It took 36 hours to get to India, but I made it! Whew! They were long flights made easier by making friends, talking, watching movies, reading and sleeping….everything life is all about.
Welcome to Robber's Cave, Dehradun, India
I became friends with Penelope, a stewardess from Florida, and she was telling me stories and cautioning me to be so careful in Delhi. Not long ago, three Americans (2 men and 1 woman) arrived in Delhi, got into a cab, and were driven into an alley where they were beaten and robbed and left. She warned me to text to someone the cab number, name of driver, destination and ETA before I got into the cab. So I was already a bit nervous about leaving the airport; I had to catch a cab to a hotel near the train station, as I needed to get on a train early the next morning for Dehradun. Problem: Who would I actually text? Who could save me? And besides, I noticed I didn’t have service on my phone, so I just pretended to be texting and just commented to the cab driver that I was texting my friend that I was coming to meet him…he he he…problem solved! Actually, I was very safe and never ran into ANY problems. But you know what? Traveling alone takes a lot of courage! So many things can and do go wrong as you will see as you read my story. I find myself in difficult situations all the time, and I notice that I am often truly blessed and guided by a force higher than my own. I give my thanks to God each and every morning and night that I am kept safe. I have so much to learn and so much to give. This is already an incredible journey; I already feel my life changing.
Up to my thighs in water at Robber's Cave!
Other visitors in the cave
My first night was spent at the Goodwin Deluxe Hotel for 1,800 Rubies so around $45 depending on the exchange rate. I was given 42 Rubies/$1 at the hotel; better than the 36 Rbs/$1 at the airport. Delhi, India is 15.5 hours AHEAD of Honolulu. My days are your nights. It takes me 3-4 days to adjust. I woke up for the day, Monday Oct 18th, at 2:30am. My first day in Delhi is a very long day. I got to the train station early to get my ticket to Dehradun, about 150 miles north of Delhi. It was not good news. First, I found a porter than could speak English very well because I knew I would need an interpreter. He took me out of the train station (made me nervous) to a tourist office to buy the train ticket. Why? I still don’t understand that one. “Sorry,” they said, “no train tickets to Dehradun for 3 days. Go back to your hotel.” No, No, No, this cannot be. I must get to Dehradun today. They are expecting me. They are waiting for me. “No,” they said again, “you cannot go today.” HHHMMMM, what to do, what to do? I knew I needed to get on that train and that there is always more than one way to do something. If one way doesn’t work, try another. I just needed to get on the Shatabdi Train to Dehradun! So here is my ingenious plan. I bought a ticket to another city (Meerut) that the train would be stopping at that was between Delhi and Dehradun. My thought was that if I could just get on the damn train, I would stay on it and maybe they wouldn’t kick me off, and then I could pay the difference while on the train. It took lots of courage to do this. I knew I could be put off in Meerut, but I also knew that would be closer to Dehradun. This story turns out good. I was allowed to stay on the train, I paid the difference, and I arrived 5.5 hours later where I was met by someone sent by Latika Roy to pick me up. I had arrived!
A beautiful Sunset...
This is the mountain I am going up!
I am staying at the Asha Guest House which is walking distance from Latika Roy. There is no internet here, so I went to a cyber café to let family know I had arrived. I was introduced by my hotel staff to a young man, Karan, who would take me to the internet place on his motorcycle. When I was done, I asked him if he might take a few minutes out of his day to show me Dehradun on his bike. Little did I know that we would be returning about 6 hours later! I had an amazing GRAND tour! First we went to a place called Robber’s Cave. We had to walk up the river (thigh deep) and through the cave to get to the beautiful waterfall. What an amazing experience! You can see from the pictures it was so beautiful! Now we are wet, riding a motorcycle and going up a very tall mountain to Missoorie, about 7,000 feet above sea level. The temperature began to drop as we climbed higher. Dehradun is a lush green, thick tropical jungle-like climate just like Hawaii. Much of the same foliage exists: mango, papaya, pineapple. I saw brown monkeys sitting by the road and lemurs jumping in the trees! It took at least two hours to get to the top and by that time I was a frozen mass. I had to get a shawl to get warm. Missoorie is a beautiful town of shops and restaurants at the top of the mountain. It was amazing, and I couldn’t believe I was there. We had a light dinner before returning. The food in India is VERY, VERY spicy. I love it, but my stomach is still getting used to it. I was facing a long cold motorcycle ride down the mountain, but as we descended, the air got warmer, and I changed from a shivering mess to relaxed and warm. I couldn’t believe my incredible luck to have this young man, Karan, show me his city in such a way. I had an amazing day.
This place is lush, green and tropical...hot too!
These are Lemurs, not monkeys :)
Tuesday morning I met the staff and children of Latika Roy Foundation, and they got to know me a little. It is a wonderful place full of wonderful people. Latika Roy Foundation is a safe haven, a resource center, an early intervention center, an educational facility, and a vocational center for handicapped children. It also educates the public and ensures the rights of all handicapped people are identified and protected. I am just barely starting to understand the depth and importance that this facility has in all of India. I am so honored to be here to learn and serve for two weeks. 
I can't wait to tell you about my first day at Latika Roy Foundation!
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