2-10-20 DELHI, INDIA: We're back here after our circular excursion in northern India. We fly out tonight and have day rooms at the Radison Blu Airport Hotel. I'll start the story of the trip, day by day.
2-3-20 DELHI, INDIA: We were up early for breakfast, and left the hotel at 8:30 attempting to beat the rush hour traffic, which, we discovered, is huge. There’s lots of construction everywhere because they’re building a subway system—great idea. First we were in New Delhi with broad streets, sidewalks and walled enclosures for government buildings, all massive and in park-like settings. We were driven via many round-abouts to the downtown, old Delhi area. There is dense fog/smog with visibility of a hundred yards, it was improved by afternoon. Our guide, ‘Harry’, said it was only about 250 ppm today, but sometimes is 900 ppm.
We went by a large, red Jain temple, where we left the van, it’s too big for the old city. There were old apartment buildings with facades in disrepair and patched here and there in different ways leaving a hodge-podge exterior. In the old market streets traffic is a mix of bikes, motorcycles, tuk-tuks, hand carts, rickshaws and an occasional car. People are selling everything—food, textiles, flowers, glitzy stuff, shoes, spices. Stray dogs and monkeys roam around, the dogs on the ground, the monkeys on the roof tops and wires, cows have the right of way. On the ground there are garbage piles created by rush brooms that everybody seems to have. Every structure is in a state of decay or disrepair.
The doorman at Claridges giving a universal greeting, 'Namaste'.
The Jain temple.
Flower seller.
Shoe store.
Long lasting fast food.
Monkey on the wires.
The crowding is intense and chaotic, but people all seem used to it—there is no anger or hostility, the crowds flow around people making deals and then the other way around a delivery cart.
The wires are rats nests of electricity, maybe cable TV, maybe phone lines, internet lines all snarled together overhead, apparently everybody steals service from where-ever or whoever.
We stopped at a fast food place that the guide said was safe. It has been in business since 1795 at the same spot by the same family. We had samosas and a sort of funnel cake that we watched being made. We trekked through several blocks avoiding the vehicles. pushing through the crowds and getting pushed. The crowds are shoppers, sellers, delivery men, tourists. There are few women on the streets unaccompanied by another woman or a man.
Narrow streets, crowds, bikes.
The wiring makes me sort of nervous.
Delivery carts take up a lot of space.
We ended up at a huge mosque, Jama Masjid. We visited, shoeless in bedroom slippers that were too small, security was strict. Mosques in India face west toward Mecca.
The mosque was the largest ever at one time.
It's open to everyone with no shoes for a small fee.
Three amigas. The dresses are a requirement for women.
After we had our shoes back on, we rode in bicycle rickshaws to a different market selling spices and food. Back in the van we went for lunch at a restaurant in the newer city. A group of beggar children were besieging us after lunch. They might have been a family, the youngest two only wore shirts.
The traffic is the same chaotic swarm as the old market, lane marking on the road are purely decorative, everyone is passing and getting passed. Intersections are an adventure, drivers need to be aggressive but not hostile, if you see a gap, push into it, but do not get angry about being cut off. Horns are honking all the time, saying “I’m passing or I’m behind you”. Drivers are on the wrong side of the street and turn unexpectedly without signalling. BTW, the driving is on the left, British style. The city traffic is low speed with frequent jams, which probably prevents a lot of accidents.
Nuts and spices.
The pepper section of the spice market, it had us all coughing for some reason.
Working of waiting for work.
Did I mention that someone almost bought a rug on our visit to a rug factory and store?
The last stop of the day was at a tomb of Humayun in a big park. It was a model for the Taj Mahal. We heard a lot of history about cruel invaders and despots whose dynasties were overthrown by other cruel despots and invaders. Lots of them left structures to commemorate themselves.
One part of the tomb park.
Dogs are everywhere. Most of them look more or less like this one. At any given moment lost of them are sleeping. They are strays, but look well fed and all seem friendly.
I almost forgot the Black Kites, raptors, birds of prey, but mostly scavengers. They ride warm air currents over the city.
The main tomb of Humanayun.
There were a lot of new birds, for me, but I will do an India-Bird Post after the daily accounts.
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