathroom. While we were stopped Lenka got some really good pics of a monkey who found a juice box. Monkeys were all over the place in India. Some were trained to perform but I just enjoyed watching the wild ones. We finally made it to Agra and the Taj. If you ever go there you should make sure and enter through the East Gate because the lines are much shorter. Words cannot express how amazing the Taj Mahal is. Its presence is so imposing and its beauty unmatched by any edifice I have ever seen before. The entire structure is a giant masoleum for the wife of a former emperor. She died giving birth to their 14th child! He planned to build a matching structure of black marble for himself but ran out of money. The Taj was completed in 1648. Local legend says that the hands of the craftsmen were cut off after its completion to make sure they could never reproduce its majesty. Not sure he would cut off their hands if he was planning a similar structure at his death...but maybe one of the two stories is true. After we finally left the Taj we were starving and it was lunch time. We found a little rooftop restaurant that had an amazing view of the Taj Mahal in the background. It is called the Taj Hotel & Rooftop Restaurant. You should definitely try it the next time you are in Agra, India. I had a mutton burger, fries, garlic bread, and coke for $4. Here are some pics of the monkey, the Taj, and our lunch.

We also went to Argra fort which was very impressive. It had two 70 ft walls seperated by a 40 foot moat that was once filled with alligators! There were 16 different temples inside the fort. We finally made it back to Delhi around 8 pm and went to the pizza place again for dinner. Most people left the night before our trip to Agra so we stayed up late hanging out and saying goodbye. In fact, Adam and I only got 2 hours of sleep before the trip to Agra. Everyone else left the morning after the trip to Agra so Lenka and I were on our own to explore the last day. We ended up going to see the Lotus temple and took a Tuk-tuk (three wheeled taxi) to Old Delhi. We saw the Red Fort which is huge and Jama Masjid which is one the largest mosques in the world. We also found the real Indian market where the locals shop. I got Lori another present there which I cannot disclose at this time and I got myself a pair of shoes for $3. When we were at Red Fort we were asked by a couple from London to take their pic. If you have the locals do it they want money before they return your camera. They were both originally from New York but had moved to London when he got a job with Deutsche Bank. We spent the whole day with them. In fact the pics of the mosque are on their camera because you had to pay for each camera you wanted to use. They are going to email them to us when they get home. We took the Delhi metro back down south after our day of site seeing. It was amazingly clean and nice. It puts Chicago's system to shame. It was fast and smooth as well. You have to go through security similar to the airport and you are not allowed to take pics inside. We took pics before we knew the rule and the security guards forced us to delete them but I was able to keep one they didn't know about. We ended our day by piling all four of us into a tiny tuk-tuk and showed our new friends Dilli Haat market. I helped them and Lenka bargain for a few gifts and then Lenka and I had to get back to the Hotel to leave for the airport. We got to the airport 3 hours before our flight and were at least able to sit together on the 15 hour flight home. When we left Delhi it was 90 degrees and when we arrived in Chicago the wind chill was 20 and it was snowing again. I made it to my apartment at 6am Chicago time. Here are some pics of the farewell party in mine and Adam's room, Red Fort, the real market, Delhi Metro, Tuk-tuks and Lotus Temple.

Well there you go! There were other things seen, other stories to tell, and funny moments to share but there is a good summary. If you want to know the rest you will just have to ask me in person. Please excuse all typos since I was writing this from 1am to 4:30am. Thanks for making it through this incredibly long post! If you ever go to India just learn this phrase...Nahin Shukriya (No, thank you!). Otherwise you will come home with more random stuff from street vendors than you can possibly carry home.