Far from the maddening crowd

I've returned to Delhi to continue my journey east, but also to visit with my friend, Lisa, who's traveling for a few days on business in India. And given my tummy issues, it's also a short respite from the maddening crowd to get healthy. How comforting and wonderful to enjoy a little bit of home. We meet up over an absolutely scrumptious drinks and dinner at the Oberoi Hotel (now that's posh)! So much to talk about, catch up on ... and wonder of wonders, Lisa brings me a care package of some little bottles of shampoo and hand lotion. Aahhhh!

Meanwhile, I spend a couple of days seeing more of the Delhi sights. The Natural Museum ... probably gorgeous, but only a very small exhibit is open while they are under rennovation. I watch some Indians playing cricket in the surrounding fields ... looked like they were part of a master's league (I couldn't quite figure out the game rules from watching). I head over to India Gate and then to the Lodi Gardens, just taking in all the sights and sounds of Delhi. Of course, I visit the Delhi Zoo, which I find in surprisingly good condition.

Now for the most interesting part of my sightseeing ... Sulabh International Museum of Toilets! What a perfect complement to my Indian toilet obsessions! Sulabh is the world's largest NGO and runs the museum. They focus on many aspects ... bringing public toilets and sewage systems into cities throughout the world, providing craft training to the people who's job it was to dispose of waste when there was no sewage system, and developing an awareness of the importance of sanitation. They have an R&D lab to develop alternate ways of waste disposal ... such as using treated waste as a cement substitute (it really looked like cement). They are researching different plants that clean waste from water sources. As wierd as it sounds, this was one of the more fascinating exhibits I've ever seen and I spend well over two hours touring their museum, labs, and exhibits. Well done!

After these few brief days at a nice hotel and eating westernized food ... I am refreshed, almost healthy (but still taking my magic Cipro pills), and ready to enjoy India once more.

Time to head east!