Goodbye, India, Hello, China. Goodbye, China. Hello, HOME!

Hello!

This is the last post of what has been quite an adventure for both me and Dad.  I am writing to you from the comfort of my own home in beautiful Calgary, Alberta, CANADA.  It's taken awhile to get adjusted (the jet lag means I randomly fall asleep for multiple hours at a time), but I am beyond excited to be home!  The cold air feels great! The snow is beautiful!  And the food is fantastic. ;)
But before I officially sign off, here's what went down in Delhi, and my final thoughts on the trip:

By the time Dad and I got to Delhi, we had two days left.  At this point, we were both pretty exhausted and ready to come home.  India is tiring!  We spent our first day in the city walking to Connaught Place which is the central part of the city.  There are lots of stores - including H&M!  I was so excited to see something familiar that I had to make a little pit stop there before we continued on...Unfortunately, the Indian prices were equivalent to the Canadian prices so I didn't buy much.  However, I let Dad wait outside on a bench (a sitting duck for the local merchants).  By the time I came out, Dad had been asked if he wanted his shoes shined 4 times and the man next to him asked him if he could clean out Dad's ears.  hahahah That was a new one, even for us.

After walking for an hour or so, we went to the Starbucks so I could write a blog post.  Dad didn't stick around.  I honestly don't think I've ever seen him in a Starbucks in my life...He went to sit in the park (no merchants allowed!) and picked me up two hours later.  We had dinner that night at the hotel.  We had a great view of the neon signs that line one of Delhi's bustling streets.

The next morning, we packed our bags and began counting down the hours until we were headed home on the plane.  Our flight didn't leave until 11:00 PM but with Delhi traffic and the disorganization we have experienced at different places in India, we weren't taking ANY chances.  We started the afternoon off by going to the National Museum of India.  It was terrible.  I am not exaggerating.  Even Dad came out of the museum and said "That was a bunch of junk".  And it was true.  There was no information provided for any of the "exhibits" and it was literally just a museum of thousands of statues.  Mostly Buddhas.

Notice how there is hardly anyone in here...

Literally no one.

SOOOO boring.

Anyway, after the terrible museum (and a somewhat alarming encounter with some monkeys), we decided to spend the rest of the day walking around.   We went to the city market which was full of locals, but I didn't buy anything because the whole experience was so overwhelming.  Everyone was pushing each other and vendors were yelling so loudly that I had to plug my ears as we tried to make our way through the crowd.  We figured we should have something to eat before we went out to the airport, so we stopped at "Dunkin' Donuts".  Weirdly, this "Dunkin' Donuts" served burgers.  I should've known that there's a reason "Dunkin' Donuts" doesn't serve burgers at home, but we really had no other option.  I ordered two chicken burgers for the two of us and it was...well, it was what you think an Indian version of a burger from "Dunkin' Donuts" would taste like.

On our way to the airport!

We took the train to the airport and spent the next 5 hours killing time.  I'm not going to lie, Dad and I did not fall in love with India.  As much as we both have travelled, neither of us have had such an intense experience.  There were, of course, wonderful moments on the trip.  The Taj Mahal, the morning boat ride on the River Ganges,  and the camel riding adventure in Jaisalmer were a few highlights.  A lot of things went really well.  Our driver, Ramesh, was great and definitely reduced our stress level once he was with us.  We were able to remain safe the entire time and didn't get mugged.  And, despite a few difficult days being sick, overall, we remained relatively healthy throughout the trip.

For the first part of the trip, I struggled with the fact that I wasn't completely amazed and enthralled by India.  In my mind, I had expectations of an exotic, culturally interesting place that would ignite my senses and push me out of my comfort zone.  It definitely did the latter... and it DID ignite my senses, but sometimes I didn't want them ignited.  NAWAMSAYINN??  #urinesmell

I think I had to learn that a trip is not a failure if one does not love every part of it.  Ok, a lot of it.  Despite the challenges we faced, I still had the opportunity to experience another culture, learn about a country's history and people, and respond to difficult and oftentimes strange situations.  It was definitely an educational trip and, as my mother says, "Education is never wasted".  I also feel very fortunate to have spent 3 weeks with my dad which wouldn't have happened had we not been travelling.  Life is so busy (and he does have 4 other children), so one on one time with my parents can be a rare thing; certainly one on one time that is more than an hour or two.  It is really a special experience to travel with a parent when you (the child) are also an adult.  It provides an opportunity to spend time as friends, travel partners, and teammates rather than just father/daughter.  With the many stares we got from people travelling, I understand this is kind of a strange thing to do.  However, I highly recommend it as a way to connect and bond beyond the typical parent/child relationship.  As I said to my dad on the trip multiple times, "I chose the right person to travel to India with...".  His positive attitude and ability to simply embrace the craziness when I would get frustrated was a real asset to our travel partnership.  We shared many conversations and lots of laughs.  It really did feel like it was us against the world.  I'm truly thankful for the time we had together and will always remember the experiences we shared, even if they were difficult at times.

It's steeper than it looks!

Halfway up!

Our journey back to Calgary included a 13 hour layover in Hong Kong.  I was looking forward to it as I spent a great deal of time in Hong Kong when I worked on cruise ships.  We arrived at 6:30 AM and took the train into the city.  It felt so CLEAN compared to India, and honestly, it was just a nice change of pace.  As busy as Hong Kong is, it still feels pretty empty compared to Delhi.  We decided to hike up to Victoria Peak.  Dad had taken the tram up to the Peak with my mom on an earlier trip, but this time we were walking up ourselves!  It. was. steep.  It was definitely a physical challenge (especially since we realized 10 minutes into the hike that we didn't have any water...which the guide book specifically mentioned was an important thing to have!!) but we eventually made it!  Unfortunately, it was really foggy and we couldn't see much.  However, we were excited because there was basically a mall at the top with cafes and restaurants so we could finally quench our thirst with some water!  Unfortunately, we didn't have any Hong Kong dollars and none of the stores took credit cards.  Very disappointing.

What an incredible view, right?

We walked down and eventually made it to...a Starbucks.  You can always count on them for having water!!  We relaxed for a bit before it was time for some SHOPPING!  I was hoping to stock up at some of my favourite Asian stores, but the mall I went to only had designer stores which I obviously couldn't afford.  However, it's always nice to look. :)

We still had 5 hours to kill once we went back to the airport, so I went to the Zara and treated myself to a few items...I survived India, I deserved it!  Then, it was an 11 hour flight to Vancouver, and a quick (and super stressful) layover there before finally landing in Calgary.  It felt amazing to see the mountains in BC and the city lights of Calgary as we flew in.  I have been home for a few days and I am definitely appreciating the little things.  I enjoy the fresh (though cold) air in the morning as I go out and scrape the frost off of my car.  I cherish every cup of coffee that I make in my own kitchen.  And each time I drive down the street, I celebrate the fact that I don't have to watch out for cows.

This doesn't really have anything to do with the blog, but now that I'm home, I get to hang out with my niece and...she's really cute.  Obviously.

It has been a journey, my friends.  Thank you for joining me virtually as I documented India through my eyes.  I must apologize if I ruined the country for anyone.  My experience is certainly not everyone's and I believe many people DO love India.  Even though I'm not dying to go back any time soon, I am certainly grateful for the experience we had and the adventures, challenges, and difficulties that came along with it.  I do believe that it is in the uncomfortable moments-the ones where we push ourselves beyond our regular limits, that we often feel most alive!

Thank you for your prayers, encouraging words, and for following along with the Diva's Adventures with Dad: India.  This is Annika, officially signing off!

A