This was posted on Jun 12, (sorry for the length) but it reflects my impressions and experiences from the past week.
Delhi is enormous; physically, demographically and culturally. When combined with the heat it has been more than a handful for me.
It is hard to overstate how big Delhi is. It has over 16 million people (That is two NYCs.) and almost 1500 sq km (which is 10% bigger than LA) It has 7 cities, not including British built New Delhi and 4 new satellite cities built by the Indians. As I have come to learn, it has been shaped and scarred by a succession of armies and civilizations that have conquered the northern Indian plains and vanquished Delhi, only to recede into ruin and oblivion in the face of a new conqueror. Indeed until independence in 1947, the Hindus (majority religion and population in northern India) had been ruled by others. First Alexander from the west, then the Mauryans in the 4th century BC ruled. In the 3rd century AD, the Guptas became India's second great empire. While south India remained under Hindu rule, beginning in the 12th century northern India was conquered by a succession of Muslim armies invading from the northwest through Afghanistan. The largest and most powerful Muslim empire was the Mughals who traced their lineage back to Genghis Khan. Their rule began in the 16th century and lasted 300 years. They were prolific builders and their architecture still dominates Delhi. That was followed by almost a century of official British rule. Maybe that history of foreign domination explains Indian intransigence and almost militant neutrality since independence.
The city I have been exploring, and sometimes staggering around, appears to me to be a chaotic tapestry of medieval forts, bewildering bazaars, too numerous to count markets, mosques, Sikh temples, Mughal tombs, British colonial buildings, modern era memorials, and a diplomatic colony, intertwined with an impossibly complex road network which I still do not have a good grasp of. It is hard to accurately describe the scene on the roads which are occupied by buses, cars (there are no ultra small cars here like the Smart cars or Fiat 500s seen in large numbers in Europe, and a large number of big SUVs), motorcycles, scooters, auto rickshaws, bicycle freight and passenger rickshaws, pushcarts and regular bicycles. They compete like mad for every inch of space on the road and continuously blow their horns. Lane markers, when they exist, are ignored, but they generally drive on the correct side (the left) of the road and respect traffic lights. In some respects the drivers and the trip are not as nerve racking as the drivers in Georgia.
It is noisy, dirty, congested and chaotic. Yet it is not noisier than Istanbul, it is less congested than Manhattan (I have not seen any high rise buildings in Delhi, the tallest structures I encountered are the 5 century old Humayum's Tomb and the 14th century Qubt Minar tower) and it is no dirtier than Mexico City. And for all the chaos on Delhi's streets, I observed very few accidents or even near misses.
Transport is critical in this large city. My son does not have a car. While I am sure I could safely drive a car in Delhi (I was once and always am a NYC cab driver) since the roads are not pot holed and traffic does not move at a high speed, I would quickly become hopelessly lost.
There are buses, but they are jammed and I have no idea where they go. It is very hard to walk in Delhi because it is so big and spread out, and when they exist the narrow sidewalks are frequently obstructed by small pushcart markets, cows or beggars.
The Metro system is modern, cheap, (some of our rides were as little as 18 cents) generally efficient AND air conditioned. I tried to use it as often as possible, particularly in the middle of the day, if only as a respite from the heat. There are lots of people hanging out in the Metro stairwells and tunnels, I suspect for the same reason. However we could not use it exclusively. First no line runs near my son's home so we always had to use some other form of transportation to start and end the day. Second, whenever I got out of the Metro it was very hard to find our destination and unless we were driven to the Metro station, I had trouble finding them. The roads are bewildering, our Lonely Plant map was not up to the task, there are virtually no street signs ( I wonder why this is an issue in many foreign cities. It can't possibly cost much to put up decent street signs. Do these countries want to confuse a potential invader?) and any misstep means more time in the heat.
The Metro sells cards that you can swipe for each ride, but I was unsure how much we would use the Metro so I did not buy one. That was a mistake. Instead we purchased tokens each time we rode. The signs demanded exact change but gave no indication of the fare which is based on distance travelled. The clerks made change anyway. At each entrance you had to go through airport style security. Separate entrances and pat downs for men and women. They have colored footprints on the ground to assist passengers in transferring from one line to another.
That leads to the ubiquitous auto rickshaws. They are open sided, covered three wheel vehicles, the size of a rickshaw, that are (under) powered by what seems to be a lawnmower type engine. They are everywhere and even drive on what passes for highways. They carry two people with adequate room, can accommodate three adults and I have seen as many as five people in them. They have meters, but the drivers (all male) want to negotiate the price of every ride. For me that leads to multiple, quick and fierce negotiations everyday and since I generally do not know how long or how far our desired ride is, I have had widely varying fares. If you emerge from a Metro station there are many auto rickshaws and one can bargain what I think is a good price. Coming out of a restaurant at night we have not found as many and I felt that I ended up paying a ransom for a ride. Oftentimes they will take a ride not knowing exactly where they are going, particularly to my son's house, and before I grew familiar with the streets that led to frequent stops for directions. (Some will also stop to pick-up food from the street side food stands.) Many are illiterate so showing them written addresses is often not helpful. In any event the rides are incredibly cheap by US standards and rarely exceed 4 dollars, so the negotiation is often over dimes. Some are silent drivers. Others are willing to talk (although many do not speak conversational English) and can provide interesting information, and others want to act as a tour guide and ferry you around all day, stopping of course at their relative's shopping store or restaurant.
The ride is not comfortable. It is bumpy and when riding you get a torrent of hot air rushing by you. However, that is better than when the vehicle is stopped in traffic or at a light when you have waves of heat assaulting you intermingled with auto fumes. As they squeeze into incredibly small spaces, inches from other vehicles, you dare not extend any limb or digit outside the vehicle. Even I cringed occasionally at their maneuverings, but so far there have not been any accidents.
There are also taxis, but they are not as numerous. You can call for a vehicle in advance, and sometimes they come.
Based on the cars, fashionable outfits and numerous upscale restaurants, in addition to the beggars and the working class who seem to work for very little, Delhi seems to have both a lot of wealth and poverty, as well as a burgeoning middle class. For an expat making US wages, the dollar goes a very long way and if you take advantage of Delhi, it appears that you can live like the 1%. Labor is incredibly cheap. My son has a servant and many embassy personnel also have drivers. Eating out is varied and cheap by US standards. Clothing also seems to be cheap as well as food bought at the local markets.
Finally the heat. I knew it would be hot and that this was a time to avoid Delhi. Yet due to the Georgian wedding, this was the time I was in the neighborhood and I had not seen my son for a year. I grew up in the August heat of NYC, have walked around in 100+ degree temperatures in LA and even spent considerable time in Houston in the summer negotiating a labor contract. I thought that I could handle it. I was wrong. It has staggered me at times and given me a new appreciation for air conditioning and access to clean drinking water. Most days it has been in the 90s by 9:00 am and for most of the afternoon it has been 108-110 degrees. Even in the darkness of early evening after 8:00pm, it remains over 100. The humidity has not been too bad. (Maybe I have been too hot to notice it.)
So I sweat. Gallons of sweat. I am beyond sticky and into runny. Even with my newly purchased baggy Indian pants and shirts, clothes get and stay wet. Underwear, take a lot of sets. I have a little towel that I pilfered from a hotel in Turkey whose accommodations were a dud that I carry around and use continually to mop my head.
The heat begets water issues. Outside of restaurants and religious institutions it is not easy to get even local water in public in Delhi, and in any event, I decided not to drink Indian water, for safety reasons. (I made one exception when we were desperate.) Similarly bottled water, let alone cold water, is not readily accessible. So each day when we set out we carried water. My backpack runneth over, but every day we ran out and every day we took more. Of course the more water I carried the more I sweat. On Thursday around dinner we each drank a liter of purchased water, in addition to my milkshake and her Diet Coke. You also need to consume in the water foul-tasting packets of salts to replace those that go off with the sweat. And just think, next week we are going to Rajasthan, the great western desert. Some details:
June 4
We arrived in Delhi in the morning after an overnight flight from Tbilisi through Baku and (over Iranian territory) Doha (great airport) and were fortunately and gratefully greeted by my son's girlfriend, who got us a car and got us to my son's apartment. He lives in a very nice neighborhood (lots of guards, many of whom are dozing in their guard shacks) and close to the embassy. We napped for a few hours and under the girlfriend's guidance went out to two local markets. All small shops and even smaller food stands selling a wide range of products, many of which, particularly the fruits, are not familiar to me. Banks do not change currency. Fortunately the embassy bank does.
June 5
The girlfriend is an extensive traveler in the developing world (my son tells me that "third world" is out). She graciously took us to the Khan Market. That is a very large market that sells a staggering range of goods, food and services, just about anything you want, mostly out of small stores, many of which are subterranean. If you like to shop and or negotiate, this is heaven. She gave us a quick tour and then went off to her business.
I was feeling very out of place in my shorts, no Indian wears them, so I was looking for a men's pants shop. After visiting several shops I found one that I liked. Baggy Indian, cotton drawstring pants with lots of pockets. Picked out two for $16 and was told to come back in 20 minutes after the tailoring was completed. That worked out, white and light brown.
I found another store and purchased two more pants after much negotiation for $8, that were even baggier, but no pockets. Red and blue for desert visibility. Bought some ice cream and managed to get home by auto rickshaw
June 6
Began the day with a fitting for a tailor-made suit. The tailor came to my son's apartment and pulled out a staggering number of choices for fabrics, colors and styles. He promised to hide my gut. This would be my first tailor-made suit, but my son swears by them and the price is very reasonable. Now I have to figure out where and when to wear it. Also got a couple of shirts.
Then went to the embassy with my son. It is a large, two-main-building complex. Built in 1959, it resembles the subsequently built Kennedy Center. It has a large fountain in the front and very impressive set of stairs leading up to the entrance. It used to be open to the public but now has lost some of its grandeur behind a wall and a gate. The interior has a large pool that is open to the sky, which is surrounded by offices. My son has a medium-sized cubicle. Later had dinner at Sidewok Restaurant in Connaught (named after the uncle of King George V) Place. That area seems to be from the British colonial era. Lots of while colonnaded streets radiating out from a central circle. Lots of seemingly expensive shops and restaurants. We had a very nice, multi course dinner and drinks for a fraction of what that would cost in the US.
June 7
Lazy Sunday. After breakfast we went to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum. This was her former family home. She is the daughter of India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and not related to Mahatma Gandhi. Lots of her personal effects and lots of interesting pictures from her life. She was groomed to rule as she was her father's only child. She was assassinated by her Sikh guards on the grounds in 1984 in retaliation for having the army storm the Sikh's Golden Temple. She was succeeded by her son Rajiv who was assassinated in 1991 by the Tamils. His widow, an Italian national, is still President of the Congress Party, which she led to a crushing defeat at the polls last year. I think India has seen too much of the Gandhis.
June 8
Qutb Minar Complex, Mehrauli Archaeological Park and Hauz Khas, Deer Park
Off on our own today. Got a late start so we decided to go to South Delhi, which seemed to me to be closer. Took the auto rickshaw to the Qutb Minar complex. We have seen a lot of ruins on this and prior trips, but this was one of the best. It was built by the Mughals and is studded with tombs and monuments. It is dominated by the soaring Qutb Minar tower which commemorates the Muslim victory over the Hindus in 1193. The builder only lived to see the first stage of the tower completed as he was unfortunately impaled on his saddle while playing polo. His successors finished the job, although a subsequently started tower that was to be bigger and taller did not make it past the first stage. The first mosque in India is here as well as a 7m high iron pillar that predates the complex. The pillar has not rusted and scientists do not know how this was accomplished given the technology at that time. Among all the tombs in the park is an empty space that was supposed to be for the last Mughal emperor. Alas the British banished him to Burma after the 1857 revolt where he died in exile.
Then we decided to walk to the Metro station to take us to Hauz Khas. It seemed to be close on the map, and maybe it was, but it was a mistake to walk. It was hot, limited sidewalks and lots of noise and fumes from the traffic. However, during the walk we saw a wild boar, several cows and a very large monument. We eventually got to the station after a dash across the road. There are very limited provisions for pedestrians to cross streets.
Hauz Khas is another large market, but more upscale than Khan. It has lots of ruins, which include a 14th century madrasa and a mosque. Adjacent to the market is the large Deer Park which surrounds a former reservoir, now just a lake. Lots on monkeys, but no deer. Had a late lunch in Barsroom. The cold beer tasted incredibly refreshing.
June 9
Red Fort and Old Delhi and Jama Masjid, shopping for spices and shirts and scarves.
Got out early for the long trip across town to go to the Red Fort. Took an auto rickshaw to the Metro and then a lengthy ride on the Metro, about 50 cents. Then we got off course. Took a ride with a bicycle rickshaw intending to go directly to the fort, but got talked into a tour with him of Old Delhi first. It was a good tour. Went up and down Chandni Chowk, the main street in old town as well as many alleys through a variety of specialized markets, including auto parts. The streets were incredibly narrow and covered with a tangle of electrical wires. Visited the Gandhi memorial and the Feroz Shah Kotta which included a mosque and Hawa Mahal. That began a frequent requirement to remove ones shoes. Also did some shopping for spices and shirts and scarves.
The problem was we had a major disagreement about the price (lesson, never get into a rickshaw without setting the price and knowing exactly where you are going) and we ended up at the Red Fort in the middle of the day.
The Red Fort is very impressive. Built by the Mughals at the height of their power it was really a city housing 3000 royals and their households. Had an area for public receptions and private receptions. It housed the gem-studded Peacock Throne, until the Persians looted it in the 18th century. The Mughals diverted a local river to flow through the palaces to cool them and provide a baths area. The grounds also housed a Museum of Indian Independence. I did not realize it, but starting in the early 18th century, various parts of India were in almost constant revolt against the British.
After that we went to eat at Karim's, a venerable meat-eating establishment whose owners' ancestors cooked for the Mughal emperors. No A/C and we were pretty exhausted. All I really wanted was liquids. We drank a liter of purchased water but also drank the pitcher of water on the table. I wonder if that became my downfall later in the week. I had some mutton that had more bone than meat. Karen's chicken was good.
We peered into, but did not enter, the very large Jama Masjid mosque, first because there was prayer going on and then because they wanted 600 rupees to check our shoes. A rip-off of the foreigners, but I would have paid anyway, but I was short of money due to the bicycle rickshaw payment that morning. We took some pictures with locals at their request and walked off into Old Town. A real maze. It was too hot and hard to get out of (visions of Serbia danced in my head) so we took another another bicycle rickshaw to the Metro, and after that an auto rickshaw back to the apartment for more suit-fitting and a nice dinner prepared by the girlfriend.
June 10
National Museum, India Gate, rug-shopping and final suit-fitting
Went to the National Museum in the morning by auto rickshaw. It is older but very informative. A lot of old artifacts, statues and miniature paintings from the Mughal era. Walked very slowly due to the heat to India Gate and then got an auto rickshaw for a tour of the government area. All built by the British after they moved the capital from Calcutta to Delhi early in the 20th century.
Got back to the apartment in the mid afternoon for the final suit-fitting. Walked to the local market to get items to make ice cream, which I did before we went out to dinner at the Lodi Garden Restaurant. This is set in the garden with lanterns dangling from the trees. You almost feel as if you are eating in a tree house. Offered European and Middle Eastern food that was good and by US standards reasonably priced. The homemade ice cream, vanilla bean custard was good, but not adequately frozen.
June 11
Guadwara Bangia Sahib, Humayun's Tomb, Isa Khan Tomb, Iskcon, Hazrat Nizam ud din Dargah
This was the worst water day. We took an auto rickshaw to the Sikh temple, Bangia Sahib. This is a large, white marble domed Sikh complex. We checked and removed our shoes, and went through a foot washing. I had to wear a head covering that was flashy, but hot.
We observed a service that had lots of music and chantings. The women were not segregated. There was a large outdoor pool for more bathing and foot washing. I did the latter.
The Sikhs really seem to be a welcoming, caring and effective group. The bathrooms were clean, airy and free. There were multiple water drinking stations (we did not use) throughout the complex. We went to the cafeteria where they serve free meals. Scores were already lined up for lunch. We were given a private tour of the kitchen and dining facilities. They had women working on a mass production bread-making line and huge vats of food simmering over large flames. It required a forklift truck to move them and half a dozen men to remove the vats from the forklift. We also toured their museum, which was part history and part proselytizing. I was struck by the many similarities between the Sikh stories, traditions and beliefs, and those for Christianity. I would have liked to have heard more about the Sikh warrior tradition. Overall it was a very nice experience and quite a contrast to our experiences at mosques.
Tried to walk to the Metro, but got lost and ultimately took a short auto rickshaw ride to the station. For about 40 cents we took the yellow line to the violet line and exited looking for Humayun's Tomb complex. Getting really hot and we were guzzling out water so we took a bicycle rickshaw (I hate taking them because I feel guilty having the driver cycle us around in the heat so I overpay.) We had planned to eat on the way to the Tomb, in part to get out of the mid day heat, but with all the rides we did not encounter a restaurant. So we had some ice cream.
The Tomb is beyond enormous. It was built in the mid 16th century by the grieving widow of a Mughal emperor. (Father of Akbar who ruled for 49 years) She was Persian so the geometrically proportional design incorporates Mughal and Persian elements. There are many six sided stars in the Tomb. Could not get an explanation for that. It now contains the tombs of over 100 Mughals and is surrounded by well maintained gardens.
Karen engaged with two woman and several kids. Did the picture routine. They have relatives in New Jersey, one of whom worked for JP Morgan in IT, but was laid off first because she was Indian in the Great Recession.
Also toured the Isa Khan Tomb that was built 20 years before Humayun's. He was a prime minister and his tomb, while large, was dwarfed by the other. A security guard gave us a tour of that tomb and its mosque.
We had depleted our water supply so we purchased and immediately consumed a liter of bottled water hoping it was safe. We emerged from the complex intending to seek out a local restaurant. Instead we took a cab to a restaurant in South Delhi. I did not want to go that far, but the taxi was air conditioned and the ride was very cheap. The driver stopped along the way to pick up some melons which he said were very cheap. Seemingly lots of bargaining by hand signals. The restaurant, Taste of India, was pretty good, a family place. We guzzled down another liter of water and I had a milk shake, perhaps the source of my subsequent troubles. We ordered too much food.
The taxi then took us back, but on the way we stopped at the Hari Krishna Iskcon Temple. More shoe removal and foot washing. A very devoted group of worshippers with lots of music and chanting.
The cab then drove us to the Hazrat Nizam complex. (All this driving and waiting for about $2) It is a daragh, which is a shrine to a Muslim saint. To enter we had to proceed through a series of food stand lined narrow alleys, collectively called the Lodi Colony Kebab Stands. The food smelled very good, but we were full and I am dubious about eating street food.
When we got to the entrance we removed our shoes and were given (for 100 rupees) a plate of flowers, some white objects and incense, as well as head coverings. We then had to walk through crowded narrow tunnels and alleyways that were lined with shops and beggars. Passed a body of water that people were bathing in as part of a ritual ceremony. I could not tell if it was a pool or part of a waterway. When we reached the mausoleum/mosque area it was jammed with devotees. Body on body and sweating in great abundance. There was praying, music and chanting. We again washed our feet and body; the heat was intense from all the people. We got pushed and pulled along with the crowd to the tomb of Nizam, a Muslim saint who died in 1325 at the age of 92. I tossed my flowers on the tomb and was aggressively solicited for donations. I gave them my coins, not all of which were Indian, to their consternation. It took a while to retrace our steps and get out of there. There were more tombs in the complex, but we were exhausted so we took an auto rickshaw (bad experience with the driver who demanded more money mid trip) back to the apartment and dinner.
June 12
Diarrhea Day. My only activity was to go to lunch at the embassy. Had an accident there, but if one is to experience that in Delhi, the embassy is the best place to do it with showers to clean up. Time for a trip to the Toilet Museum here in Delhi.
Delhi is enormous; physically, demographically and culturally. When combined with the heat it has been more than a handful for me.
It is hard to overstate how big Delhi is. It has over 16 million people (That is two NYCs.) and almost 1500 sq km (which is 10% bigger than LA) It has 7 cities, not including British built New Delhi and 4 new satellite cities built by the Indians. As I have come to learn, it has been shaped and scarred by a succession of armies and civilizations that have conquered the northern Indian plains and vanquished Delhi, only to recede into ruin and oblivion in the face of a new conqueror. Indeed until independence in 1947, the Hindus (majority religion and population in northern India) had been ruled by others. First Alexander from the west, then the Mauryans in the 4th century BC ruled. In the 3rd century AD, the Guptas became India's second great empire. While south India remained under Hindu rule, beginning in the 12th century northern India was conquered by a succession of Muslim armies invading from the northwest through Afghanistan. The largest and most powerful Muslim empire was the Mughals who traced their lineage back to Genghis Khan. Their rule began in the 16th century and lasted 300 years. They were prolific builders and their architecture still dominates Delhi. That was followed by almost a century of official British rule. Maybe that history of foreign domination explains Indian intransigence and almost militant neutrality since independence.
The city I have been exploring, and sometimes staggering around, appears to me to be a chaotic tapestry of medieval forts, bewildering bazaars, too numerous to count markets, mosques, Sikh temples, Mughal tombs, British colonial buildings, modern era memorials, and a diplomatic colony, intertwined with an impossibly complex road network which I still do not have a good grasp of. It is hard to accurately describe the scene on the roads which are occupied by buses, cars (there are no ultra small cars here like the Smart cars or Fiat 500s seen in large numbers in Europe, and a large number of big SUVs), motorcycles, scooters, auto rickshaws, bicycle freight and passenger rickshaws, pushcarts and regular bicycles. They compete like mad for every inch of space on the road and continuously blow their horns. Lane markers, when they exist, are ignored, but they generally drive on the correct side (the left) of the road and respect traffic lights. In some respects the drivers and the trip are not as nerve racking as the drivers in Georgia.
It is noisy, dirty, congested and chaotic. Yet it is not noisier than Istanbul, it is less congested than Manhattan (I have not seen any high rise buildings in Delhi, the tallest structures I encountered are the 5 century old Humayum's Tomb and the 14th century Qubt Minar tower) and it is no dirtier than Mexico City. And for all the chaos on Delhi's streets, I observed very few accidents or even near misses.
Transport is critical in this large city. My son does not have a car. While I am sure I could safely drive a car in Delhi (I was once and always am a NYC cab driver) since the roads are not pot holed and traffic does not move at a high speed, I would quickly become hopelessly lost.
There are buses, but they are jammed and I have no idea where they go. It is very hard to walk in Delhi because it is so big and spread out, and when they exist the narrow sidewalks are frequently obstructed by small pushcart markets, cows or beggars.
The Metro system is modern, cheap, (some of our rides were as little as 18 cents) generally efficient AND air conditioned. I tried to use it as often as possible, particularly in the middle of the day, if only as a respite from the heat. There are lots of people hanging out in the Metro stairwells and tunnels, I suspect for the same reason. However we could not use it exclusively. First no line runs near my son's home so we always had to use some other form of transportation to start and end the day. Second, whenever I got out of the Metro it was very hard to find our destination and unless we were driven to the Metro station, I had trouble finding them. The roads are bewildering, our Lonely Plant map was not up to the task, there are virtually no street signs ( I wonder why this is an issue in many foreign cities. It can't possibly cost much to put up decent street signs. Do these countries want to confuse a potential invader?) and any misstep means more time in the heat.
The Metro sells cards that you can swipe for each ride, but I was unsure how much we would use the Metro so I did not buy one. That was a mistake. Instead we purchased tokens each time we rode. The signs demanded exact change but gave no indication of the fare which is based on distance travelled. The clerks made change anyway. At each entrance you had to go through airport style security. Separate entrances and pat downs for men and women. They have colored footprints on the ground to assist passengers in transferring from one line to another.
That leads to the ubiquitous auto rickshaws. They are open sided, covered three wheel vehicles, the size of a rickshaw, that are (under) powered by what seems to be a lawnmower type engine. They are everywhere and even drive on what passes for highways. They carry two people with adequate room, can accommodate three adults and I have seen as many as five people in them. They have meters, but the drivers (all male) want to negotiate the price of every ride. For me that leads to multiple, quick and fierce negotiations everyday and since I generally do not know how long or how far our desired ride is, I have had widely varying fares. If you emerge from a Metro station there are many auto rickshaws and one can bargain what I think is a good price. Coming out of a restaurant at night we have not found as many and I felt that I ended up paying a ransom for a ride. Oftentimes they will take a ride not knowing exactly where they are going, particularly to my son's house, and before I grew familiar with the streets that led to frequent stops for directions. (Some will also stop to pick-up food from the street side food stands.) Many are illiterate so showing them written addresses is often not helpful. In any event the rides are incredibly cheap by US standards and rarely exceed 4 dollars, so the negotiation is often over dimes. Some are silent drivers. Others are willing to talk (although many do not speak conversational English) and can provide interesting information, and others want to act as a tour guide and ferry you around all day, stopping of course at their relative's shopping store or restaurant.
The ride is not comfortable. It is bumpy and when riding you get a torrent of hot air rushing by you. However, that is better than when the vehicle is stopped in traffic or at a light when you have waves of heat assaulting you intermingled with auto fumes. As they squeeze into incredibly small spaces, inches from other vehicles, you dare not extend any limb or digit outside the vehicle. Even I cringed occasionally at their maneuverings, but so far there have not been any accidents.
There are also taxis, but they are not as numerous. You can call for a vehicle in advance, and sometimes they come.
Based on the cars, fashionable outfits and numerous upscale restaurants, in addition to the beggars and the working class who seem to work for very little, Delhi seems to have both a lot of wealth and poverty, as well as a burgeoning middle class. For an expat making US wages, the dollar goes a very long way and if you take advantage of Delhi, it appears that you can live like the 1%. Labor is incredibly cheap. My son has a servant and many embassy personnel also have drivers. Eating out is varied and cheap by US standards. Clothing also seems to be cheap as well as food bought at the local markets.
Finally the heat. I knew it would be hot and that this was a time to avoid Delhi. Yet due to the Georgian wedding, this was the time I was in the neighborhood and I had not seen my son for a year. I grew up in the August heat of NYC, have walked around in 100+ degree temperatures in LA and even spent considerable time in Houston in the summer negotiating a labor contract. I thought that I could handle it. I was wrong. It has staggered me at times and given me a new appreciation for air conditioning and access to clean drinking water. Most days it has been in the 90s by 9:00 am and for most of the afternoon it has been 108-110 degrees. Even in the darkness of early evening after 8:00pm, it remains over 100. The humidity has not been too bad. (Maybe I have been too hot to notice it.)
So I sweat. Gallons of sweat. I am beyond sticky and into runny. Even with my newly purchased baggy Indian pants and shirts, clothes get and stay wet. Underwear, take a lot of sets. I have a little towel that I pilfered from a hotel in Turkey whose accommodations were a dud that I carry around and use continually to mop my head.
The heat begets water issues. Outside of restaurants and religious institutions it is not easy to get even local water in public in Delhi, and in any event, I decided not to drink Indian water, for safety reasons. (I made one exception when we were desperate.) Similarly bottled water, let alone cold water, is not readily accessible. So each day when we set out we carried water. My backpack runneth over, but every day we ran out and every day we took more. Of course the more water I carried the more I sweat. On Thursday around dinner we each drank a liter of purchased water, in addition to my milkshake and her Diet Coke. You also need to consume in the water foul-tasting packets of salts to replace those that go off with the sweat. And just think, next week we are going to Rajasthan, the great western desert. Some details:
June 4
We arrived in Delhi in the morning after an overnight flight from Tbilisi through Baku and (over Iranian territory) Doha (great airport) and were fortunately and gratefully greeted by my son's girlfriend, who got us a car and got us to my son's apartment. He lives in a very nice neighborhood (lots of guards, many of whom are dozing in their guard shacks) and close to the embassy. We napped for a few hours and under the girlfriend's guidance went out to two local markets. All small shops and even smaller food stands selling a wide range of products, many of which, particularly the fruits, are not familiar to me. Banks do not change currency. Fortunately the embassy bank does.
June 5
The girlfriend is an extensive traveler in the developing world (my son tells me that "third world" is out). She graciously took us to the Khan Market. That is a very large market that sells a staggering range of goods, food and services, just about anything you want, mostly out of small stores, many of which are subterranean. If you like to shop and or negotiate, this is heaven. She gave us a quick tour and then went off to her business.
I was feeling very out of place in my shorts, no Indian wears them, so I was looking for a men's pants shop. After visiting several shops I found one that I liked. Baggy Indian, cotton drawstring pants with lots of pockets. Picked out two for $16 and was told to come back in 20 minutes after the tailoring was completed. That worked out, white and light brown.
I found another store and purchased two more pants after much negotiation for $8, that were even baggier, but no pockets. Red and blue for desert visibility. Bought some ice cream and managed to get home by auto rickshaw
June 6
Began the day with a fitting for a tailor-made suit. The tailor came to my son's apartment and pulled out a staggering number of choices for fabrics, colors and styles. He promised to hide my gut. This would be my first tailor-made suit, but my son swears by them and the price is very reasonable. Now I have to figure out where and when to wear it. Also got a couple of shirts.
Then went to the embassy with my son. It is a large, two-main-building complex. Built in 1959, it resembles the subsequently built Kennedy Center. It has a large fountain in the front and very impressive set of stairs leading up to the entrance. It used to be open to the public but now has lost some of its grandeur behind a wall and a gate. The interior has a large pool that is open to the sky, which is surrounded by offices. My son has a medium-sized cubicle. Later had dinner at Sidewok Restaurant in Connaught (named after the uncle of King George V) Place. That area seems to be from the British colonial era. Lots of while colonnaded streets radiating out from a central circle. Lots of seemingly expensive shops and restaurants. We had a very nice, multi course dinner and drinks for a fraction of what that would cost in the US.
June 7
Lazy Sunday. After breakfast we went to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum. This was her former family home. She is the daughter of India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and not related to Mahatma Gandhi. Lots of her personal effects and lots of interesting pictures from her life. She was groomed to rule as she was her father's only child. She was assassinated by her Sikh guards on the grounds in 1984 in retaliation for having the army storm the Sikh's Golden Temple. She was succeeded by her son Rajiv who was assassinated in 1991 by the Tamils. His widow, an Italian national, is still President of the Congress Party, which she led to a crushing defeat at the polls last year. I think India has seen too much of the Gandhis.
June 8
Qutb Minar Complex, Mehrauli Archaeological Park and Hauz Khas, Deer Park
Off on our own today. Got a late start so we decided to go to South Delhi, which seemed to me to be closer. Took the auto rickshaw to the Qutb Minar complex. We have seen a lot of ruins on this and prior trips, but this was one of the best. It was built by the Mughals and is studded with tombs and monuments. It is dominated by the soaring Qutb Minar tower which commemorates the Muslim victory over the Hindus in 1193. The builder only lived to see the first stage of the tower completed as he was unfortunately impaled on his saddle while playing polo. His successors finished the job, although a subsequently started tower that was to be bigger and taller did not make it past the first stage. The first mosque in India is here as well as a 7m high iron pillar that predates the complex. The pillar has not rusted and scientists do not know how this was accomplished given the technology at that time. Among all the tombs in the park is an empty space that was supposed to be for the last Mughal emperor. Alas the British banished him to Burma after the 1857 revolt where he died in exile.
Then we decided to walk to the Metro station to take us to Hauz Khas. It seemed to be close on the map, and maybe it was, but it was a mistake to walk. It was hot, limited sidewalks and lots of noise and fumes from the traffic. However, during the walk we saw a wild boar, several cows and a very large monument. We eventually got to the station after a dash across the road. There are very limited provisions for pedestrians to cross streets.
Hauz Khas is another large market, but more upscale than Khan. It has lots of ruins, which include a 14th century madrasa and a mosque. Adjacent to the market is the large Deer Park which surrounds a former reservoir, now just a lake. Lots on monkeys, but no deer. Had a late lunch in Barsroom. The cold beer tasted incredibly refreshing.
June 9
Red Fort and Old Delhi and Jama Masjid, shopping for spices and shirts and scarves.
Got out early for the long trip across town to go to the Red Fort. Took an auto rickshaw to the Metro and then a lengthy ride on the Metro, about 50 cents. Then we got off course. Took a ride with a bicycle rickshaw intending to go directly to the fort, but got talked into a tour with him of Old Delhi first. It was a good tour. Went up and down Chandni Chowk, the main street in old town as well as many alleys through a variety of specialized markets, including auto parts. The streets were incredibly narrow and covered with a tangle of electrical wires. Visited the Gandhi memorial and the Feroz Shah Kotta which included a mosque and Hawa Mahal. That began a frequent requirement to remove ones shoes. Also did some shopping for spices and shirts and scarves.
The problem was we had a major disagreement about the price (lesson, never get into a rickshaw without setting the price and knowing exactly where you are going) and we ended up at the Red Fort in the middle of the day.
The Red Fort is very impressive. Built by the Mughals at the height of their power it was really a city housing 3000 royals and their households. Had an area for public receptions and private receptions. It housed the gem-studded Peacock Throne, until the Persians looted it in the 18th century. The Mughals diverted a local river to flow through the palaces to cool them and provide a baths area. The grounds also housed a Museum of Indian Independence. I did not realize it, but starting in the early 18th century, various parts of India were in almost constant revolt against the British.
After that we went to eat at Karim's, a venerable meat-eating establishment whose owners' ancestors cooked for the Mughal emperors. No A/C and we were pretty exhausted. All I really wanted was liquids. We drank a liter of purchased water but also drank the pitcher of water on the table. I wonder if that became my downfall later in the week. I had some mutton that had more bone than meat. Karen's chicken was good.
We peered into, but did not enter, the very large Jama Masjid mosque, first because there was prayer going on and then because they wanted 600 rupees to check our shoes. A rip-off of the foreigners, but I would have paid anyway, but I was short of money due to the bicycle rickshaw payment that morning. We took some pictures with locals at their request and walked off into Old Town. A real maze. It was too hot and hard to get out of (visions of Serbia danced in my head) so we took another another bicycle rickshaw to the Metro, and after that an auto rickshaw back to the apartment for more suit-fitting and a nice dinner prepared by the girlfriend.
June 10
National Museum, India Gate, rug-shopping and final suit-fitting
Went to the National Museum in the morning by auto rickshaw. It is older but very informative. A lot of old artifacts, statues and miniature paintings from the Mughal era. Walked very slowly due to the heat to India Gate and then got an auto rickshaw for a tour of the government area. All built by the British after they moved the capital from Calcutta to Delhi early in the 20th century.
Got back to the apartment in the mid afternoon for the final suit-fitting. Walked to the local market to get items to make ice cream, which I did before we went out to dinner at the Lodi Garden Restaurant. This is set in the garden with lanterns dangling from the trees. You almost feel as if you are eating in a tree house. Offered European and Middle Eastern food that was good and by US standards reasonably priced. The homemade ice cream, vanilla bean custard was good, but not adequately frozen.
June 11
Guadwara Bangia Sahib, Humayun's Tomb, Isa Khan Tomb, Iskcon, Hazrat Nizam ud din Dargah
This was the worst water day. We took an auto rickshaw to the Sikh temple, Bangia Sahib. This is a large, white marble domed Sikh complex. We checked and removed our shoes, and went through a foot washing. I had to wear a head covering that was flashy, but hot.
We observed a service that had lots of music and chantings. The women were not segregated. There was a large outdoor pool for more bathing and foot washing. I did the latter.
The Sikhs really seem to be a welcoming, caring and effective group. The bathrooms were clean, airy and free. There were multiple water drinking stations (we did not use) throughout the complex. We went to the cafeteria where they serve free meals. Scores were already lined up for lunch. We were given a private tour of the kitchen and dining facilities. They had women working on a mass production bread-making line and huge vats of food simmering over large flames. It required a forklift truck to move them and half a dozen men to remove the vats from the forklift. We also toured their museum, which was part history and part proselytizing. I was struck by the many similarities between the Sikh stories, traditions and beliefs, and those for Christianity. I would have liked to have heard more about the Sikh warrior tradition. Overall it was a very nice experience and quite a contrast to our experiences at mosques.
Tried to walk to the Metro, but got lost and ultimately took a short auto rickshaw ride to the station. For about 40 cents we took the yellow line to the violet line and exited looking for Humayun's Tomb complex. Getting really hot and we were guzzling out water so we took a bicycle rickshaw (I hate taking them because I feel guilty having the driver cycle us around in the heat so I overpay.) We had planned to eat on the way to the Tomb, in part to get out of the mid day heat, but with all the rides we did not encounter a restaurant. So we had some ice cream.
The Tomb is beyond enormous. It was built in the mid 16th century by the grieving widow of a Mughal emperor. (Father of Akbar who ruled for 49 years) She was Persian so the geometrically proportional design incorporates Mughal and Persian elements. There are many six sided stars in the Tomb. Could not get an explanation for that. It now contains the tombs of over 100 Mughals and is surrounded by well maintained gardens.
Karen engaged with two woman and several kids. Did the picture routine. They have relatives in New Jersey, one of whom worked for JP Morgan in IT, but was laid off first because she was Indian in the Great Recession.
Also toured the Isa Khan Tomb that was built 20 years before Humayun's. He was a prime minister and his tomb, while large, was dwarfed by the other. A security guard gave us a tour of that tomb and its mosque.
We had depleted our water supply so we purchased and immediately consumed a liter of bottled water hoping it was safe. We emerged from the complex intending to seek out a local restaurant. Instead we took a cab to a restaurant in South Delhi. I did not want to go that far, but the taxi was air conditioned and the ride was very cheap. The driver stopped along the way to pick up some melons which he said were very cheap. Seemingly lots of bargaining by hand signals. The restaurant, Taste of India, was pretty good, a family place. We guzzled down another liter of water and I had a milk shake, perhaps the source of my subsequent troubles. We ordered too much food.
The taxi then took us back, but on the way we stopped at the Hari Krishna Iskcon Temple. More shoe removal and foot washing. A very devoted group of worshippers with lots of music and chanting.
The cab then drove us to the Hazrat Nizam complex. (All this driving and waiting for about $2) It is a daragh, which is a shrine to a Muslim saint. To enter we had to proceed through a series of food stand lined narrow alleys, collectively called the Lodi Colony Kebab Stands. The food smelled very good, but we were full and I am dubious about eating street food.
When we got to the entrance we removed our shoes and were given (for 100 rupees) a plate of flowers, some white objects and incense, as well as head coverings. We then had to walk through crowded narrow tunnels and alleyways that were lined with shops and beggars. Passed a body of water that people were bathing in as part of a ritual ceremony. I could not tell if it was a pool or part of a waterway. When we reached the mausoleum/mosque area it was jammed with devotees. Body on body and sweating in great abundance. There was praying, music and chanting. We again washed our feet and body; the heat was intense from all the people. We got pushed and pulled along with the crowd to the tomb of Nizam, a Muslim saint who died in 1325 at the age of 92. I tossed my flowers on the tomb and was aggressively solicited for donations. I gave them my coins, not all of which were Indian, to their consternation. It took a while to retrace our steps and get out of there. There were more tombs in the complex, but we were exhausted so we took an auto rickshaw (bad experience with the driver who demanded more money mid trip) back to the apartment and dinner.
June 12
Diarrhea Day. My only activity was to go to lunch at the embassy. Had an accident there, but if one is to experience that in Delhi, the embassy is the best place to do it with showers to clean up. Time for a trip to the Toilet Museum here in Delhi.
TMI
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