Ahoy,
We spent our first day in Delhi visiting Old Delhi. Navigating the train was comfortable and somewhat familiar. With the chaos and noise of Delhi that seemed so foreign and different, the language of public transit is almost universal and relieving. It provided a sense of control and consistency that other modes of transportation had not given us. We wandered around thinking we'd run into the spice market, but found the Red Fort and a mosque. We finally gave in and got a bicycle rickshaw to take us to the spice market. He took us back to where we had been to a small little spice shop that was not what we were looking for. We got on another rickshaw and he took us to the same place, this time I protested and he took us to the actual spice market. It was much simpler than we thought. We had turned and weaved through Old Delhi when we really should have just kept walking straight. Immediately we started sneezing, and everyone else around us was sneezing too. This was definitely the right place. With only a brief time up and down the stalls, we made our way back to the train with a delicious samosa stop. That night we had a dinner/housewarming/unpacking with the newlyweds, a last party before their other friends leave.
That night was the big announcement regarding 500 and 1000 INR notes, rendering our 500s useless. The banks and atms were also closed, so we had no way of getting change or more money. It was a stroke of luck that the things we had planned to do were free. The metro is incredibly inexpensive, you can get most anywhere for about 15 cents or less. Our first stop was the Lotus Temple, a gorgeous place of worship that looks just like a lotus from the outside and beautifully clean and quiet inside, a nice respite from the dirge of what was outside. We stopped at McDonald's again for lunch because they take card, and tried another veggie burger and veg mcpuff. India McDonald's has been the most different from any other international locations we've visited. Our next stop was Lodhi Gardens, which had the oldest-looking/least restored buildings we had seen thus far. It was a really big garden with a lot of different parts that it seemed locals were just hanging out in also. Our final stop of the day was Khan market where there seemed to be some higher end shops in addition to bigger international/American chains.
We went back to our hotel to collect our bags and sulk in the aftermath of election results. A, I's new husband, was nice enough to come pick us up from our hotel, because he works in the neighborhood. We went back home with him to spend our remaining days in Delhi. A lot had happened in the world that day and it was nice to be with friends. We ventured to another mall that evening for I to buy new, shiny clothes - as it is tradition for the newlywed to wear. That was a fun and exhausting experience - similar to the American experience, but just a little different. A's mom had prepared food for us to have for dinner that night. It was delicious and so nice to be able to have a night in during our trip.
tragically abroad,
jt
We spent our first day in Delhi visiting Old Delhi. Navigating the train was comfortable and somewhat familiar. With the chaos and noise of Delhi that seemed so foreign and different, the language of public transit is almost universal and relieving. It provided a sense of control and consistency that other modes of transportation had not given us. We wandered around thinking we'd run into the spice market, but found the Red Fort and a mosque. We finally gave in and got a bicycle rickshaw to take us to the spice market. He took us back to where we had been to a small little spice shop that was not what we were looking for. We got on another rickshaw and he took us to the same place, this time I protested and he took us to the actual spice market. It was much simpler than we thought. We had turned and weaved through Old Delhi when we really should have just kept walking straight. Immediately we started sneezing, and everyone else around us was sneezing too. This was definitely the right place. With only a brief time up and down the stalls, we made our way back to the train with a delicious samosa stop. That night we had a dinner/housewarming/unpacking with the newlyweds, a last party before their other friends leave.
That night was the big announcement regarding 500 and 1000 INR notes, rendering our 500s useless. The banks and atms were also closed, so we had no way of getting change or more money. It was a stroke of luck that the things we had planned to do were free. The metro is incredibly inexpensive, you can get most anywhere for about 15 cents or less. Our first stop was the Lotus Temple, a gorgeous place of worship that looks just like a lotus from the outside and beautifully clean and quiet inside, a nice respite from the dirge of what was outside. We stopped at McDonald's again for lunch because they take card, and tried another veggie burger and veg mcpuff. India McDonald's has been the most different from any other international locations we've visited. Our next stop was Lodhi Gardens, which had the oldest-looking/least restored buildings we had seen thus far. It was a really big garden with a lot of different parts that it seemed locals were just hanging out in also. Our final stop of the day was Khan market where there seemed to be some higher end shops in addition to bigger international/American chains.
We went back to our hotel to collect our bags and sulk in the aftermath of election results. A, I's new husband, was nice enough to come pick us up from our hotel, because he works in the neighborhood. We went back home with him to spend our remaining days in Delhi. A lot had happened in the world that day and it was nice to be with friends. We ventured to another mall that evening for I to buy new, shiny clothes - as it is tradition for the newlywed to wear. That was a fun and exhausting experience - similar to the American experience, but just a little different. A's mom had prepared food for us to have for dinner that night. It was delicious and so nice to be able to have a night in during our trip.
tragically abroad,
jt
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