Day 32 – October 19 – Delhi

I’m going to start this posting by giving some insight on why I chose the cities and countries I chose for this trip. I wanted to visit places I had never been to before, places with cultures and traditions very different from Western traditions, which I am familiar with. Asia, in particular, has held a lot of appeal. I had never been to Asia before, yet I have several friends from Asia, so I have places and people to visit. Whether it is Asian influences on food or architecture, music or movies, there is significant reason to be interested in the impact Asian life has had on the US. So, spending an extended period of time in the region sounded like a fantastic opportunity. The BRIC countries, Brazil, Russia, India and China, are quite interesting as the current engines of global economic growth. Traveling through China, India and Russia would be interesting both culturally and intellectually (Brazil will have to be another trip. I’m going to have to ask Paola Gilsanz, intellect extraordinaire, to show me around Brazil sometime in the near future.) India, was high on the list. I’ve had several Indian friends who have raved about the cities and the countryside in India. I’ve come to the conclusion that India would take longer than the amount of time I would be able to dedicate to it on this trip. So, spending a couple of days in the capital, New Delhi, and making a pit stop to the Taj Mahal, sounded like a good compromise.

You know those commercials that place incessantly on CNN (and, especially, CNN International) about “Incredible India?” Yeah, I have NO IDEA where those videos are shot because the India I am seeing at the moment is absolutely terrible. When I went down to the travel agent associated with the hotel, the young man (more like a kid) who worked there was not very helpful. I wanted to take the train to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, but he insisted a car was better. It took no less than an hour of haggling to get the price down to around $120 for the round-trip transportation, including admissions to the sites. In the travel agency, I met another American named Tim. Nice guy. We decided to travel around Delhi together, splitting cab fares and such.

We walked around Old Delhi, the area around our hotel, first going to the Red Fort. It is a large citadel constructed by the British during colonial rule. It is very impressive from the outside. Unfortunately, it is closed on Mondays, so we only got to take pictures. We jumped the gate and took pictures in front of the main gate until a couple of soldiers told us to move away. It was worth it, I’m sure tomorrow this area is going to be teaming with tourists. We walked down the main street, passing the old train station, with its dignified colonial architecture.

We wandered around aimlessly for a bit before stumbling across the Jama Masjid Mosque, the largest mosque in India. It can hold 50,000 worshipers and is still the center of Islam in the country. Before entering, Tim and I had to borrow sarongs from the front vendor since we were wearing shorts, which is unacceptable, similar to the Vatican. Different from the Vatican, however, is that no ticket is necessary to enter unless one has a camera. Then the admission fee jumps to several dollars. Damn. I was given a sarong which could have been the same tartan design as that off William Wallace. It was pretty hilarious. Also, this thing was massive, so it had to be worn high, making me look ridiculous. All for the love of culture. The mosque is massive. Upon entering one’s gaze is drawn up to the two large minarets flanking the wide façade. Three large onion domes in the Arab design are topped with shining gold points. The red and white stone is immaculately clean, a wide departure from most of the surrounding area. The main plaza is surrounded by an elegant arcade with three large gates looking down to the bustling city below. The view from the gate opposite the main structure includes a fantastic view of the Red Fort in the distance. We bought tickets to climb the minarets, hiking up the spiral staircase for what seemed like forever. Don’t forget, it is friggin hot in this country, around 99 degrees and humid, and I’m wearing a heavy cotton moo-moo over my normal clothes (Dear god, I was wearing a Scottish plaid moo-moo, wasn’t I? The horror.) At the top of the minaret we were treated to a spectacular view of the city below in full swing at midday. Delhi is teaming with people, people on top of people.

We stopped for lunch at the McDonald’s on the main street, about 10 minutes away from the mosque. Most of this area is lined with street food, which, although looking inviting, makes my stomach cringe in anticipation. Since we could not find a location which did require prophylactic Cipro dosages, we went to McDonald’s. In India, there are no beef or pork products. So I had chicken nuggets. A little taste of fried American goodness, hit the spot.

From here Tim and I went to the Lotus Temple, a building in the newer part of town with an adjoining park. The temple was constructed with a modern design to mimic the shape of a lotus blossom. It is very similar in design to the Sydney Opera House. It also reminds me of the Self Reliance Fellowship at home in Pacific Palisades, California. One enters through a park which is a welcome respite from the insanity and traffic of Delhi. The temple rests on a hill, surrounded by small pools which reflect the structure’s white walls. Inside, the ceiling undulates, making several nooks for quiet reflection. We sat inside, enjoying some time for quiet reflection. I reflected on how much I wanted to be out of the traffic and pollution of Delhi, to be honest. I don’t think it matters how much one prays, the sky in Delhi is going to remain a yellow-reddish hue.

From the Lotus Temple we negotiated rates with the tuk-tuk driver. In order for him to take us back to Old Delhi, we would have to stop by one of those stores where they try to sell one souvenir crap and give the driver a tip for stopping. We were resolved not to buy anything. As we walked through, looking at Buddha statues and Hindu carvings, we looked at the carpets. They actually made some beautiful carpets, some pure silk the others with a yak and silk blend. There was one which I was interested in, but they started the price at $2,000. That is way out of my price range. So I told him, although I liked it, I could not afford it. Come on, man, what would you like to pay for it? Let me know your price. So, I started at 20% of the price… $400. Oh, no, we can’t do that, how about $1,800, came the reply from the owner. No, I said, I really can’t go about $400, but thanks for the offer! I really had no issues about walking away at this point without the carpet, which the owner obviously gathered from my attitude. After about 15 to 25 minutes of going in circles, and me nearly walking out several times, they got to $500. So, I bought a carpet. But part of the deal was that I would have to carry it with me. Fine, I am going to lug around a 5 foot by 7 foot silk carpet for the remainder of my trip. I am going to see if I can ship it from a post office around here.

Afterwards we went to India Gate, the equivalent of Delhi’s Arc d’Triomphe and Champs Elysees. I’ve been seeing lots of Champs Elysees knock-offs on this trip (Vientiane, also). Come on, get your own monument. Around India Gate we took several photos as the sun set. The monument is made of a rosy stone, like sandstone, so it almost glowed while the setting sun shone all around it. We made a couple of circles around the actual structure when a couple of Indian kids came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder. They pointed at a camera and then at the monument. I said, sure, I’ll take a picture of you in front of the Gate, and walked toward the camera. No! they cried, and a smaller boy sheepishly approached me. Take the picture with you, he said. Huh? I’m confused. You want to take a picture with me in it? I’m kind of weirded out by that, but, sure, I’ll take a picture with some random locals. After I took one photo with some local teenagers, more and more came running up, until there were about 25 kids surrounding me. It didn’t help that Tim found this absolutely hysterical, prodding more teens to join the circus that was developing adjacent to the India Gate. After a couple of shots, I bid my new fan club farewell, and we walked down the wide boulevard, admiring the Gate as it became lit up while the sun set.

Tim and I returned to the hotel, deciding to have a beer on the rooftop of the Hotel Tara. This was the final evening of Diwali, resulting in every breathing person in the city with fireworks left after the first two nights of festivities to contribute to a massive, uncoordinated assault on the city’s weak structural integrity by blowing up M80s, roman candles and flares. There was an explosion every few seconds, reverberating through the cement canyons of Delhi. We drank our Black Label beer (not bad) and enjoyed the free show. Hey, if the city is going down in a fiery inferno tonight, I’d like to watch it from the roof rather than just roast in my room. We watched some kids launching sparklers from the roof next to us, running around the roof with unmitigated glee. Then, as we were about to call it an evening, some pretty large fireworks were launched from the just outside the mosque, incredibly close to our rooftop location. We were able to see the show perfectly, enjoying the smell of the smoke as it wafted past us. It was pretty cool to watch. This wasn’t some orchestrated show, this was spontaneous, real festivities by an interested population. It was great.