I did not realize that it has been a month since I last blogged. Time
is just flying by. I am officially over half way now. I made it out of
Thailand having enjoyed it immensely and moved into what is supposed to
be one of the, if not THE, greatest culture shocks in the world, INDIA.
I arrived in Delhi without a mishap and found my way to the Bablons
(Good French friends who took great care of me, thanks guys). I spend 7
days in Delhi enjoying the hospitality of my friends which made the
transition into India very pleasant. Delhi is a modern city in that it
is polluted as all get out. The air here is thick. Many locals told me
it was fog, but I don't believe them since every time I walked down the
street it was like breathing CO2 soup. But once I got past the air
quality, and realized that the only reason there is so much dirt
here is because they don't cover everything possible with
concrete and vegetation like they do in 1st world cities, I got to see
the beauty of the place. First of all the woman here all wear beautiful
colored Saris,
often times even when they are working in the rice fields. Of course
you don't see them all that often because this is the most male
oriented society I have ever been to. All I see 85% of the time is men.
Men working, men lounging, men driving rickshaws (the Indian equivalant
of the tuk-tuk), boys trying to get you to let them shine your shoes,
grandpas trying to get you to let them clean your ears (I had to pass
on this one. Noone goes anywhere near my ears but me), and so on and on
and on and they try to sell you stuff, and they try to get you in their
shops (so they can sell you stuff), and they ignore you when you say NO
because they know that if they bug you long enough they can sell you
something. It is really quite amazing here the tenacity with which they
pursue the almighty rupee (dollar). There are so many people here that
it's dog eat dog to make a living, which is of course why they are so
aggressive about trying to sell you stuff. It is sometimes a little
unnerving, often times quite aggravating (the 13th time you get asked
to buy postcards in an hour) and always potentially amusing (haggling
can be a lot of fun if you want to buy something. There are great deals
here to be had, but you have to haggle or you will get charged
1000%...I bought a scarf for 300 rupees (8$) and then a guy across the
street sold me one for 100 (2.5$), then the guy at the hostel told me
he could get them for 30 (75 Cents). I don't know if that was true or
not, but you get the picture.
My first day in Delhi I went for a walk in a monkey infested park area
(and I didn't tease them since they all have RABIES...kidding, sort
of). IN the park, up a long hidden brick path, I found the local space
station (where they track the skies and satellites from) and was not
allowed in. Next door to the station I found the local haunted fort. I
was not allowed in that either, mostly for fear of being shot or mauled
by a group of large dogs and then fed to the crows. The fort belongs to
the Rulers of Ohd,Princes Wilayat Mahal and her brother the prince, who
apparently have no money to keep it fixed up and don't like
visitors(the place had trees and bushes growing out of what was left of
the roof. I was unable to get any pictures of the place because the
forest was to thick. But their story is fascinating. If you're
interested you should look them up on the internet (it is a fascinating
and sad story). Take a close look at the sign they posted.
For the last four days in Delhi I went around and looked at all of the
standard tourist attractions. I was a good tourist, except for where my
camera batteries ran out. I saw India Gate, the Parliment and defence
buildings, the Red fort, Jama Masjid, Humayan's tomb, Safdarjung's
tomb, Qtub Minar, and Connaught circle. I also got to see a few
emporiums from which I will not be buying anything on this trip
(standard procedure for rickshaw drivers is to take you to shops where
they get commisions for bringing you around. I usually say no, but I
said yes to a guy who gave me a deal on a long ride, just to help him
out.)
I left Delhi and moved on to Jaipur via bus. The bus cost 2.50 and took
7 hours to get there. It was jam packed. I think I was probably
touching at least one person the entire way. There are 1.2 billion
people in India and I can feel their presence everywhere I go.
previous travel blog entry
pkubigfool says:
hmmm, 1.2 billion. India is the only country can compete with mine in population.