So, we spent our second full day in India today and I have to admit that we are starting to get enchanted by it. It surprises us at every turn, and while not all surprises are good ones we are falling in love. Today, we had a great day. We started out by buying the train tickets we didn’t get yesterday…..it was easier this time. During the process, we met this wonderful Brit named Jody who hung out with us all day. It was great to meet such a nice person, and have an English speaker to do things with. She had just arrived in New Delhi also….so we were on the same level when it comes to understanding India.
First off, we went to the Red Fort. On the way, we stopped and had a smart lunch at a local joint. It was more in line with the prices I expected for food compared to yesterday. Our meals ran about $.75 a piece and they were better than average. From their we trekked over to the red fort and saw the sights. Its a beautiful set of buildings, built by the same emperor who built the Taj Mahal. We spent most of the afternoon there and then headed over to see a Mosque. We think we got ripped off by some con artists, but it was only for $2 so no worries. It was a beautiful mosque, but we only had 10 minutes to see it due to afternoon prayers. From there, we headed back to the metro station through Old Delhi. Old Delhi was intense. The streets are more narrower, there are more touts (hagglers) and beggars. It was intense, but we made it to the metro station after a long walk and several wrong turns. We took the metro to near our hotel and had dinner. Nice meal…now we are home to clean socks and underwear.
Some other thoughts (there are so many going through my head!)
– Its hot. Really hot, like full body sweat hot. Its almost unbearable, but supposedly you adjust.
– At times, I can’t believe I am in India.
– We are totally paranoid about cleaning our hands with hand cleaner and are extra cautious about what we eat. (totally inserted for Pickle). For some reason (I think the humidity), I feel very grimy all the time. It might take some time to get used to it, but my days at LSU should prepare me.
I guess you're using the wet naps we brought to Croatia–none of us want you to get sick and miss any of the sights and sounds. India sounds fascinating, but hot. The temperature listed in today's paper for New Delhi was 97…I don't imagine you'll get used to that.
sounds like india could be a nice place to visit..they just need to have mom run their convention and tourist bureau.
..keep cleaning the hands and your tooth brush.
we look forward to your post..thanks so much for staying in touch.
love
dad