India 2006 7th February

I awake at 4am in the morning - ready for my day's exploits. It is a cold morning and it is a little hard to get out of bed. Thankfully there is a reliable hot water system and I wait a little while for the water to warm up - then it's a refreshing and very welcome hot shower. Given India's unreliable electricity and water supplies, I savour this experience for it might be the last one I have!

I get out, get changed - 3 layers of clothing for this cold, chilly morning and then I wait for Hari to come and get me. This morning I am heading to the ISKCON temple in New Delhi. I remember reading in the Back to Godhead magazine about 6 years ago that they were building this temple, complete with an animatronics exhibition on the Bhagavad Gita, which would have been a major accomplishment, especially for something in India. Since then, it's been on my to-do list to visit this beautiful, and well engineered structure. It combines both traditional Indian architecture and modern design to create something that is unique in New Delhi and my first sight of it is breathtaking. The three towers stand tall amongst the shorter apartment buildings and shops around Delhi. There is a winding walkway that leads up to the main temple - while smaller shops and food distribution stalls surround the lower levels of the temple. This temple also boasts a guesthouse which is fairly quiet for this time of the morning.

I enter the temple and am a little disappointed to see that I have just missed seeing the Deities, the curtains have closed and the temple priests are busy giving the Deities Their bath, dressing Them and basically doing the morning service. So there is tulasi puja - worship of Srimati Tulasi devi and then morning chanting. It's quite a peaceful atmosphere and I sit and chant with the rest of the devotees present. A tape is also playing at the same time of chanting of the founder of the Krishna Consciousness movement A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It is soothing. After about an hour and a half of more concentrated chanting - I realise it's time for me to meet up with Hari das and head outside the temple to wait for him. So I miss out on a chance for darshan of Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi - maybe that's an indication of the path I'm about to take. I don't know. Being outside is tough, the air is cold and very smoggy. There is a construction crew working on the roadside in the cold and in simple clothing, I have no idea how they manage it!! I hold my hands up to my mouth and breath on them to warm them, it's freezing!!

I don't have to wait too long for Hari das and we head back to my apartment to collect my gear and after about half an hour's wait we headed out to Vrindavan.

What a drive!! It took just over 3 hours to head to Vraja - with lots of crazy traffic and interesting buildings by the roadside. Lots of hotels and new developments which was cool. Lots of ads for 'Hutch' too which is a big mobile phone provider in India. Surprisingly Indians, like the rest of Asia, have a crazy passion for mobile phones as I soon find out.

I arrive in Vrindavan and the experience of entering the town is amazing. There are heaps of buildings and temples and my jaw drops when I finally see Krishna Balaram temple. It is made of pure white marble and looks beautiful.There are monkeys everywhere and I've been warned to hold on to my glasses as these monkeys have figured out that anyone's possessions is fair game ESPECIALLY because it means that those humans will have to swap it for food!!

My first introduction to Vrindavan is complete!