On the Road - by Bob Van Leer

From Gold Beach to Gold Beach

ROGUE RIVER DRIFT TRIP IS A
FUN WAY TO SPEND WEEKEND

Camping In Style In The Wilderness
By Bob Van Leer

Last year I promised grandsons Rob and Chris Johnson a drift trip down the Rogue River as a reward for both making the honor roll at Gold Beach Union High School. Circumstances prevented the trip last year, but now it was time.

We were going on a three-day drift trip with Rogue River Outfitters, operated by Denny Hughson, Gold Beach guide, and the only outfitter of downriver drift trips based in Gold Beach.

New Delhi, India, 5/7/1995 12.5 Hours Ahead of Gold Beach Time

(NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 7, 1995)

by Bob Van Leer

Our first day in India happened to be Sunday, so we spent the day looking at monuments.

We arrived in Delhi at 11:00 p.m. the night before after a 14 hour flight from New York, with a stopover at Heathrow Airport in London.

New Delhi, India 5/8/1995 Three Themes Emerging

(NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 8, 1995)

by Bob Van Leer

We spent the day in meetings with Indian government and industry representatives and three messages are emerging: India’s largest trading partner is the United States: India’s largest trading partner is the United States; India has a middle class of 200 million people and India is open for foreign investments.

New Delhi, India 5/9/1995 We Missed the Show

(NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 9, 1995)

by Bob Van Leer

The highlight of the day was an evening visit to the Chandaini Street market in old Delhi.

The street was an unbelievable jammed crowd of markets, people, and motor vehicles. And, of course, cows taking their ease on the sidewalks. There were several times more people in that mile of market street than there are in all of Curry County.

New Delhi, India 5/10/1995 Journalism School Has Wide Influence

(NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 10, 1995)

by Bob Van Leer

The morning began with a visit to the National Museum in New Delhi. New Delhi and Delhi are adjacent to each other, not really separate cities.

This is an old, old civilization. Artifacts in the museum go back 5000 years. We saw an exhibit of bronze implements, quite well done, dating to 2500 B.C. At that time, Europeans were still breaking bones with rocks.

New Delhi, India 5/11/1995 Camels, Cars and Trucks Share Highway

(NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 11, 1995)

by Bob Van Leer

Today we visited the famed Taj Mahal. Many monuments do not live up to expectations, but the Taj Mahal meets and exceeds anything we imagined. The tomb is breath-takingly beautiful.

The monument was built as a mausoleum by the mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, Arjumand Banu Begum, who died in childbirth at the age of 39. She had 14 children in the 18 years they were married.

Bangalore, India 5/12/1995 India Promises Pakistan Dire Consequences

(BANGALORE, INDIA, May 12, 1995)

by Bob Van Leer

Our stay at Delhi was over and we left the hotel at 6:00 a.m. for the two hour, 15 minute flight to Bangalore in southern India, the “Silicon Valley” of India.

Much of the world’s computer programming is done here or nearby. I was told 60-70% of this is for the U.S. Some of the big U.S. companies such as Intel and IBM have facilities here.

Bangalore, India 5/13/1995 High Level Government Retirees Are Members

High-Level Government Retirees Are Members

(BANGALORE, INDIA, May 13, 1995)

Much of today was spent in a meeting with the Citizens Forum – Bangalore. This is a group of high-level retirees who meet monthly for discussions.

Our party is down to three, Ken Rhoades from Nebraska had to go home from New Delhi to make a previous commitment.

Bombay, India 5/14/1995 We Get To Ride On An Elephant

(BOMBAY, INDIA, May 14, 1995)

by Bob Van Leer

We arrived in Bombay this morning after a short (873 kilometers, 1 hour, 20 minute) flight from Bangalore. Bombay is India’s largest city with a population of about 13 million.

The city is built on seven islands connected by causeways. Because of the limited opportunity to expand, real estate prices are among the highest in the world. Our guide said land prices start at $1200 per square foot.

Bombay, India 5/15/1995 India Is Waiting For Monsoon To Start

(BOMBAY, INDIA, May 15, 1995)

by Bob Van Leer

This morning, our last full day in India, started with a drive to the Bombay office of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

There are quite a number of beggars in Bombay and they tap on the cab window every time we stop for a light. We did not find as many in Delhi. We were hassled a little there, but not much more than you get in San Francisco. And in Bangalore there were hardly any beggars. They look pitiful, but we were told to ignore them completely.