10.08: INDIA: Delhi - New Friends

  Delhi, India
Thursday, October 9, 2008

Wednesday, October 8: Delhi

Dear Mom & Dad & family,

Back in Delhi. This second time around (post scam tour), I am CONVINCED I will make it better!

First stop: Tourist Freak Shows- It is Regina's birthday and Regina's Indian friends, Ramina and Reena hosting a lunch in celebration and our travel squad has been invited. I am excited! A trip to a foreign country doesn't have much bearing if you're always seeing things from a tourist's perspective. Often, you're trying to acclimate yourself to the differences in cultures, climates and lifestyles. You have to take a picture of EVERY oddity that is not in your cultural vocabulary. EVERYTHING is a novelty or an untrained circus act to you. Ie... I saved my MacDonald's wrapper because it said "Paneer Salsa Wrap" (its the equivalent of a vegetarian breakfast burrito but with potatoes!) Retarded stuff like that, you know? I was even taking pictures of my food for a while, like Team M&D, until I realized- Hey, unless there's a lamb's head (god forbid) propped up by a stake or wiggly things on my plate, then I can probably get this shot at any Indian restaurant in NYC! But being new to this culture, it's hard to find the cut-off point between shooting "novelty freak & sideshow acts" vs "worthwhile memories" accurate to experiencing a true India.

Applying for Visa-like SIMs: I met R at the Vonnage store in Connaught Place. We needed to report that the SIM cards Regina had purchased for us were NOT working and we've been without use of our phones since. The store gave us the run-around & it's true that anything dealing with the purchase of SIM's in India is a real hassle & more strenuous than applying for a Visa!  Proof of residence or hotel stay (a written letter on letterhead stating exact dates of stay) IS REQUIRED. This is difficult for a traveler that plans from day-to-day. (Regina wisely brought her Hawaii driver's license for proof!) After straightened out confusions, we were off to the metro and the district of Dwarka, a serene residential sector in Delhi with clean town houses, apartment complexes with not a visible stain of poverty!

dwarka

Finding your way can be hard in India: The auto-rickshaw driver may NEED to ask SEVERAL people along the way for directions or may "choose" NOT to pick you up if you're not going to an area he doesn't feel like. I had a rickshaw driver who took all of 15 min + several neighborhood inquiries to drive to a place which was located 5 min on a direct semi circle of the same street. A cheap and efficient alternative is the new Delhi metro- you'll save time, money and haggle energy! The metro system is still new and its surprising to see a different life exists on it. The facilities are clean, people are better dressed and overall, the environment is degrees cleaner (yet still predominantly male)! There is NO eating or drinking on the metro and at approx. 19Rs (a little under 25 cents!) it's cheaper than a cab or rickshaw.

Delhi metro

metro

R on the metro

New Friends & Indian Hospitality: Lunch at Reena & Ramina's apartment in Dwarka was wonderful!  Our hosts made a delicious rice biryani, daal, chicken curry, veggies, dessert, etc...  It was quite a large spread to feed us all- Regina and a bunch of strangers they've not met before. This was Indian hospitality! While Team M&D had to rush to jump on the itinerary again, Regina and I stayed for a longer chillax time with the sisters. Nearing their 30's, the sisters Reena & Ramina come from a class of modern Delhites. Dressed leisurely in tank tops and shorts, they are both, beautiful, single, working career gals on their day off, with very warm and earthy demeanors. And damn- can they cook!... Hailing from Manipur (where Regina thinks we might be able to pass ourselves off as being from in order to blend in, as the features we hear lend toward an Asian-Pacific Island look), the sisters have made their home and careers in Delhi- one in advertising and the other in non-profit, conservational wildlife. The girls are genuinely chill people.

Lights Off Rock-n-Rolla :  With our new friends, Ramina & Reena and my new Delhi Facebook friend, Sandeep (whom I met that eve) we were at Cafe Morrison, a hip rock-n-roll bar in Greater Kailash, south Delhi. Sandeep, in his 20's, is born and raised in an affluent Delhi family and took his college schooling in the States. He is jovial and fun and immediately I know I will like him as a friend. Rock-n-Roll bars are a funny thing to me and even funnier when it's a rock-n-roll bar in India. All of it is rock-n-roll America, music, dancing, drinks, bar food ...  NO India. (This feels odd when you know you're in INDIA). The young Indian hipsters come out from the crack in ceiling and remindi you that Delhi is capable of being modern.

cafe morrison

cafe morrison

Delhi shuts down at around 12A and Sandeep, a true gentleman, kindly offered to drive me back to my hotel in dreadful Paharghanj.  He knew it was unsafe for me as a female & I felt unsafe returning at this late an hour! We waited for Birthday Girl, Regina to hop her cab to the Sheraton & were off! While Sandeep had lived in Delhi most of his life, places like Paharganj were far removed from his vocabulary. So we had to stop occasionally to ask for directions on how to get there.  India-- the poor can't get out and the rich have to ask directions as to how to get in!

lights out

Most of the hours I've seen Paharghanj, it's been bustling with human traffic, so I wasn't expecting there to be a CURFEW.  To my surprise, after 12A- all was pitch black and sleeping!!!  Most of the small streets & alleys were as dark as they were nameless. There were no streetlights and everything was deserted except the outdoor bed cots speckled with employees of establishments. I was thankful for Sandeep. There was NO WAY I would have found my hotel in any safe manner and I definitely, would NOT have found a cab or rickshaw driver to take me through those streets at this late an hour! When we finally found my $8/nite budget hotel Cozy Inn, Sandeep escorted me in and knocked on the glass door for one of the hotel employees to open up.  Upon hearing the knock, one of the hotel employees unrolled himself from his blanket on the lobby floor and wearily got up to unlock the door to let me in.

Goodnight!
Chris