Thoughts from Delhi...

Thought I would send you a message from Delhi. Quick points of insight:

COWS: When we first arrived to Delhi, as we walked to our Hostel we came across tons of stray Dogs...not shocking (which are very common in poor countries that are over crowded and do not really have garbage facilities). However I was not prepared to see stray COWS walking the very narrow street of Delhi. There are tons of cows everywhere, laying outside our door step. Hindus respect the holy cow and as such, they can pretty much do what they want so not all that big of a surprise really I guess.

WEATHER: The weather here is hot! I mean HOT! It is monsoon season here which means that it rains all the time. Looking at the forecast before we left, it called for thunderstorms all day, everyday. However, for some reason we haven't come across any of them. Those Meteorologists have the best job in the world...wrong everyday and still not fired. It rained the first night while we were sleeping and that's it. We still carry around an umbrella with us everyday waiting for this 'rain' that is suppose to be coming, but so far it's just served as a good piece of shade for Kathy.

COST: Everything here is VERY cheap. A 45 min Tuk Tuk ride (3 wheeled taxi without doors) is roughly $1 Cdn. Dinner for the two of us with bottled water $2.50CAN

WOMEN: The women here are beautiful. The colors of Saris literally light up India! It is pretty amazing to see the multitude of colors among the streets and I will show you all when I post pictures in a few weeks.

GARBAGE: While many people have warned me of the garbage and smells of India, it's been really not that bad. I think there used to be a lot more garbage, but as the Government tries to change that image and prepare for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, there are hundreds of people continuously cleaning the streets and washing the stained urine and human, dog, monkey and cow feces from the road. Don't get me wrong, there are parts of town that still really stink and make you want to gag in your own mouth (yes, as opposed to someone else's) but I expected worse for a city of over 15 million.

BUSINESS: I've spent the last days in and out of meetings and looks like MWB might have 1-2 new projects lined up in micro-insurance and handicrafts within the next months so I'm quite happy with that progress.

TAJ MAHAL: We were going to see the infamous Taj Mahal on Friday originally but once we found out it's closed for prayer service that day of the week, we changed things around and went yesterday. It was a day event and actually it is located in Agra (not Delhi) 2 hours away and worth the trip. Kathy wasn't feeling too well, but she was a trooper and we saw all we could see, with a good few toilet stops along the way. In case you didn't know, the Taj was built in the 1600s by one of the previous rulers who made it in memory of his 2nd wife when she died having their 14th child. The place is massive, full of marble, intricate details and pretty much what all the pictures look like. Now I just also know what it feels and smells like and you can't get those details in a book for all you 'travel-phobic' people.

Next we head to Chennai for a few nights, then head south again to visit MWB's MBA, Suraj, who is working with a local hospital in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

So that's it and I will be in touch soon,
Tal