India 2~ New Delhi ~ インドへの旅〜ニューデリー〜

I arrived in Delhi late at night, then left really early in the morning the next day for Dharamsala, a town at the foot of the Himalayan mountains in northern India. We rented a mini bus and a driver who was a smiley Nepalese man. The roads in Delhi were new and smooth -thank goodness, they used to be so bumpy! The funky-looking trucks on the road were so amusing to look at.

デリーには夜遅く着き、翌日早朝には北インドはヒマラヤの麓
の街、ダラムサラへと出発しました。レンタルしたのはミニバス
と、笑顔が可愛いネパール人の運転手さん。デリーの道路は
新しくなっていてビックリ！以前はデコボコ道だったのに、、。
このような派手なトラックがまわりをバンバン走っています。


After a few hours we stopped to have lunch. An authentic Indian lunch, you would guess? Well, since I cannot eat any spicy food I couldn't have any. Even the daal (lentil soup) that the waiter had insisted me to order because "it's not spicy at all" was super spicy. (I must have learned by then that when the Indians say "not spicy" it means "very spicy." ) Luckily there was the naan bread... my savior on this trip. I resisted those cute little onions on the side, too... I could not afford to get sick on this bus ride. So, no, no, no!

３～４時間走ったらランチタイム！スパイスがダメな私は
せっかくの本場インド料理も食べれず涙、涙、、。「ダル（レンズ豆
の煮込み）は辛くないよ」とウエイターに勧められたのですが、
やっぱり激辛だった！（インド人の「辛くないよ」は日本人の「超辛いよ」）。
でも焼きたてのナンがあったから救われた私です。サイド
の可愛いオニオンも我慢、我慢、、。泣　ここでお腹壊したら
一大事だものネ、、。



Finishing up the lunch with some tasty chai we left for the Himalayas again. Twelve hours were ahead of us, yet looking outside through the bus window never bored me. India was changing so rapidly. There were constructions everywhere - new roads, highways and lots of buildings. There were many women, young and old, in saris working on the construction sites. Their expressions were severe, and they never smiled back when our eyes met. I felt so fortunate that I did not have to work physically that hard..., and I sent them a prayer silently in my heart. (To be continued.)

美味しいチャイで締めくくったランチの後は、また長い車の旅。
ダラムサラまで１２時間。でも外の景色を見ているとちっとも
飽きません。結局一睡もしませんでした。凄いスピードで変化
しているインド。デリーはどこを見ても道路工事や建設工事
ばかりでした。女性たちがサリーを着て肉体労働をしていました。
表情は険しく、目が合っても笑いません。自分がいかに恵まれて
いるかを痛感し、頑張る女性たちに胸の中でエールを贈りました。
（つづく）