Stymied!

A Note About Water

Those of you who have travelled to developing nations, and many of you who have not, have probably heard not to drink the local tap water.  There are billions of reasons for this, mainly the protozoa, bacteria, and viruses rampant in them, to which the locals may be largely immune.  One of the local scams in many places (I was warned about this in China) is that water bottles may be refilled by unscrupulous individuals and recapped.  The suggestion for drinkers of bottled water, with an implicit suggestion to pay it forward, is to crush the bottle after use.

Crush them like the bugs that they are!

In addition to drinking the local bottled water, I also use a UV purifier:  it works by denaturing the DNA in the protozoa, bacteria, and virus in the water.  It claims at least 99.99% destruction for two of them, and 99.9999% destruction for the other (I'm too lazy to look them up right now).

My light sabre may be small, but it kills really small enemies 

One-Third Of The World Drives On The Left

Today's complimentary aliments were really delicious.

Feast your eyes:  that's all you're going to taste!

After this morning's repast, I contacted the bride whose wedding I shall attend in two days.  She informed me of my phone number -- for some reason, my device is unable to read my phone number from the SIM card, and I must rely upon others whom I call to tell me my phone number.  Rather, she confirmed that one of the numbers on the package which contained the SIM card is my phone number. Yay!

When I first booked my lodgings in Delhi, I had no idea that the Lotus Temple was nearby.  Truth to tell, I had forgotten that the Lotus Temple was in Delhi, rather than another city in India.  Anyway, once I emerged from my sleep-deprived stupor yesterday, I realised that the place marked 'Lotus Temple' on my maps must be the large Baha'i temple of worship, and one of India's modern architectural marvels.  I decided to walk thither and ignore all of the touts who were trying to get some business form me.  What I witnessed was not unlike the traffic spectacle which I encountered in China.


The streets are dirtier than those to which I have become accustomed since returning to Canada, and the air has a dusty quality which is reminiscent of Beijing.  The traffic is similar in volume and 'adventure' to that of Beijing, with the added variable of driving on the left, which I've previously encountered in Scotland, Hong Kong, and Japan.

Pictured:  {China} X {Hong Kong}

After about ten minutes of orienting myself followed by fifteen minutes of walking in the right direction, my goal was in sight.

Almost there!

I finally made my way to the home stretch and encountered a family which was trying to have a group photo taken from the same vantage point as mine.

The Colour Checker was feeling left-out

Unfortunately, the Colour Checker was not the only thing left-out:  like many other establishments in Asia, the Lotus Temple is not open on Mondays.  I plan to go again tomorrow when it opens at 09:00 but, for now, I'll content myself with posting a little bit of information about it and then having another nap.

Baha'i And Baha'ullah

Here's a very short summary of Baha'i.  The Baha'i faith arose in Persia (now Iran) in the middle of the 19th century, and was founded by the Baha'u'llah.  The Islamic authorities were not too keen on this perceived threat to Islam, not least for the reason that the Baha'u'llah claimed to be the next prophet after Muhammad.  The Baha'u'llah was exiled to Acre, across a short span of water from Haifa, which hosts the current global headquarters of Baha'i, at Baha'i Gardens.  Baha'i is the second most wide-spread religion in the world, after Christianity, although its numbers are much smaller than those of other major world religions.  Certain religions are specifially protected in the Iranian constitution, but Baha'i is not among them, and its followers are severely persecuted.  If you're interested in learning more about Baha'i, one good place to start is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1'%C3%AD_Faith.

Construction of the Lotus Temple was completed in 1986 and it it a modern architectural marvel of India.  Ever since I learnt of its existence, I've wanted to visit.  I'm sooooo close!

Well, that's it for now.  Nap-time shall probably be followed by a cigar.