India: Delhi pt 2

February 11, 2016

Our last day in Delhi! Paula's friend Rishi, who lives in India was joining us for the day. After breakfast at the hotel, though, Potter decided that the allergies he had been dealing with for much of the trip were wearing him down too much, so he decided to stay at the hotel for the day and lay low. The four of us (Paula, Mike, Rishi, and me) took an Uber (they have Uber in India!) to the nearest metro station so that we could check out the local subway system. (Paula and Mike are urban planners, and Mike specifically focuses on public transportation, so it was a must-see for us.) Good thing we had planned on taking public transit! The traffic was so bad that it took our driver half an hour to drive the 3 km to the station. Ridiculous. I will not miss Delhi's traffic. In the station, we decided to buy one-day tourist passes. Even though we wouldn't be taking enough to justify the cost, a) it was only $2, and b) now we have souvenirs! Mike and I geeked out over reading the map and figuring out which platform to take. The station we started out was above ground and open air, but after a few stops we were underground. The system was easy to read, with signage and announcements in Hindi and English.

We took the violet line into the city center, and walked along a nice tree-shaded boulevard towards India Gate. Much of the modern city planning was implemented by the British, and involves public circles with grand boulevards radiating out (think DC, but way more enthusiastic with the circles). We got to the India Gate circle, and walked around for a while admiring the monument. It's a triumphal arch (think Arc de Triomphe or Washington Square) on a huge scale. It's a war monument to soldiers lost in WWI erected in 1931, and a tomb of the unknown soldier was added in the 70's. We took touristy pictures with the policemen standing guard, then started walking towards our next metro station. However, the grand boulevard we had planned to walk down was much longer in real life than we had realized from the map, so we decided to grab a quick rickshaw ride to take us down the long, shadeless street. What was supposed to be a 30 rupee trip got haggled up to a 100 rupee trip, which included a drive around the government buildings, parliament, and president's house. After taking some pictures (and check rickshaw riding off our list!) we got back on the subway. This ride was much more crowded. Rishi kept asking if we were alright, but I told him that I was used to this from NYC!

We got out of the subway at Chandni Chowk which is a large marketplace in Old Delhi. We had been warned that it was crowded and crazy, but wanted to brave it for a real Delhi experience. Besides, Paula and I were feeling pretty brave with our haggling after our shopping in Jaipur. We started walking around and were approached by two guys driving pedi-cab style rickshaws, asking if we wanted to tour the  market that way. We decided to take them up on the offer, figuring it would be a good way to see a lot of the market. They turned out to be great tour guides, so I'm glad we found them! After driving through some crazy crowded streets and looking at the jumble of buildings and shops, they parked the cabs and told us to get out and follow them into the spice market. We wound our way through a maze of little streets, and entered into a courtyard full of vendors selling all sorts of spices, teas, nuts, and dried fruits in bulk. The spice was so potent in the air that we all started coughing and sneezing! Our guide/driver led us up a sketchy set of dark and dirty stairs, and we followed. (Rishi later said that even by Indian standards, this was a sketchy tour.) We went up a few levels, and poked our heads out onto a balcony for a view of the courtyard market. It looked like something almost out of Aladdin, with layers of shops and roofs that I imagined in the movies you could run across to escape the prison guards. We went up a few more levels to the roof, and were afforded sweeping views of the city, a mosque next door, and the market streets below. The views were phenomenal!

Once back on ground level, we circled through the courtyard market. These vendors only sell in bulk (the burlap bags full of dried chilis were as big as me) and ship all over the country. Our guide took us back out onto the street and into a shop where we could buy smaller quantities. The shopkeeper showed us the variety of spices and herbs they have, explaining what everything was and giving us samples to smell or taste. We saw long black pepper, cucumber seeds, nutmeg, nutmeg flowers, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, and all sorts of other things. He showed us their teas and spice blends, too. Apparently this is the place to go, because they had photos of visits from dignitaries and ambassadors of many countries, and even the president of McCormick spices had visited! Apparently Matt Damon was in the shop last week. We took our time pouring over the options, and bought a bunch of spice mixes and teas to take home.

Our rickshaw drivers asked us if we had been to Jama Masjid yet, the largest mosque in the city. We hadn't, and it had been on my to-do list, so we took them up on their offer to take us there. On the trip there, we drove through more streets of Chandni Chowk, which are separated into districts. We went through the shoe district, then glasses/optical, then wedding stationery, among many others. The streets were narrow and crowded, and the buildings were all jammed in close together. I couldn't believe the tangle of electrical wires overhead! In some places they looked like overgrown vines. We turned a corner and the domes of Jama Masjid came into view, but traffic was so bad that it took us a while to get there. Rishi said the traffic was unusual even for Delhi! What I found most interesting was that there were hardly even many cars; it was mostly rickshaws, pedi-cabs like ours, carts being pushed by hand, motorcycles, and of course, pedestrians. We had to pull our elbows and toes in tightly to avoid getting clipped a few times! And I even saw a guy carrying a goat on a pedi-cab.

We finally reached Jama Masjid. After buying a shawl to cover my head (this was the one day I left my scarf at home because it was so warm out!), we climbed the stairs to enter through the large red sandstone gate. After removing our shoes and donning the ridiculous polka-dot-covered mumu (women must be covered) we walked in; the courtyard was large enough to accommodate 25,000 people. We made our way around the walls and through the mosque, enjoying the peaceful calmness and cool breeze. After walking around for a while, we left and decided it was high time for a drink and some food.

Rishi's city doesn't have much of a beer selection other than Kingfisher, so he took us to a place that has a wide selection. It turned out to be in a mall! Going into the mall felt strange because it looked like it could have been in America, which was maybe a fitting way to end our trip? Anyway, we went to the restaurant, sat outside, and ordered drinks and food. Even with their extensive beer menu, there was still only one Indian beer! I've seen Taj Mahal and 1947 on menus at Indian restaurants in the States, but have never seen them in India. Go figure. Potter joined us for dinner, too. We got semi-Indian food: paneer fritters, masala veggie burgers, paneer pizza, and a few appetizers. It was a nice way to end the day. After finishing, we went to Fabindia, our new favorite store, which had a store in the mall. I got a few more blouses and dresses and love them. They have just enough of an Indian vibe to be an interesting and funky addition to my wardrobe, but aren't so out-there that I'll never wear them. Potter and I split a ginger-lemon kulfi from the food court and then it was time to head back to the hotel to finish packing up. Traffic was, as usual, horrendous, and it took us an hour to get across town.

We got our bags packed up, checked out, and spent the last half hour in Paula and Mike's room with them and Rishi, watching a completely ridiculous Bollywood film on TV. They loved their closeups on people's faces during dramatic moments! It was comically dramatic, which a few dance-offs interspersed for good measure. Finally it was time for us to head out, so we bid everyone farewell (Paula and Mike had a flight out the next morning) and headed to the airport. The trip itself was mostly uneventful- Air France has been a great airline. We picked up some Veuve Clicquot in the Paris airport (so cheap duty free!) and got coffee, quiche, and croissants for breakfast. Perhaps the best part of the flight was in India, though, when we went through security at the airport. I got the same immigration officer I had had on the way in! He recognized me, and said "we met the other day! You're an architect!" We laughed about all of the trouble we had had with that stupid fingerprint reader. It was so funny and sweet.

How do you wrap up a trip like this? We had a great time, but will be relieved to be home. It's an uncomfortable feeling to be served and waited on so much, and to feel wealthy in a country where so many people struggle with poverty. The dispersion of wealth in India seems to be even more severe than it is in the States. We saw both sides, from the extravagant wedding sangeet to the school for homeless children. We saw modern architecture and historic, roadside towns and big cities. India is a place full of dichotomies, and I'm glad we were able to see many of its sides. I'll certainly miss the food, the colorful clothing, and the kindness of strangers. However, I'm relieved that back home we'll be able to drink water without fear of getting sick, enjoy a variety of food, ease of traveling, and access to many basic amenities that weren't always available to us and millions of others. And I know that's a privilege.