I will attempt to keep my wrap of events shorter tonight. This is out of respect for all of those that read this blog site from the most recent article all the way down to the post they remember digesting the last time they refreshed their browser. Why? Put simply, beneath this blog are the accounts of the majority of the group (excluding those that blogged yesterday) and the emotion, thought processes and lingering questions jumping off the screen from their words is the real gold of today. Thus, I suggest that you maybe just skim read my summary and then enjoy the depth of the boys reflections that follow on from their efforts in blogging earlier today.
Saturday 21 December
7am- The boys are woken. This process has been conducted on a daily basis by Mr Jordan as he has only had one year of practice at the school hostel, and the Editor's five years prior to that of hostel service ensured he already has a large enough volume and array of 'go away' comments for a lifetime. Recently as a curve ball Ms Candy has also taken to doing the wake up rounds as well so that the boys have to think twice before responding in a manner that wouldn't be appropriate
7:30am- Breakfast commences at the Malhotra Restaurant. Mr Jordan has big dreams of taking the orders and running the kitchen himself. Sadly, Angus recognises his passport is still at the hotel so Mr Jordan accompanies him back, thus meaning the potential to have breakfast in 45 minutes blows out to 90 minutes again as the 'competent' restaurant staff 'do their thing'. Also at this time the absolute highlight of the morning for one tour member (R Candy) comes in the form of the addition of three females visitors to join us for the day's proceedings. The Editor in all his kindness had gone out looking to find female companions to hang with Ms Candy (this world is crazily male dominated) and returned with three excited newbies who had all just arrived in India. One of these lovely ladies just happened to be the Editor's cousin who he just randomly bumped into whilst out on this important mission. Go figure
8am- George Harman fronts up with excellent coverage of his Experts in the Field topic (Jinnah and Gandhi). Ivan Jin then produces a great link by outlining the events around the Independence of India in 1947, which followed on to an explanation of the current state of relations between India and Pakistan
9am- We depart on a City Tour under the watchful eye of a travel company we are using. Now you know you should feel totally confident of their ability when they ask you personally (as a New Zealander) how to get to certain places in the city. I suppose in a city of 22 million there should always be a little give and take with who should know what
9:35am- Site number one is hit up. The boys climbed the stairs into the Jama Masjid and up even more stairs to the top if the tower (here things get a little scary for Reuben). The Mosque itself is the sacred place for the Muslim community, especially around the times of their religious festivals each year
10:45am- Task number two. After a good hour exploring the Jama Mosque off on cycle rickshaws we go. Friendly banter exists amongst the pairs as the race is on. A certain cyclist will be tried for drug use after the two AGS tourists come to the conclusion that he is on serious 'good vibe' stuff, but most definitely not of the high performance nature. Cal attempts to stand up for his fellow cyclists of the world but gets shot down by the enforcer Hugo Stewart
11am- Deep into the Old Delhi Spice Market we go, wandering around collecting aromas that are overpowering but equally beautiful (it is a welcome change to be in the biggest spice market in Asia far away from the constant smell of human bodily waste that is experienced everywhere you would generally walk)
11:50am- Another quick cycle rickshaw ride and we are now outside the Red Fort. These days only 25% of the fort is open to the public with the remaining 75% under military control/use. Not surprisingly the boys found guns pointed out of sand bag bunkers at the entrances (and around the
grounds) to be a touch unnerving
1pm- We dive head first in the Raj Ghat; the site of Gandhi's memorial. Whilst it would have been a wonderful opportunity to reflect on an influential man who led a crusade for the people, instead our people attempted to flee the area as fast as possible as hoards of school children made for a crazy wee outing. The 4 females felt cornered but spare a thought for Hamish Fox who in a pair of farming stubbies got totally worked over as he became the recipient of a 'butt grab' by a male of a similar age
1:45pm- The bus heads past the India Gate which the boys are very quick to point out is positioned around a long boulevard and is strikingly similar in design to the Arc d'Triumph. Quick photos are taken and on we roll to lunch
2pm- The name of the restaurant, Havemore Restaurant, is a favourite of the Editors. Inside the boys are treated to dishes of chicken and paneer curries and boy are they good. Robson even has the heart to say it is the best Indian he has tasted. And the service . . . quite superb to say the least. It seems at least one outfit in India knows the hospitality game. Consequently a massive tip is given for the pleasureable food and overall dining experience
3:30pm- Everyone hops off the bus at Humayun's Tomb. Nestled away from the horns and chaos of the street, this well kept environment, in honour of the second Mughal Emperor, is a place that becomes warmly appreciated by the boys
5pm- Back into the madness of the Main Bazaar, the boys are provided 2.5 hours to blog, shower, shop and pack. This was the last chance to meet Delhi face-to-face in an unstructured manner ahead of an early departure to Jaipur tomorrow morning
7:30pm- The small groups of tired individuals navigate their way to Cafe Fiesta for a top notch vegetarian spread. The Manager has a smile as wide as the Indian President's front lawn when he sees us walk in
9pm- Debrief commences. It is explained to the boys that Delhi has shown off the aspects of its infrastructure that it is massively proud of. Their task was to reflect on their own lives and consider
that if they had to take a tourist on a highlights package of their own life what would they show off as things they are proud of. Answers such as their school and grades/awards were forthcoming, before
the conversations drifted more into the special nature of their family and friend networks. Fair to say they know they are super blessed
10pm- Lights out for the crew
Again, I close by noting that the programme is humming beautifully, with the boys being such outstanding young men who are capturing all of the experiences that become available to them on a daily basis. While they won't like the 4:30am start to head to the train station tomorrow morning, a little after 11am (all going well) they will be in a new state called Rajasthan, relaxing in the endearing city of Jaipur. And whilst the Editor and his 'delightful' bed-buddy are currently in a room that is decaying, as visible from the pretty pink paintwork on the walls, this time tomorrow night we will be standing on the streets of the Pink City! Well excited.
Ben
MVP- Ben Toogood. Now poor Ben dropped into another slight bout of illness today (have no fear Kit and Pip he returned after being well rested to join us for our evening meal and debrief tonight). But Ben could be the official first case of a dreaded second case of sickness. Obviously the judges removed Fletcher Boswell from the race as he believes he is in a constant state of medical decay (we still love ya Fletch). But back to Ben. This young man has smiled through the whole process, accepting that this country can sometimes just be nasty. So glad he is bouncing back though as it would have been difficult to provide this award to someone lying in a horizontal position.
Thought- Today at the Red Fort I took the opportunity to read an extract from the speech that Nehru gave on the day of Indian Independence in 1947, after the British Raj deserted this place in an appalling fashion. Nehru noted 'At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.' It got me thinking . . . What is freedom? Has India achieve freedom? How exciting would it be to state that we are part of a new age? Has your own soul ever found some new words/realisations to proclaim post a period of darkness/uneasiness?
Saturday 21 December
7am- The boys are woken. This process has been conducted on a daily basis by Mr Jordan as he has only had one year of practice at the school hostel, and the Editor's five years prior to that of hostel service ensured he already has a large enough volume and array of 'go away' comments for a lifetime. Recently as a curve ball Ms Candy has also taken to doing the wake up rounds as well so that the boys have to think twice before responding in a manner that wouldn't be appropriate
7:30am- Breakfast commences at the Malhotra Restaurant. Mr Jordan has big dreams of taking the orders and running the kitchen himself. Sadly, Angus recognises his passport is still at the hotel so Mr Jordan accompanies him back, thus meaning the potential to have breakfast in 45 minutes blows out to 90 minutes again as the 'competent' restaurant staff 'do their thing'. Also at this time the absolute highlight of the morning for one tour member (R Candy) comes in the form of the addition of three females visitors to join us for the day's proceedings. The Editor in all his kindness had gone out looking to find female companions to hang with Ms Candy (this world is crazily male dominated) and returned with three excited newbies who had all just arrived in India. One of these lovely ladies just happened to be the Editor's cousin who he just randomly bumped into whilst out on this important mission. Go figure
8am- George Harman fronts up with excellent coverage of his Experts in the Field topic (Jinnah and Gandhi). Ivan Jin then produces a great link by outlining the events around the Independence of India in 1947, which followed on to an explanation of the current state of relations between India and Pakistan
9am- We depart on a City Tour under the watchful eye of a travel company we are using. Now you know you should feel totally confident of their ability when they ask you personally (as a New Zealander) how to get to certain places in the city. I suppose in a city of 22 million there should always be a little give and take with who should know what
9:35am- Site number one is hit up. The boys climbed the stairs into the Jama Masjid and up even more stairs to the top if the tower (here things get a little scary for Reuben). The Mosque itself is the sacred place for the Muslim community, especially around the times of their religious festivals each year
10:45am- Task number two. After a good hour exploring the Jama Mosque off on cycle rickshaws we go. Friendly banter exists amongst the pairs as the race is on. A certain cyclist will be tried for drug use after the two AGS tourists come to the conclusion that he is on serious 'good vibe' stuff, but most definitely not of the high performance nature. Cal attempts to stand up for his fellow cyclists of the world but gets shot down by the enforcer Hugo Stewart
11am- Deep into the Old Delhi Spice Market we go, wandering around collecting aromas that are overpowering but equally beautiful (it is a welcome change to be in the biggest spice market in Asia far away from the constant smell of human bodily waste that is experienced everywhere you would generally walk)
11:50am- Another quick cycle rickshaw ride and we are now outside the Red Fort. These days only 25% of the fort is open to the public with the remaining 75% under military control/use. Not surprisingly the boys found guns pointed out of sand bag bunkers at the entrances (and around the
grounds) to be a touch unnerving
1pm- We dive head first in the Raj Ghat; the site of Gandhi's memorial. Whilst it would have been a wonderful opportunity to reflect on an influential man who led a crusade for the people, instead our people attempted to flee the area as fast as possible as hoards of school children made for a crazy wee outing. The 4 females felt cornered but spare a thought for Hamish Fox who in a pair of farming stubbies got totally worked over as he became the recipient of a 'butt grab' by a male of a similar age
1:45pm- The bus heads past the India Gate which the boys are very quick to point out is positioned around a long boulevard and is strikingly similar in design to the Arc d'Triumph. Quick photos are taken and on we roll to lunch
2pm- The name of the restaurant, Havemore Restaurant, is a favourite of the Editors. Inside the boys are treated to dishes of chicken and paneer curries and boy are they good. Robson even has the heart to say it is the best Indian he has tasted. And the service . . . quite superb to say the least. It seems at least one outfit in India knows the hospitality game. Consequently a massive tip is given for the pleasureable food and overall dining experience
3:30pm- Everyone hops off the bus at Humayun's Tomb. Nestled away from the horns and chaos of the street, this well kept environment, in honour of the second Mughal Emperor, is a place that becomes warmly appreciated by the boys
5pm- Back into the madness of the Main Bazaar, the boys are provided 2.5 hours to blog, shower, shop and pack. This was the last chance to meet Delhi face-to-face in an unstructured manner ahead of an early departure to Jaipur tomorrow morning
7:30pm- The small groups of tired individuals navigate their way to Cafe Fiesta for a top notch vegetarian spread. The Manager has a smile as wide as the Indian President's front lawn when he sees us walk in
9pm- Debrief commences. It is explained to the boys that Delhi has shown off the aspects of its infrastructure that it is massively proud of. Their task was to reflect on their own lives and consider
that if they had to take a tourist on a highlights package of their own life what would they show off as things they are proud of. Answers such as their school and grades/awards were forthcoming, before
the conversations drifted more into the special nature of their family and friend networks. Fair to say they know they are super blessed
10pm- Lights out for the crew
Again, I close by noting that the programme is humming beautifully, with the boys being such outstanding young men who are capturing all of the experiences that become available to them on a daily basis. While they won't like the 4:30am start to head to the train station tomorrow morning, a little after 11am (all going well) they will be in a new state called Rajasthan, relaxing in the endearing city of Jaipur. And whilst the Editor and his 'delightful' bed-buddy are currently in a room that is decaying, as visible from the pretty pink paintwork on the walls, this time tomorrow night we will be standing on the streets of the Pink City! Well excited.
Ben
MVP- Ben Toogood. Now poor Ben dropped into another slight bout of illness today (have no fear Kit and Pip he returned after being well rested to join us for our evening meal and debrief tonight). But Ben could be the official first case of a dreaded second case of sickness. Obviously the judges removed Fletcher Boswell from the race as he believes he is in a constant state of medical decay (we still love ya Fletch). But back to Ben. This young man has smiled through the whole process, accepting that this country can sometimes just be nasty. So glad he is bouncing back though as it would have been difficult to provide this award to someone lying in a horizontal position.
Thought- Today at the Red Fort I took the opportunity to read an extract from the speech that Nehru gave on the day of Indian Independence in 1947, after the British Raj deserted this place in an appalling fashion. Nehru noted 'At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.' It got me thinking . . . What is freedom? Has India achieve freedom? How exciting would it be to state that we are part of a new age? Has your own soul ever found some new words/realisations to proclaim post a period of darkness/uneasiness?
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