Busy First Days in Delhi

I have never had a blog or thought of getting one, but I also never thought I'd go to India. So what the hell... here it goes!

Day 0 (21 May): After many immunizations, research, and packing I finally said my “Goodbyes” to my worried mother and hopped on the plane for Delhi, India. The flight was long and exhausting, but we arrived around 8pm (India time). I was experiencing jet lag and culture shock. The first few hours were intimidating: transportation problems, difficulty communicating, machine guns, stray dogs, beggars, AND a thunderstorm. Even though I was expecting it, I was thrown off when there was a beggar with a sick baby pressing against my cab window within yards from leaving the airport. Unforgettable and humbling. I survived my first taxi ride through India, which was a feat in itself. The driving here is reckless, there is a complete disregard to all traffic laws & safety. I was relieved when I got into my hotel room where there was A/C, a bed, and a shower.

Day 1 (22 May): New Delhi: Jake and I mustered up enough confidence to explore the city. We hired a full day cab to take us to Dilli Haat, Lodi Gardens, Kahn Market, Parliament, and India Gate. Our cab driver was a smelly man, but he had our best interest in mind, so I liked him.

Crafts from Dilli Haat

First stop, the Dilli Haat: a large crafts and food market representing goods the different states in India. I quickly learned that bartering is a must-do and that Indian market owners are pushy and eager to sell. I bought a colorful scarf and a stone/pearl necklace. The owners were busy shooing away flies and stray dogs from their stands while attempting to lore in customers. The temperature rose as it got later in the morning (100F) and the market began to bustle. I went into my first Indian “washroom” to relieve myself…and found a hole and a hose. No TP. Hmm.

Bada Gumbad (left), Sheesh Gumbad (right)

Lodi Gardens: a free park filled with beautiful gardens, tombs, a mosque, and a lake. It was hot, but not because we were in Delhi…because it was a love fest. There were young Indian couples scattered throughout the garden, a romantic setting. Jake and I kept our distance from each other, making it clear that we were not there for that reason. We ventured over to the Sheesh Gumbad (“blue dome” in Hindi) which is a tomb named for its architecture & blue tiles from Pakistan. It holds 5 unknown individuals. All the Muslim/Hindi graves in India have the individual’s head at the north with head & eyes turned facing east towards Mecca. You can distinguish if the individual in the tomb is male/female, married/unmarried, children/no children by the tomb’s shape and detailed stone work. In the same area was the Bada Gumbad (“big dome” in Hindi) where there was a guest house and a mosque. Here an Indian man approached us an insisted on giving us a history lesson, so we accepted and paid him a few Rupees in exchange for his knowledge.

Kahn Market: a mixture Western shops and Indian shops. Lunch time! Ate at Latitude, a busy restaurant with amazing food. I ordered Kerala pepper chicken and Jake ordered Udon Noodles with mushrooms. Afterwards we stopped in at Sugar&Spice, a bakery/convenience store when I bought Imported Gatorade (Imported to avoid drinking India’s water and Gatorade for electrolytes) and Jake bought cookies! Yum-o.

Boy sweeping near fountain at India Gate.

Parliament and India Gate: The further North you go in Delhi, the closer you get to Old Delhi which means a significant increase in trash, beggars, people, and smells. It was getting windy/about to storm, so there were wind tunnels of trash and dirt. The area leading up to Parliament reminded me much of Washington DC’s Mall. Several Indians were sleeping on the grass, selling popsicles, playing cricket, and playing in the fountains. Driving into the Parliament gates we found several men squatting on the walls relieving themselves. Inside the gates we spotted a few American kids that were on our flight over, but then again, American’s aren’t hard to spot in India. Next our driver dropped us off at India Gate which is at the other end of the grassy area opposite Parliament. There were a lot of people gathered here. Jake and I ran outside to snap a few photos in front of the gate. I took one of Jake, than Jake took one of me. Little did I know- I had a little fan club of Indian teenage boys anxiously waiting to take pictures of me and with me. White girls are a rare breed here. After they were done, I had a woman and her son come up to me and ask for a picture…not of them, but with them. I should start charging THEM rupees to take my picture.

Lots of love for the white girl.

After a successful Day 1, my confidence in the trip was boosted. I had already seen/learned so much and was finally feeling like I would make it out of India alive.

Day 2 (23 May) Old Delhi/North Delhi: After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we went on our way to Qutub Minar Complex and Old Delhi’s Chandni Chowk, Jama Masjid, and Karims for lunch.

Day 2 was the best day yet! Exposed to history, culture, religions, and conditions that I’ve never experienced. (***But it is getting late, Jake is already asleep, and we have a big day tmrw travelling to Agra. So this blog day will be short and to the point. Look at Jake’s blog post titled “sheep heads” at http://jacobsindiaadventure.blogspot.com/ he summed it all up really well)

Here is a brief account and a few pictures from the day:

Qutub Minar complex: Tomb of Iltutmish

Oh boy...

Stray pups at Qutub Minar Complex

Qutub Minar Complex: a city landmark with detailed architecture made of red sandstone and white marble. It includes many structures some of them being India’s first mosque and Delhi’s tallest tower (236ft). More teenage boys wanting pictures with the white girl, adorable stray puppies (I wanted to bring them all home), many women dressed in colorful saris, guards, and history.

Mosque

Chandni Chowk

Lychee fruit



Where is the Indian BGE? Wires down, RED ALERT



Mosque II

Sari Time!

My new sari! He taught me how to put it on, but had difficulties when I got home. :/

Rickshaw

View of Delhi from tower at Jama Masjid

Tower

Karims buttered chicken (curry sauce) and Naan

Chandni Chowk: (the real India) a very congested unpolished street in Old Delhi crawling with religion, poverty, dead street rats, unhealthy conditions, shops, beggars, and very few tourists. We entered 2 mosques that were filled with worshippers of religions that were foreign to me. I was hesitant to enter at first, but Jake insisted that we go in: excellent choice. At one mosque we turned in our shoes, covered up, washed our feet, and entered. I stood in the background of a remarkable scene discretely taking photos and a video from underneath my scarf. People were chanting, giving offering to their Gods, and praying on the ornamental rugs. Yellow flowers were used to mark the foreheads of worshippers, and were used as offerings, along with oil lamps, to the various shrines located around the mosque. We left the mosques to the bustling streets of Chandni Chowk. We were taken back by the health conditions of many Indian people on the street. Several had missing, broken, and dislocated limbs, little nourishment, and were living in horrible conditions. The infrastructure was poorly built and there were dangling power lines. This was quite an experience.

Jama Masjid: a large principle mosque located close to Chandni Chowk. We were dropped off ½ a mile from the entrance of the Jama Masjid, so we hopped into a rickshaw! It was a fun experience; we passed chicken coops, meat shops, tire shops, electronic shop. The Jama Masjid had an entrance fee, a shoe fee, and a garment fee. I was covered in a dirty cloth, barefoot on red sandstone (hothothot), in 115degree weather. Needless to say, I was sweating like crazy. The mosque was grand and red. It had a tower that we paid another fee to climb where we had an amazing view of Delhi. Other Indian men sat a top the tower, cuddling as Indian men do…they stared at the white girl, asked me to take their picture, and wondered if I would come sit with them. That was our cue. We headed back downstairs and I got my dirty garment off. It was time for lunch! We went to a famous kebab restaurant called Karims in the back streets near the mosque. It was ranked one of Asia’s top restaurants by Time Mag. The restaurant was small (maybe 10 tables) with delicious food. We had buttered chicken, naan, and a lamb kebab. We shared a table with two Indian doctors in their late 20s who are studying for the boards to practice in America. They said that India has a 1doctor:1700patient ratio. It’s a stressful life for the doctors here, they have little time to see all the patients and there are many sick people.

I’ve found that I need to pinch myself about every 2 minutes reminding myself that this is real life. It’s unbelievable and difficult to grasp. I thought I had prepared myself for what I would witness here in India by watching documentaries and reading books. But it is not until you are experiencing the overwhelming senses Old Delhi offers: its smells, busyness, poverty, and heat that you can really see how different it really is from the Western World. This is going to be an amazing trip that will stay with me the rest of my life.

Well…that post was longer than intended. Now it’s 3am. I need to go to bed. Taxi gets here at 6:30 for the Taj Mahal!