Back to Delhi

• Stodg's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Delhi

Trip Start Feb 16, 2006 Previous
Entry Trip End Ongoing Next
Entry

  Delhi, India
Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Prior to visiting India, I received loads of advice from fellow travellers and friends about what I should expect to encounter during my trip. I was prepared with useful information on food, places to see, how to find the tourist ticket counter in the train station, the voracity of the touts, but mostly I was advised that India would be like no other place I had been and would certainly test all of my patience. India has lived up to its unconventional reputation, exceeding even my most ambitious expectations. For me it was overwhelming and often frustrating, while never failing to surprise me. All of my senses have been besieged by the variety of smells, the lack of space, the peculiar sights, the unending spices and escpecially during this time of year the intense heat.

My first day was consumed by the challenges of trying to buy train tickets to the various places in India I was hoping to see

01 The New Delhi train station

. The train station was easy enough to find, and thanks to Michael and Bela, so was the tourist ticket counter. What didn't prove too simple was buying the tickets, made worse by uncooperative civil servants. Over the course of a few hours, I had multiple fingers wagged dissapprovingly in my face while often being ignored completely. The highlight was the charming woman working at the "help" desk, who was suppossed to give you the train numbers so you could fill out the forms necessary to buy your tickets. Everything you do in India seems to require endless forms filled out in triplicate. This woman personified bad service, as she twice told me "no' upon my request for a train number. Painted in large letters above her desk was this qoute form Gandhi, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." She was obviously not on a personal journey of self awareness, as my last attempt to seek her help was met with her simply walking away. Fortunately I finally got enough help to buy my tickets. The afternnon was spent going to Old Delhi and visiting Jama Masjid and the bazars in the area. Actually it would be more correct to say that I got lost for a couple of hours in the mazes of alleys that comprised Old Delhi. The temperature topped out at 113 degrees on day one and would remain over 110 for the duration of my stay in India.

One horrible side effect of the heat is its amplification of the already pungent smells that fill the air

02 Old Delhi streets

. The pollution in Delhi is thick, scarring your throat and burning your eyes. On top of the pollution is the ever present odor of bodily waste attributed to cows grazing on garbage in the streets and brazen people liberated from the crazy social customs of the west. You also have to be extremely careful where you walk or sit, as well as which end of the cow is better to pass. I will share that the horns are the better of your two options. The heat also frays the last shreds of your patience, which have probably already been tested by being shoved, stepped on, and hassled all day. The touts provide the hassle and they are by far the most unrelenting of any I have encountered. They will follow you for blocks,extoling the virtues of whatever they happen to be selling. "Hi friend. you want badmitton racket?" "Hi sir, where you from? You want toy machine gun, only 50 rupees. Okay 40 rupees. Okay, okay 30 rupees. (as the toy gun is shoved into your hands)." If you are really good, you get to graduate to hotel tout or rickshaw driver. Coming out of a train station requires all your faculties as 10-20 touts encircle you, grabbing your bags and arms while yelling at you the name of their hotel. After you get through that group then you have got the rickshaw drivers to navigate and haggle with. "200 rupees and I drive you to all the sights." After a 15 minute negotiation that requires you walking off and talking to another rickshaw driver, you finally get a ride to your hotel from the first rickshaw driver for around 20 rupees

03 View from top of Jama Masjid minuaret

. When walking anywhere, or simply stopping to look at something, rickshaw drivers will descend upon you in mass, usually blocking traffic, and proceed to follow you as you walk thinking you will certainly change your mind.

One other thing that tries your patience is the everyday interaction with people. Manners are not a big deal here, and the words "please", "excuse me", and "thank you" are as common as food without spice. If you try to let others pass first, you will be glued to that spot until someone eventually shoves you out of their way. The lack of personal space is amazing. Walking anywhere includes being shoved, grabbed, and having arms or bikes thrust in front of your path. The other encroachment upon your personal space is the patented non-blinking stare and the finger pointing giggles at your expense. The worst purveyors of these traits are the young men. Many of whom seem to be channeling John Travolta's character from Saturday Night Fever, complete with bell bottomed pants pulled up high over their waist, shirt collars spread wide, and their best Tony Manero strut with shoulders pinned back and arms cocked at the elbow widening the path in front of them. Tony lived to dance, while his Indian counterparts simply live to annoy, and they are very good at it.

After 2 days in Delhi, I boarded the night train to Varanasi to see the holy waters of the Ganges

04 View of Red Fort Delhi from Jama Masjid

. I met two guys from Florida, who shared my train compartment. Jared and Jake where on a two week vacation and had been in India a few more days than I had. It was nice to have someone to talk with for a change. This was my first train ride in India and it was full of surprises like everything else. The first surprise was the symphony of bodily noises that reverberated through the car. It was nice to have someone to laugh it off with. The morning came with the orchestra starting up again accompanied by the proters walking down the isles screaming "Chai Tea". On the second day in Varanasi I woke early for a boat ride down the Ganges at sunrise, accompanied by Jerod and Jake. This is one of the oldest and holiest cities in the world, centered around the supposed healing and heavily polluted waters of the Ganges. If you are Hindu, this is where you want to die, and cremations are a daily occurance. Every morning loads of the faithful submerse themselves in the holy waters amidst others who just came for a cool morning bath. The city and the river attracts spiritual people from all over the world, and many yogis and sadhus fill the steps between the buildings and the rivers edge. My experience was of a less divine nature as I got really sick and actually passed out walking up the steps from the Ganges. Luckily Jerod and Jake helped me out as well as a young boy who took us to his home and gave me some ice to cool off. I rested the rest of the day and felt good enough in the afternoon to go with Jerod and Jake to Sarnath

05 View of Jama Masjid from outside walls

. The hotel owner having heard about my morning, had us driven in his personal car with a/c. Sarnath is the place where Buddha gave his first sermon after recieving enlightenment. I spent the next couple of days in Varanasi relaxing and exploring a little bit on foot in the cooler hours around sunset.

From Varanasi, I travelled by night train to Agra, arriving in the early morning. Agra is the home of the Taj Mahal and also has a rather bad reputaion for super aggressive touts. The Taj Mahal is as impressive as you might expect. Often times when you see something this grand in person it doesn't always live up to the hype. This was not one of those times. Other than the beautiful symmetry and scale of the building is the amazing craftsmanship and detail of the stone work. The white marble is dissected with inlaid precious and semiprecious stones creating breathtaking patterns and flowers that glow in the light. The hassle of Agra was worth seeing this piece of art. I also went to the Red Fort in Agra, before going to the train station and waiting for 4 hours for my train to arrive. It finally got there, and I headed off to Jaipur next. I got to Jaipur in the middle of the night and took the first place I found. I spent the night sweltering in a concrete dungeon, and rose early to find a better place. The place I found was great, and had a terrific rooftop restaurant with advertised "hygenic" food

06 Sadhus meditating on the banks of the Ganges

. The room was great and the food was terrific. By far the best place I found in India.

After a few days in Jaipur I travelled west to the desert town of Jaisalmer, which was my favorite place in India. Jaisalmer is a small town dominated by a large fort overlooking the village. It was a fairly quiet place and the architecture reminded me of something from a Dr. Seuss cartoon. The people in Rhajastan seemed a little friendlier which added to my enjoyment of it. The food was a different story as I ate things I culd not identify and got pretty sick as a result. After a short stay I headed back to Delhi over the next few days which is where I am writing this. I leave for Egypt on the 18th and I am ready to move on.

India is a unique place and certainly has more to see than my time or patience allowed. One thing that I have continued to struggle to understand is the spirituality of this country. I have not encountered an abundance of friendly or commpassionate people. Everyone seems to ignore the poverty that surrounds them even though every city is littered with busy temples and places of worship. Even the holy cows of the hindu faith are left to look after themselves while grazing on garbage, albiet without the threat of a slauterhouse. In light of all that you see and encounter, you can't escape the spirituality that surrounds you here. The daily paper even has a spirituality section. My guess is that the only place to find any peace in the disharmony of daily life here is to look within ones self and during those moments find harmony. In the future when I feel overwhelmed by a chaotic day, I will try to put things in perspective by reflecting upon my visit to India.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

07 A woman on ghats of Ganges in Varanasi	08 Sunrise on the Ganges	09 Cleansing in the healing waters of the Ganges	10 Ghats on the Ganges
11 Smoke from early morning cremation	12 Our rowboat captain	13 More bathers	14 And more still
15 Sarnath where Buddha gave first sermon	16 Steps of ghats at dusk	17 Leaving the ghats at dusk	18 Varanasi at sunset
19 Cycle rickshaw driver in Varanasi	20 Gate to enter Taj Mahal in Agra	21 First view of Taj Mahal	22 Taj Mahal
23 Dork in front of Taj Mahal	24 From the grounds of the Taj Mahal	25 Red Fort Agra	26 View from Red Fort Agra
27 Mosque in Agra	28 From the back of auto rickshaw in Jaipur	29 Hawa Mahal-Palace of the Winds Jaipur	30 Inside Hawa Mahal
31 Gate to City Palace Jaipur	32 Jantar Mantar medieval observatory	33 Sundail...really big sundail	34 Gaitore in Jaipur
35 More of the former cremation grounds	36 Amber Fort Jaipur	37 Elephants bathing	38 Lemur monkeys at Amber
39 Palace entrance of Amber Fort	40 Detail of entrance	41 Elephant	42 Dinner time in Jaipur
43 Also on streets of Jaipur	44 From the train to Jaisalmer	45 Fort in Jaisalmer	46 Approaching Fort in Jaisalmer
47 Three wise cows blocking my path	48 Inside fort	49 View from parapet	50 Home inside fort
51 Performing in the fort	52 Eating Dinner	53 Jain Temples in Fort	54 India Gate Delhi

Slideshow Print this entry Share Mumbai (Bombay) hotels

Previous Entry Next Entry