Day 31 Delhi India
There was no safe in the room and there were signs posted saying do not leave valuables so we took 2 backpacks – one with our tickets, computer etc and one for carrying on our back.
We ate a continental breakfast – nothing spectacular and met our driver promptly at 9am.
We stopped at an ATM and I took out about 13000 rupees – a little over 300 American. What a wad of bills.
We drove to our first destination where we were told we would meet our guide. We spent most of the journey interrogating our drive Mr. Singh (a Sikh).
On the way to the hotel the previous night the greeter had asked an interesting question – what was so great about America. I had provided an answer but it made me think. I said our constitution was one thing, a secular society with freedom of religion and equality for all but neglected
After briefly studying the history of India I was amazed at how bloody it's history was and mostly due to religions conflicts. It seemed that under each rule there ws progress made bt then a war would move the entire country back. It feels like India is very regionally focused and the cities are not indicative of the tribal customs and caste systems and attitudes towards women that still drive village and rural life. In the guide book I had read that dowries were common and abuse and even burning of a wife by her husband or his family. How barbaric.
Our guide was late and it was nearly 11am before we hit the Quatar Minar. It was very cool. An awesome tower, the begging's of another – some very old ruins, a metal pole that has not rusted in over 2000 years. There were inscriptions in a language that had never been deciphered – overall a great introduction to India.
Marble was the primary building material – even the pews were marble and wood. Shoes were to be removed but photographs were acceptable. We were given an introductory presentation – they said it would take five minutes and it did. It was almost chilly inside. There was no entrance fee and everyone was welcome to come meditate or worship in their own way. There were no religious symbols of any kind.
The RajGhat a memorial to Mahattma Ghandi. There is an eternal flame and some quotations in various languages. He is known as the father of India. It was very moving seeing the amount of respect and love. This man may have had his faults but he did great things for this country. It is humbling to see what one man can accomplish and how easily a life can be taken by the actions of others.
Next we headed to Old Delhi. The architecture and population were Muslim. The biggest mosque in India – Java Mosque. An entrance fee and for use of cameras – we removed our shoes – don't forget to tip the attendant standing by your shoes. In the Mosque a Father sent his daughter to say hello to Allysha and shake her hands in friendship. It was touching.
The bazaar – insane – packed with people, rickshaws – wall to wall shops. It took nearly 30 minutes by car to go ~1km by car.
Everywhere we went we were the object of much attention.
We drove by the Red fort – I think we were supposed to stop but the guide said it closed at 4:30 and it was already 4. We were taken to a store where they said there was a 5 minute demonstrations of rug weaving. It turned into a sales pitch and the carpets were so beautiful we got caught up. At the end of it there were 2 carpets we wanted but they were very expensive. I also did not know anything about rugs and wanted to do some research. Of course there was a one day sale – I hate this tye of tactic – if you cannot get it for the same price a day later then I believe there is something wrong. I said I do not make snap purchases and would need to do some research – he reached a compromise stating that he would give me the right to cancel the deal through the 9th. I asked our guide in private what he thought and he said get it in writing. I did. I also insisted on using my AMEX card – just in case. We set up delivery for March 30th – not sure why.
It was nearly 7pm again ate in the room.
We need internet so I could do the research and some work. Got the man to configure my machine – it need to have a static IP – it ended up costing 200 rupees – oh well I needed it.
It was surprisingly hard to find any guidance on the rug purchasing process – but I did learn a few things that made me wonder if we had got a good deal or taken.
Pam is not feeling well and as soon as we get back to the room she begins vomiting.
I got some work done and went to bed.
