India (4): Delhi

Delhi: Jan. 5 & 6, 2009
It had been two days since my last proper nights sleep. I had taken an overnight train from Varanasi to Agra, had a mad dash day of sightseeing, and then another train the same day to Delhi. Predictably, I slept very well my first night in Delhi.

I woke in the morning very refreshed and ordered my hot water heater be turn on. After a shower, I headed to the rooftop restaurant for breakfast. It was chilly in Delhi, in the low 60sF. While eating, I looked through my guidebook to come up with a plan for the next two days. Unfortunately, almost everything was closed on Monday (today... my one full day in Delhi). Oh well. There were still some interesting options. (View off the rooftop restaurant... cows, cows everywhere, and happily no beef to eat). After eating, I headed down into the streets. My hotel was situated in the middle of the main bazaar of the Paharganj area. Basically, my hotel was built in the middle of an all day swap meet. By all day, I mean the vendors and their shops are open from before I rise until after I sleep. Thus it was extremely crowded and a constant barrage of touts were being shouted at me. I quickly found a place to call my sister and then the nearest rickshaw to escape. Click on the link to see a quick video on the tuk-tuk ride: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xrr4QZzgv-k

My first stop was India Gate. It was beautiful somehow even though it is just a big arch. It is a 138ft tall, thick, memorial arch. The top is engraved, in English, dedicating the memorial in honor of more than 90,000 Indian soldiers that died in WWI. The arch was blocked off and protected by soldiers but you could get close enough. There were many students there who all wanted to take a photo with me.There is not much else there so I started walking down the street toward another sight. I needed to cross the street but there were no crosswalks and tons of traffic. India has many roundabouts where the traffic zooms by at top speeds with no thought to pedestrians, presumably engineered by the British. After waiting for a lull that never arrived, I just sprinted across the road with my fingers crossed.

Safely on the other side, I discovered a fort. By discovered I mean just that. It was not in the guide book, there were no signs or entrance fees, and I was the only person (besides a few young Indian men sketching it for art school. I met many young artists here drawing in various locations for school. We need more of that in the US.). So it was my fort and it was cool. There was a long wall and two crumbling buildings all made of rocks and red sandstone. I climbed some of the stairs into little doorways and narrow halls. One set of stairs led to the rooftop which was brittle but safe enough if you stayed away from the edge.Exploring done, I crossed the street again to another fort. This one had already been discovered (dammit), named Purana Qila, and charged 100Rs ($2) admission. There were massive walls surround the whole area and three large, intricate gateways. It was built in 1540ish. There was a large mosque with many arches (and graffiti) and a large octagonal tower. When inquiring about a restroom, I was pointed down a path. I found the dirtiest bathroom I had ever seen. The interior was completely covered with black cobwebs and there were piles of human feces scattered about. It was so rad, I had to capture it on my camera. I later discovered a brand new bathroom down another path and was unsure as to why I wasn't given directions to that one.Exiting the fort, I hailed a tuk-tuk to Humayun's Tomb. The admission was 250Rs ($5). The park was large with many different structures with domes and arches, green lawns, palm trees, and waterways. The namesake structure was amazing. It was about the same size as the Taj Mahal and even more brilliant. There were some workers refurbishing the building on bamboo scaffolding.The tombs inside were intricately engraved white marble and the walls had many elaborate cutouts to let the sunlight in. Another quick rickshaw ride landed me at the Tibet House Museum. It was very small but had many huge woodblock paintings on hanging cloths telling the story of Buddha's life. There were also a few statues, military equipment, and money.

By that time I was getting hungry and, glancing through my guidebook, I noticed a 50's diner nearby and had to check it out. It was so bizarre. It was an exact replica... except filled with Indians. The employees wore 50's uniforms, there was a 50's jukebox filling the air, and all diner food on the menu. I noticed many tables discussing their confusion of various items ("Why would you want only the whites of the eggs?" "What is a malt?") .

Finally, I decided to head back to the hotel. There was standstill traffic (which was true every time I was in a rickshaw) and while stopped in the open tuk-tuk, I was approached by a woman with an impossibly large humpback asking for change. Once she left, a little girl approached, maybe 5 years old, asking for change. When she saw my water bottle she pantomimed to let me know she wanted some. She held her hand up to her mouth to use as a funnel so I would pour some in, which I of course did.

So here is the really depressing part of India, more noticeable in the massively overcrowded major cities: poverty. Two Indian facts: 41% live in one-room houses (not one bedroom... one room) and 40% earn less than $1 per day. The reality of this was heart-wrenchingly apparent in Delhi. I was constantly passing huge neighborhoods (yes, not just a house or two but whole neighborhoods) of people living in dirt floor cardboard houses with filthy barefoot children wandering about. Other major problems: sanitation and pollution. I constantly passed men urinating on the side on the road. All the streets had trash in them. The sky was always smoggy. Sewers were often overflowing. Many streets were just dirt.

Since my hotel was in the middle of a bazaar, the rickshaws are blocked from entering. So I hopped out at the market's edge and squeezed through the crowds and vendors toward my hotel. Of course I was dazzled by a few stalls and bought some souvenirs. Heck, when there are all these colorful, beautiful handicrafts for just $1 or $2, it's hard to pass it up.I relaxed awhile at the hotel and then decided to get a tuk-tuk to see an evening Indian dance show. I paid 200Rs ($4) and found a seat on a cozy velvet couch. The audience was sparse but the dances were wonderful.

There were 7 different dances from various regions of the country: some with 3 men & women all decorated, 1 with a man doing seemingly magical moves involving 3 sticks, 1 with a man dancing with an over-sized drum, 1 with a girl dancing while balancing 6 pots on her head and standing on swords, bowls, glass cups, and broken glass. The costume and makeup were beautiful. One dance included the young men wearing false mustaches and beards. Click the link to see some dance outtakes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlvNyCgZjWII shared a rickshaw back to my hotel area with a couple from Portugal. While maneuvering through the market, a motorcycle ran into me. OOOWWW! It hurt really bad but I tried not to show it as I was surrounded. The driver apologized and went on his way. I hobbled to the ATM, bought some fresh off-the-grill cookies from a roadside vendor, and ate dinner. By the time I went to bed my calf had a huge painful lump. Great.

When I woke in the morning, my stomach was churning so I took some medicine as a precaution. As there are not many public restrooms, I did not want to take any chances. I ate breakfast on the rooftop restaurant and then got a rickshaw to Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India. Admission was 200Rs ($4). It was built in 1658 by Shah Jahan (who conceived the Taj Mahal). It was a large rectangle surrounded by a wall with 3 large gateways, the mosque along the fourth wall, and a fountain in the center of the complex. The mosque didn't have an interior just many arches over a carpeted walkway. There were some great views of the surrounding city though. And a few goats wandering around the outskirts.My last sight was the Red Fort, admission 250Rs ($5). It was huge area enclosed in an immense red wall with various buildings and gardens inside constructed by Shah Jahan. I hired a tour guide inside who explained the history. He examined all the carvings of each structure noting that they encompass all the religions of India. Shah Jahan lived here with his family until he was imprison by his son. They had very extravagant parties with musicians, dancers, and poets gathering around the fountains to entertain guests seated under delicate archways. After the British took over, there were large barracks built. My guide offered up much information about the succession of rulers and how each one eventually became corrupt. After my tour, I ran into 2 guys and a girl from Oregon. We strolled around the gardens awhile.

Exiting the fort, I bought a few very detailed paintings, one was on a leaf. While sitting on a bench out front, debating if I had time to go to another sight, I was approached by some Indian children. They were very cute and practiced their English on me. I was running short on time so I just headed back to my hotel, browsing the bazaar along the way. I had some dinner, checked out, and got a taxi to the train station.

My train to Udaipur left Delhi at 7:00pm and was scheduled to arrive at 7:00am (12 hours). I settled into my nice bunk with blankets and pillow. My bunk mates were a sweet Indian couple that spoke perfect English. They had even been to San Diego as that is where their daughter was living there. They shared some cookies with me. I was able to sleep better than previous trains because the final stop was Udaipur so I didn't have to worry about figuring out where to get off. The train ended up being 18 hours (again attributed to fog) and I arrived at 1:00pm.

Click the link to see the entire Delhi photo album: Delhi photos.

Stay tuned for Udaipur...