New Delhi, April 28, 2012: Who are the people in my neighbourhood?

I can't believe that this is our last day in Delhi. Both Jay and I are in shock and feeling more than a little sad. I remember the  first day I arrived, waking up, and hearing the sounds of the fruit and vegetable wallah's calling out announcing their produce (as I write, the last wallah's are coming around trying to sell their last few items to those cooks who forgot to purchase something earlier). at the time, it all seemed to foreign and yet so exciting, now it's just normal. 

I thought I would write my last blog about some of the people in my neighbourhood. The pictures aren't that great so I apologize in advance. I have come to "get to know" a few people, particularly those wallah's who are out there everyday, day and day out, no matter the weather, the day of the week or holiday. 

Regardless of the language barrier (most of them speak very little English),  they know who I am by now and never fail to nod their head and say namaste. It makes me feel part of the 'hood, almost accepted.

So I will introduce you to a few of them, not necessarily in the order that I meet them.

This is the "broom  wallah". He sells all sorts of brooms and dusters from his bike which he wheels around. He was very shy, and he didn't want his picture taken. I must admit that I never bought anything from him, but that never dampened his spirit or his hope that I would eventually.

Here is one of the many vegetable wallah's. Unfortunately, this picture doesn't really show off his produce, which I have been very impressed with. I have no idea what some of the items are, and the language barriers makes cooking instructions rather difficult. They are also fairly competitive with each other. One time I bought some melons off one wallah on my way home from yoga. I ran into another wallah in front of our apartment who made it clear that I had bought inferior produce and he had much better - and I understood what he was saying in Hindi, so clearly some messages aren't sensitive to the language it is delivered in!

Here is the sweeping wallah. She starts early in the morning, and sweeps up all the dead leaves, dog pooh, garbage, etc. everyday. She has a big dustbin which she puts everything in, although she must empty it out every so often as it often looks full.

This is one of my favourite wallah's, the ironing lady - sorry that it's sideways!. She has a stall at the side of the road, with a tarp on top, and a table of sorts made of brick and ply wood with a little door to store her iron etc when she isn't there. She basically walks the neighbourhood picking up people's ironing all wrapped in material (table cloths?, sheets?). She then fills her iron with coal, which gets delivered (or maybe she picks it up) lights it up, lets it heat up, and voila! A non-electric iron that is good to go. I never used her services either, but I think it was 3-5 rupees per shirt (around 6-10 cents).

 Here are two cashiers at our local grocery store, Star Bazaar. What a busy place, and crammed from floor to ceiling. However, I can usually find everything I need, although they are often out of old cheddar cheese. Oh well, it is India! In any case, these guys are really sweet and never fail to say hello. Do you think I/m not too difficult to recognize because I am a westerner, tall, with grey hair and I'm in almost every day?

Finally, this is one of my yoga instructors at the yoga Ashram. Despite her size, she has a surprisingly strong and authoritative voice - watch out if you are a slacker! Just kidding.

So....these are some of the people in my neighbourhood. I am going to miss them all, plus many more. I've really, really enjoyed my time here and will always remember it with fond memories.

Namaste.

New Delhi, April 17, 2012: Traveling by train in India

With temperatures hovering near 40C, Jay and I planned a trip to Bandavgarh Tiger Reserve - well, to be honest, we planned it in January not really thinking that it would be this hot. In any case, we returned yesterday, hot but successful in spotting two tiger cubs in the last hour of our last safari. Even if we had not been successful with tiger spotting, we saw a lot of other wild life including a sloth bear (think Balou in the Jungle Book story by Rudyard Kipling) which is much rarer than a tiger sighting we were told.

As the Tiger Reserve is about 250 km from any airport, we decided is was cheaper and just as quick (a relative term) to take an overnight train from Delhi to a town close to the Reserve, and another on the return. While both trains were called "Express" trains, they were scheduled to take about 18 hrs (not including the delays) to cover a distance of some 879 km, which gives you an idea about the average train speed.

We booked the highest class we could, called 2AC sleeper, meaning each compartment has a set of two double berths, i.e. 4 berths per compartment in an AC coach with each compartment being screened off by curtains. This is in contrast to 3AC, which has triple berths and no curtains, or general sleeper class with no AC at all, or 3rd class with neither berths nor AC. We paid about $20 each for a one- way trip. A bargain by anyone's standards, although one must remember that these trains were likely built in the 1950s and haven't been upgraded (or given a good scrub) since then. Apparently, 2AC is the class that most middle class Indians travel so we were in similar company. I guess the upper class would drive, although I'm sure it would have taken as long or longer with the roads and traffic conditions I have encountered- see the blog called Indy(a) 500 in the Golden Triangle.

On our journey to the Reserve, we figured out what platform the train was scheduled to depart from (a feat in and of itself), found our assigned berths, and settled in to watch life go by in mostly rural India. A short while later, we were given a package wrapped in brown paper that contained two single sheets and a small hand towel. There was also a large heavy blanket and a rather grimy looking pillow whose case obviously hadn't been changed in a while. Although the compartment was coolish, I thought the blanket was overkill, but I was quite grateful later to have it!

Although we brought snacks with us, we needn't have worried about food, as throughout the trip, except in the wee hours of the morning, there was a constant stream of wallahs going up and down the aisles selling anything from chai to cold drinks to chips to sandwiches to God knows what else. It reminded me a bit of our neighbourhood fruit and vegetable wallahs, as they called out their wares in a similar nasal tone and it was just as incomprehensible to us. The chai wallah was pretty obvious however, as he carried a large metal canteen and paper cups, calling out "chai, chai, chai" as he walked through. But other wallahs carried trays with tinfoil wrapped containers and we had no idea what was in them. At one of the larger stations, a bunch of wallahs got on selling hot trays of food including biryanis and thalis. We risked it, and purchased a biryani, which was delicious, but a little spicy - I now know never to assume that a longish green vegetable is a green bean but rather could be a hot green chili! Later on, one of our cabin mates had a meal delivered to him, so we had obviously missed the wallah who takes orders for food that is made in the train canteen, or more likely didn't understand what was on offer. No great loss, as we figured it out on the way back, and managed to order a great vegetarian meal including dal, rice, chapatis, vegetable and paneer for only 60 rupees each (around $1.20).

At about 9 pm, our fellow passengers started making up their berths and we turned out the lights. Sleep was rather elusive, as the train often rocked violently back and forth, although I'm not sure why as we weren't exactly going at a very high speed. It got rather cold with the AC on, and I was very glad to have the heavy blanket after all. To make matters worse, our train was due to arrive at 6:30 am and we didn't want to miss the station, so we set our alarms for 5:30. No stations are announced, nor is it very obvious which station is which from the train windows, so you pretty well have to poke your head out the train door to figure out where you are. We managed to make it off the train during the allotted 2 minute stop without any hiccups, tired but successful. Thank God Jay had the foresight to bring the list of scheduled stops with us so we had a clue about when our station was coming up.

It was a similar experience on the way back, except we were in the upper berths and right by the main door of the compartment, so it was less comfortable and noisier. Fortunately, we were due to arrive in Delhi at 2pm, so I popped a few gravol and shoved in some earplugs and did my best to get some shut-eye. Never mind that the train was over 2 hours late.

So, while the train trips were perhaps not quite as luxurious as we would get in Canada ( an understatement), they got us from A to B for quite cheap, albeit in a fairly slow and laborious fashion. One thing I forgot to mention was the state of the toilets. Or perhaps I shouldn't. All I will say is that they were no worse than an average public toilet in India :)) and always bring your own toilet paper and hand sanitizer. However, I must say that the toilets were no better on my trip to Rishikesh on the Shatabdi Express in 1st class.

That's all for now. I will try and get one more blog done before we leave for Amritsar on the 29th. Between now and then, I will be finishing up some last minute shopping and applying to retain my job in Health Canada. So much for being care free and stressless while on leave. We know who to thank for that!

New Delhi, April 8, 2012: Ashram life in Rishikesh

I can't believe that we have less than one month left in India before we head to Europe for slightly less than two months, and then back to Canada. Where did all that time go? I have so many blog ideas left, but it is actually getting harder to write them, as I think I am becoming normalized here, and events/observations don't necessarily seem news-worthy or out of the ordinary anymore. The other factor is the weather -it is hitting 40C tomorrow, and I find myself spending more time poolside at the gym, and less time on the laptop at home beside the groaning AC that barely drops the temp below 30C. Of course, I have also had to devote some time for final shopping, particularly since I discovered that we are entitled to each bring 2 suitcases back because we purchased our tickets before the airlines decreased their luggage allowance. Yeah!!! Now I need to purchase another suitcase as well.

I thought I would devote one blog to our time in the Ashram, since it seems to be a much desired activity, but is often not possible for those who can only come for short stays of a couple of weeks.

I was a little concerned about going to stay in an Ashram, as all the travel books indicated that they are fairly austere, requiring you to follow their schedule of rising at 5:30, morning prayers followed by yoga Asanas all before breakfast/brunch of vegetarian fare. Often there is a requirement to do some "volunteer" activities - think "duties" that were required when staying at the Intenational Youth Hotels in the good old days. More meditations and such before evening Aarti's, followed by the second vegetarian meal of the day and lights out at 10pm. The hardships include: no coffee/tea, alcoholic beverages or meat of any kind.

After a fairly pleasant train ride of about 4 hours on the Shatabdi Express - minus the unpleasant departure time of 6:30am, the scams that some thieves try to pull on you at Delhi train station, and the almost invisible pre-paid taxi booth that almost resulted in us accepting a dodgy rickshaw ride from Haridwar to Rishikesh- we finally arrived at Parmarth Niketan Ashram and were shown to a very pleasant room with private bathroom and two comfortable beds. We arrived just at the end of lunch, but were ushered in in time to enjoy the most delicious vegetarian fare. Best of all, we learned that the only absolute requirement was to participate in the evening Aarti by the Gangas, that there were 3 meals a day and that we were free to come and go as we pleased, although we needed to respect the hours and quiet times of course. I knew it was going to be a very enjoyable experience!

Everything and everyone seemed very relaxed and accepting. There was no hard and fast schedule at the Ashram, so we took advanatage of our free afternoon to explore the town. It was very different than Varanasi or Jaipur, very laid back and felt very easy/safe to get about and walk around. I soon spotted a tiny staircase amongst the strip of stores that lead to an upstairs balcony restaurant which was to beocome my second home when not in the Ashram. It had a wonderful view of the Mother Ganga with a backdrop of the Himalayas, where one could sit and watch the water ferries weaving their way from one side of the river to the other, dropping off passengers and picking up more. Or watch the locals wash their laundry -or themselves- in the surprisingly blue waters. Many also come to worship at the Gangas, sometimes sprinkling themselves with water but often immersing themselves completely. Of course the cows were almost as numerous as the people and wandered at will up and down the streets and steps lining the Gangas.

While we were there, there was an Ayurvedic doctor visiting the Ashram who gave a multi-day workshop about healthy lifestyles and the like. While I agreed with many of her bottom line messages about healthy living, I felt a bit of an imposter sitting through her lectures when I didn't agree with some of her teachings, so I left my girlfriend to enjoy the workshop and struck out on my own, usually to my tiny balcony restaurant. I sat for long hours, mesmerized by the tranquility and peacefulness of the scene. They had wonderful lassi's and I discovered the most refreshing drink there involving fresh mint, lemon, sugar, and ice, all whirled up in a blender. It looked like a bright green slushie but was absolutely delicious. It was also here that I partook in my elicit cups of coffee after breakfast every day :)). Shhh! Don't tell!

Perhaps the most impressive scenes were those of the evening Aarti's by the Gangas, the celebration of the sun... so full of joy and peace. There were hundreds of people every day that came to participate, sitting on the steps, clapping and singing along to the music, and watching the huge orange ball of fire - the sun- sink behind the horizon. Once the sun had set, lamps were lit and passed from hand to hand, and the holder moved the lamp in a circular fashion in time with the music, before passing it on to someone else.

On our train trip back, we sat opposite a couple of thirty something males who had come to Haridwar for a day conference on taxes. They were bright and articulate and we had a very interesting chat, making our 4 hour trip fly by! We learned all about their work, families, living conditions, and even how they came to meet their spouse. One fellow, who was actually in his early 40s, was not married, and although he had been "introduced" to a dozen or more women, either one or the other, or their families, found the match not acceptable. He was now in a position where his choices were becoming extremely limited, and although he didn't come right out and admit it, his colleague (and cousin) said it was a touchy subject for him.

While I had reservations about going to Rishikesh, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it now. I found it to be a spiritual haven and retreat that is hard to experience anywhere else. Just watch where you walk, as there are a lot of cows around!

That's all for now.

Sue

New Delhi, March 25, 2012 : Indy(a) 500 in the Golden Triangle

It's been almost a month since my last posting, and I've actually had complaints about not getting another one up sooner! However, I have been busy with my 4 mates who came to visit and do a tour of the Golden Triangle, which means we visited Udaipur, Jaipur, Agra and Varanase. One girlfriend stayed on a bit longer, and we went to Rishikesh and stayed in an Ashram- very serene, but lots of cows in town, necessitating the inevitable hopscotch routine to avoid the resultant cow paddies that dotted the roads. I never knew that cows got diarrhea as well!

I have so many potential blog stories from our little tour that I hardly know where to start. Shopping was a main theme, and let me tell you, the ladies arrived home with bursting suitcases and large duty payments at customs for being over the acceptable limit. I'm not sure how I am going to fare when I finally make it home in July:)) I'm already scouting around to buy a 2nd suitcase to hold all my essential purchases! Ashram life will be another blog, although I will have to divulge my secret external forays to satiate my caffeine addiction. Varanase itself is another blog.

Nonetheless, I decided to start with describing our road trips, as the driving and traffic was even crazier than in Delhi, and was a source of much fear and consternation throughout the trip for most of my companions. We actually had a very good driver, and so our discomfort was not a reflection on him, but rather on the general driving and driving conditions in India. So why do you suppose that the drive from Udaipur to Jaipur, a trip of some 400km takes about 7 hours? It is actually a 4-lane highway which in Canada, even in the winter, would take 1/2 that time.

Well, for starters, don't assume the "traffic" consists mainly of cars, overloaded trucks and belching buses with millions of passengers in them. No... Imagine having to share the highway with rickshaws built for 4 passengers but holding 25 people, little motorized carts that are so loaded with whatever crop or product that if they tipped over, they would only fall a foot or so before their load at the side touched the ground, cushioning their fall but, similar to a turtle on its back, virtually ensuring that it will never regain its upright status until it is emptied of its cargo. But that is not all.... I haven't mentioned the carts pulled by donkeys, camels, horses, let alone the beautifully painted elephants that we enountered on their way to weddings.

So how does one navigate this myriad of moving humanity? By mimicking the driving habits of racing car drivers in the Indy 500 of course. The trick is to blare your horn constantly whilst weaving your way in and out of traffic, squeezing into the smallest gaps between vehicles before overtaking once again, and finally, overtaking by crossing to the other side of the road in front of oncoming traffic and then ducking back in at the last minute. At no time do you ever pay attention to any rules of the road (are there any?), and certainly never stick to any lane markings or dividers, otherwise you will be driven off the road. What is the result? A shorter traveling time, but the downside is white knuckle passengers with cramps in their "braking" leg, and dirty underwear. But, as one of my travel companions put it, "if it's my turn to die, then so be it". I must say though that by the end of the 3rd day on the road, everyone was a lot less anxious, and by the time we got back to Delhi, it all seemed rather tame!

Go figure! Mates, start your engines!

Delhi, February 24, 2012: Dancing in Delhi's streets

Ever since I guided one of our guests across a busy street in our neighborhood, I realize that I may have finally mastered the art of crossing Delhi's chaotic, crazy, dangerous streets. Or I should say, I've mastered the slow-quick dance-like movements that are essential if you are to arrive, let alone safely, on the other side. It is no easy feat, as the pedestrian is on the bottom of the Totem Pole with regard to the right of way on the streets. To make it more difficult, there is no real order or rules that are followed by drivers. There is no regard for traffic lanes, for using turn signals, or even for using the rear view mirror. It's every man (or in this case vehicle) for itself.

My success in mastering this dance is really due to four valuable observations that were essential to my learning:
1) Whenever possible, cross with an Indian, or better yet, a large group of Indians. Now you may think this is cheating, but there is safety in numbers and why not capitalize on the practiced eye and nimble feet of someone who has had a lifetime experience doing this? It's best if you position yourself on the side of the person(s) that is farthest from the oncoming traffic. This way, you not only have a buffer in case of a miscalculation (not that it would necessarily make that much of a difference, but it is all about positive thinking!), but you can carefully mimic the actions and dance steps of the person(s) while keeping an eye on the traffic at the same time.

2) If you can, try and cross in the middle of the street instead of the intersection, especially if it is a divided road with a median in the middle. This allows you to view the traffic coming at you from one direction only, rather than contantly swivelling your head in every direction in an effort to view traffic that may be turning left and right as well as straight, which is a must at an intersection. Remember that they drive on the left side of the road, which further complicates the entire picture.

3) Make sure that you also have the eyes open in the back of your head, as there is always the bicyclist, rickshaw driver or even motorcyclist who is driving on the wrong side of the road.

4) My last onservation is about developing that mindset that is needed to steel your nerves and take chances. If you hesitate too long, you will have missed your opportunity and you will end up waiting for that never to materialize "ideal time to cross".

So, happy dancing in the streets of Delhi!

New Delhi, February 17, 2012: Smells, odours and other noxious nostril stimuli

We have just said goodbye to Jay's good buddy Rick and his wife Jan, who have been visiting with us for the past 5 days, and are now off to Agra for a few days before returning to Delhi on route to south India. Fortunately, Jan is a fellow shopper and we have had a great time doing the rounds of all my favourite shopping haunts. We also had a very serious decimal miscalculation at the Central Cottage Industry Emporium, where we thought that the price for some gorgeous cashmere shawls was a mere $12 each, so we rapidly picked out 7 as gifts.  When we got to the cash,  the bill totalled almost $1000, and we realized our miscalculation and that they were actually $120 each....bummer. They all got put back. I guess I have will have to stick to the cheaper "fine wool" section next time I go there. Well, maybe I will buy one for myself.

So, I now have time for a new blog, and I thought I would focus on smells and odours as a companion piece to my blog on noises. But not all smells are bad, so don't turn up your nose yet!

When some people think of India, they associate incense and Sadu's and yogis, etc.. All of these are here in abundance, but I hadn't thought that the incense would be quite as prevalent as it is. It's not only used in temples, but in many homes and shops where small shrines are commonly set up and incense is always on the go. It's not uncommon to get several whiffs of incense as you walk down the street. I sometimes suspect it is also used to cover up some of the more noxious smells I will describe later in this blog.

Another series of smells that you often encounter when walking down the street is the smell of cooking. Mmmmm, I get hungry thinking about all the delicious food that is being cooked behind all those doors. The large meal of the day is often eaten at around 2pm, but I often get incredible whiffs as I am walking to yoga in the morning as well. If only I could be a fly on the wall and see if I could discover some ancient cooking techniques that they don't divulge in cookbooks. My food doesn't seem to taste as good as the aromas that I have had the pleasure of smelling in my neighbourhood!

However, this blog inevitably has to talk about those not so pleasant smells as well.  One of my least favourite walks is to the gym, not only because of the two busy streets that I need to cross putting my life in jeopardy each time, but also the odours that I must endure. One particular stretch of the road seems to be the public urinal for all passing male (of course!) motorists, motorcyclists, rickshaw drivers and pedestrians who feel the urge. The spot happens to back onto a park, and without fail, there is always some guy who jumps out of his vehicle, and whips it out with his back to the street, to do what else, but urinate, regardless of the cars and pedestrians that are passing by. It's just par for the course, and I have seen it countless times in other places as well. No-one pays any attention what so ever. I tried walking down the opposite side of the street, but the smell was even worse, I think because it is shady and the urine doesn't dry up as quickly.

Once I have passed that particularly odiferous stretch of the street, and I round the corner to enter the 4 star hotel that contains my gym, I am again accosted by an overwhelming stench that must be from an open sewer vent right by the hotel driveway. It's not at all uncommon to encounter this in the most unlikely spots, such as in the middle of a park, right next to a high end restaurant, in front of a hospital, by the art gallery, etc. Fortunately, you can usually hold your breath and walk by quickly, and it is over until the next open grate.

Well, I think that's all I'm going to say for now regarding smells. I could go on a bit more, but I think you get the gist. Maybe I'll buy some incense that I can burn on the way to the gym! And I count my blessings that there are no longer any cows roaming at will in Delhi.

Sue

Delhi, February 7, 2012: the trials of grocery shopping

After a one week holiday in South India, among the tea plantations, cardamom and other spices, as well as a backwater boat house cruise, we are back in Delhi, minus Gideon and Julia who have headed off to Thailand and Vietnam. It was nice to be warm for a change! It was also nice to be away from the hustle, bustle and honks in Delhi.

We have been in Delhi for 2 months, and I at last feel like we can find both Indian and western groceries reasonably well now. As you can imagine, there are no superstores or mega grocery stores here, so figuring out what and where to buy groceries has been a steep learning curve to say the least.

I'll start with the "where" first. Fortunately, we discovered fairly early on a local "market" that is within walking distance to us, catering to our specific neighbourhood (see photo below). This isn't an outdoor market, but a collection of stores, ranging from small to very small (see photo above) to sidewalk fronts, that sell anything from cell phones, to cakes, to groceries, to hardware items, to photocopies, to fast food, to flipflops, to God knows what else. In this mix there is one store that is outstanding in its quantity and types of different items, including many western items - you just have to search high and low, as it is no bigger than an average corner store, with about 300 X the products all crammed in. In fact, everytime I turn around, I find something else that I hadn't noticed before. Here you can buy food, beauty items, some household items (I found rubber gloves the other day), some personal clothing items (undies, bras, long underwear), and on a second level beer/wine, meat (chicken, fish, lamb) as well as some frozen food items. It was so crowded that I didn't notice the second level stairs until a few weeks ago, so now we are not longer at a loss to know where to buy meat and beer close by (I have been avoiding the local butchery that looks none to clean)!  It has many western foods including cheese (limited to gouda, cream cheese, parmesan, sometimes blue cheese) as well as pasta and bottled sauces, condiments, jams etc. It's a great place! Everything is fixed price, and the boys at the cash know my face and always say hello.

The "where" also includes the local dairy booth, which only opens between 7am-11 am and 4pm - 7pm, which sells fresh milk, yogurt and icecream. It took me a while to figure this out, as sometimes I can find milk in small Mom and Pop stores, but are often sold out! Milk is sold in square 500 ml and 1000ml bags and you can buy full cream, whole, toned (probably 2%) and double toned (probably 1%). I think milk is subsidized here, as the booth is sponsored by the New Delhi Milk Board and it is very cheap, about 25 cents for 500 mls.

Fruit and veg will have to be another blog, as they are usually not in most stores and figuring out how and where to buy them is another story.

I have alluded to the "what" already re milk, cheese, meat and beer, but the "what" has been a challenge especially when it comes to spices and lentils. We have been trying to eat mostly Indian food while we are here, at least for dinners - I must admit, I have been sticking to Muesli and yogurt, or toast and peanut butter for breakfasts, with an occasional grilled cheese for lunch. Most of the common Indian spices that you or I are familiar with have their own Indian names, e.g. cumin is zeera or sometimes geera, turmeric is haldi, fenugreek is methi, coriander is dhania, etc, not to mention the oddball spices which I have never heard of, such as amchoor (dried mango powder), hing (oniony/garlicy dried powder). This means I have to google each spice and make sure that I have a list of other potential names for it before I go shopping. Same goes for different types of lentils, of which there seems to be about 20 or more! The guys are great in the store, and often help me try to find what I am looking for. Needless to say, I have a fairly well stocked spice cupboard now.

All this to say is that we have been eating well, trying new recipes found on the web, and have not been sick so far....touch wood. We have had to be a bit creative in our cooking style, as we only have 2 burners, a microwave and no oven or grill, but so far so good. And everything tastes good washed down with a bit of beer anyway! Especially when I happened to have put too many hot chiles in the mix :))

Chow for now

Delhi, January 17, 2012: Transportation in and around the city

It's been over a week since my last blog, but we have been busy with guests- Jay's daughter Julia and her boyfriend are visiting- so we have been out sight-seeing with them. We've been to quite a few sites including the Red Fort, old Delhi and the spice market, Lodi Gardens, Humayun's tomb and Hazrat Nizam-ud-Din Dargah to hear the Sufis singing (it was wonderful Shannon!) to name a few places. There is still a lot to see, so not to worry for those who are still coming to visit.

Visiting all of these sites requires a means of transportation to get there. The Metro, which is only about two years old is extremely modern, convenient and cheap. We are within walking distance of one line which makes it very convenient for us to get around. We have bought smart cards which tracks how long your trip is and charges the card according to the distance. The only disadvantage of the Metro is its popularity, which means that during rush hour, the cars are unbelievably crowded, with lots of pushing and shoving. There is also little understanding about the concept of waiting to board a car until everyone has disembarked from it. This translates into a bit of a battle trying to get on and off at times. Fortunately, the first car of each train is reserved for women only, so at busy times, I often take advantage of the relative calm in the women's carriage. That is not to say that some men don't try to sneak onto this carriage, but on the whole it is respected, and in some stations, there are police enforcing it which is good.

The next means of transportation is a taxi, which we haven't used that much, mainly because it is more expensive, and the roads are so congested that it would often take longer to get to your destination compared to taking the Metro. Nonetheless, if you are going anywhere late at night, the metro shuts down at about 11 pm, so a taxi is the way to go, particularly if there are more than 3 of you (which is the max that will fit in an auto rickshaw), or you have luggage. I must say, I certainly feel safer in a taxi on the road, as you will come out relatively unscathed if you collide with an auto or bicycle rickshaw, but not the other way round!

Which brings us to the rickshaw...either a bicycle one or one with a small motor. Both are very widespread and are perhaps the most common means of transportation. You do have to be good at bargaining, because while the taxis have meters which are often used, the rickshaws are supposed to, but are never used/working. My problem with the rickshaw is that the traffic is so congested, and no-one respects the rules of the road, e.g., the lines in the road indicating lanes are totally ignored, that I feel like I am putting my life at risk every time I hop in one. Now admittedly, I am not used to merging into completely chaotic traffic at a round-about with fast moving cars and trucks, when a simple nudge would send the rickshaw spinning into larger vehicles where one would become crushed....let's not think about it. I just try and avert my eyes and think about happy things. And I have yet to see an accident, so I think I just have to practice those rectal flexes and steel my nerves to chaos and horn honking. I will survive! I hope...

I have yet to take an internal flight or train during this trip, so I will have to defer that description until another time.

Tonight, Julia and Gideon arrive back from Amritsar, and will stay with us for a few days before heading to Agra and Varanasi. We hear that Gideon has contracted the vomiting/diarrhea disease, so they may want to just lay low and recuperate. Till next time!

Sue

Delhi, January 5, 2012: Sounds (and noises)

Ah, the joys and annoyances of living in a 3rd world country, especially when it comes to sounds.

We are very lucky to be in a relatively quiet neighbourhood. Our bedroom faces a back alley, and I more often than not wake up to the sounds of different birds chirping away as they perch on apartment balconies, electrical wires or odd branch of a tree. We have the ubiquitous pigeons and crows, but we also have green parakeets who squawk, as well as some other avid warblers and song birds that I am not familiar with.

Very soon after that, I start to hear the cries of the multiple vegetable or fruit wallahs, as they haul their produce on bicycle carts along the streets. It's almost like the home delivery van that we used to have when I was a kid growing up, except that these guys come multiple times from sunrise to sunset every day of the week. All you have to do is hang out your balcony, take a look at what's on the cart, and make your order. They will weigh everything and deliver it to your door- and it's cheap too! The one annoyance is that they tend to also ring your doorbell to get your attention, even though you have not indicated that you want anything. There are also other wallahs roaming on bicycles, usually with burlap sacks at the back, announcing their arrival and services, although I have no idea what those services might be - I have seen an ear cleaning being performed one time.

Being a pedestrian in India means partaking in an obstacle course wherever you go. The few sidewalks that exist are more often than not being used as additional parking spots, which forces you out on the road, trying to avoid puddles made by drivers who have just finished the daily wash of their bosses' cars, or the pile of bricks that is being used for construction. Most of the side streets are narrow, so that means that you are constantly employing maneuvers to avoid being run over by the ever present cars, rickshaws and bicycles. With these maneuvers, every car within a 20 foot radius feels it must honk. And honk they do. Ear-splitting honks! Honks if you are walking in a straight line with no impediments in front of you. Honks if there is another car down the road. There doesn't seem to have to be a reason to honk even. If I leave India with my hearing intact, I will be very surprised! There are even signs posted everywhere in our neighborhood imploring people not to honk, but to no avail.

By 10 am, the construction noises are the prevailing sound one hears. Every block has at least 1-2 houses or more in various stages of being built. While houses in Canada may take a couple of months to erect, I have been here about 1 month, and I have yet to see any visible progress being made on the house across the street, despite there being at least 5 workers on site. It must take years to complete one.

The last cries from the fruit and vegetable wallahs are when darkness has fallen at about 8 or 8:30 pm. By then the construction noises are finishing up, and by 10 pm, the honking stops and the city seems to go to sleep.

Another day of sounds in Delhi has finished.

Delhi, January 1, 2012: Happy New Year! (and kind of Part 2 Shopping)

I wish everyone the best and hope that you have a prosperous and happy new year.

Jay and I had a fairly quiet New Years Eve. We decided to go to a movie in the early afternoon, so we headed off via the Metro to Connaught Circle, where there is a cinema that has movies in English. We saw the new Sherlock Homes, which was OK - I'm not sure what is up with all these fantasy/magical movies. Maybe I'm just getting old.

After the movie, we walked over to the Central Cottage Industries Emporium, which is a government run store which sells textiles and other products from all over India at fixed prices, i.e. no bargaining. It looks almost like a department store, with brass and wood on the 1 st floor, jewellry and carpets on the 2nd, saris and cloth on the 3rd etc., going up to 6 floors. Apparently, it is fairly fair tradish - we don't know for sure- but the prices are reasonable, so you won't get entirely ripped off but you might find it cheaper bargaining in the street if you are so inclined - personally I think not having to bargain is a plus, as you get pretty sick about bargaining for absolutely everything after a while.

In any case, I finally found some high quality Darjeeling tea to sample, so I bought a few different kinds, and have actually just finished a fine cup of Nilgiri tea as I type! We will come back to buy some carpets for sure, and likely some brass and jewelry as well. The clothing wasn't exceptional (FabIndia is better I think) but the scarves and shawls weren't too bad either.

We decided to find a restaurant in Connaught Circle to eat in, despite the crowd of revellers around, blowing noise makers etc. There were also lots of police and army about which we didn't really think twice about. They usually carry around rifles, although we did see a few behind sand bags which was a bit odd. In any case, we found a restaurant, ate and finished about 8:30ish, expecting to hop on the Metro and make it home in about 40 minutes.

Once we left the restaurant, it was dark and quite a bit less crowded, but still a few people around. However, the police/army had closed the Metro station and all the incoming streets, I suppose for security reasons. This left us high and dry as there were no rickshaws or other transport to be found. The police suggested we try another Metro station, but it was dark, dusty/smoky and we were getting a bit concerned as the crowd was thinning out by the minute and we weren't quite sure where the next nearest station was. Eventually, we stumbled across a hotel at the perimeter of the Circle where we found a taxi. We did get home safe and sound, with a few less rupees in our pockets than if we had taken the Metro. The celebrations were just beginning in our neighborhood, with firecrackers, music and singing. All was well, there were no incidences of violence or anything else anywhere in Delhi that I have heard about.

Today, Jay and I joined a hotel gym, which is very convenient for us at it is only one Metro stop away. Jay thinks its actually one of the best gyms he has joined. It's certainly the best we have seen so far here in India but I wouldn't say it has the most modern equipment. However, it does have everything that we would want, plus towel service, fresh fruit and juices etc. We will try and stay healthy and in shape for the rest of our stay.

Well that is all for now. Happy New Year again!