Sand, City, and Sea

Riots in Egypt left our hotel full of an Asian tour group with nowhere to go. We arrived late Saturday night and the lobby was packed, and now on Monday morning the few remaining are sprawled across the cushioned ottomans awaiting the clearance to move on to the next step of their journey. My mom is still asleep, but was awake between 3 and 4 am this morning not knowing that myself had only fallen into a nice REM cycle only a few minutes before. The next of leg of our own journey is daunting. We not only lack reservations at any guesthouse in Mcleodganj, nor do we have lodging set up for Delhi as we just decided to fly to the capital instead of Amritsar yesterday evening. As two women with large bags venturing into the wild streets of New Delhi I am strained and worried, but hide this from my mom. Hopefully my wits will form together before the end of the night and our instincts will push us in the right direction.

We are taking a tour of the city today, which will be a turn of events from our Desert Safari yesterday. Even though it was a bit of a tourist trap it provided some culture, beautiful landscapes, and delicious food. The safari started with a short drive to the desert just out of the city. Our party was directed to a white Landcruiser, there was only three of us on account that Mom sat out and said she would just meet us at the tents due what the strains of jumping sand dunes in the middle of nowhere would do to her back. Me, the Marine, and Silvi. Silvi was an Argentine Australian women who worked for the UN and was on leave for vacation for a few days. I found her quite interesting and we formed a fast bond, which was mostly caused by the first sand dune we took on face down wheels spinning dirt in the air and both of us grabbing onto each other for dear life. The Landcruiser took on the dunes with smoothness and finesse, and although the roller coaster of a SUV churned our stomachs from time to time, the scenery settled the senses. At one point of the dune bashing we passed a small farm were four gentlemen were playing cards and a large group of small goats scattered at our interruption. After the fun of tearing up the sand the Landcruiser took us back far into the desert where a carnival of attractions waited for us.