Sunday, Jan 16
On Sunday Laszlo & I took the metro into Delhi to see the Red Forst and to shop in the bazaars. It cost only 25 rupees (50 cents) for the 1 hour ride into old town Delhi to see the Red Fort. The metro looked really out of place here because it was sparkling clean. Maybe it’s because it was just built last year! It’s easy to use and similar to other subway systems. Small difference though - before entering the subway you have to get in line according to your gender and get a quick pat down. Then you have to put your bag/purses through an xray machine. I guess I should appreciate the extra security. There were also security guards patrolling inside the subways.
We emerged from the metro station into chaos. Even though we had a map it was tough to get our bearings right away. There was a cyclo sitting outside so we decided to take a ride to the Red Fort. It’s a short distance away but it was so worth it to be able to enjoy the surroundings without the stress of navigating the busy streets. It's not just a tourist thing because the locals use these as well. The only thing was that our driver was this really skinny old man wearing rags and only flip flops. I felt guilty about him lugging both of us around. I forget these people are stronger than they look and that they are used to hard labor. I felt guilty so I did not bother to bargain down the 60 rupees fee he quoted us. In fact in the end I just gave him a 100 rupee bill, it’s only $2.40. It’s amazing that the minimum wage in India is only 113 rupees a day! The production worker could be earning only $3 a day! I imagine that these cyclo guys are earning even less. No wonder everybody is outsourcing to India! Just like in Vietnam I can’t bring myself to bargain because I feel too guilty. It puts things in perspective for me when I realize what I paid for one of my designer purse is probably the same as what one of these people make in a year!
Red Fort was awesome. It’s actually a palace used by previous emperors. It was built when the capital of India was moved from Agra to Delhi. The wall itself is made of red sandstone but the buildings within it is made of white marble. I can’t imagine the amount of labor to make all the intricate carvings out of the marble.. It’s over 400 years old but amazingly well preserved. The summers here are unbearably hot so they were creative in utilizing water canals throughout the palace to keep it cool. There was even an underground tunnel for the harem to rendevouz discreetly with the men.
Afterwards we shopped in the various bazaars in the area. I have to say that I did NOT enjoy this at all. It was too stressful for me. If I so much as to glance inside a shop I would get some aggressive harassment to come in to look. They don’t understand the word no! Good thing Laszlo was with me, when I look harassed he would put out his hand and tell the guy to back off. He looked intimidating enough that they do listen to him. He was also the one to bargain down the prices for me, as soon as I give him the signal I want to buy something. I wanted to buy a traditional Punjabi which is typically a 3 piece consisting of pants, a long tunic reaching to your knees but split below the waist, and a long flowing scarf. This is a more casual wear than the Sari and less complicated. Between his last trip and this trip Laszlo has purchased 3 saris for his wife. I'm just thinking, where in the world would I wear it? In the few shops where I stopped in, they invite you to go inside and sit on the floor. Then they proceed to take out endless samples until you find something you like. The more I say no the more frantic they seem to get in getting out all the packages to show me. Meanwhile I'm thinking, shit, he was going to have to refold all of this hope this doesn't piss him off. I didn’t buy too much since the quality from this bazaar seems on the low end. I did buy a nice pashmire scarf and some earrings.
The street food looked and smelled SO good, we wanted so bad to eat them but knew that we couldn’t dare. So far I've been good and haven't gotten sick and want to keep it that way.
We emerged from the metro station into chaos. Even though we had a map it was tough to get our bearings right away. There was a cyclo sitting outside so we decided to take a ride to the Red Fort. It’s a short distance away but it was so worth it to be able to enjoy the surroundings without the stress of navigating the busy streets. It's not just a tourist thing because the locals use these as well. The only thing was that our driver was this really skinny old man wearing rags and only flip flops. I felt guilty about him lugging both of us around. I forget these people are stronger than they look and that they are used to hard labor. I felt guilty so I did not bother to bargain down the 60 rupees fee he quoted us. In fact in the end I just gave him a 100 rupee bill, it’s only $2.40. It’s amazing that the minimum wage in India is only 113 rupees a day! The production worker could be earning only $3 a day! I imagine that these cyclo guys are earning even less. No wonder everybody is outsourcing to India! Just like in Vietnam I can’t bring myself to bargain because I feel too guilty. It puts things in perspective for me when I realize what I paid for one of my designer purse is probably the same as what one of these people make in a year!
Red Fort was awesome. It’s actually a palace used by previous emperors. It was built when the capital of India was moved from Agra to Delhi. The wall itself is made of red sandstone but the buildings within it is made of white marble. I can’t imagine the amount of labor to make all the intricate carvings out of the marble.. It’s over 400 years old but amazingly well preserved. The summers here are unbearably hot so they were creative in utilizing water canals throughout the palace to keep it cool. There was even an underground tunnel for the harem to rendevouz discreetly with the men.
Afterwards we shopped in the various bazaars in the area. I have to say that I did NOT enjoy this at all. It was too stressful for me. If I so much as to glance inside a shop I would get some aggressive harassment to come in to look. They don’t understand the word no! Good thing Laszlo was with me, when I look harassed he would put out his hand and tell the guy to back off. He looked intimidating enough that they do listen to him. He was also the one to bargain down the prices for me, as soon as I give him the signal I want to buy something. I wanted to buy a traditional Punjabi which is typically a 3 piece consisting of pants, a long tunic reaching to your knees but split below the waist, and a long flowing scarf. This is a more casual wear than the Sari and less complicated. Between his last trip and this trip Laszlo has purchased 3 saris for his wife. I'm just thinking, where in the world would I wear it? In the few shops where I stopped in, they invite you to go inside and sit on the floor. Then they proceed to take out endless samples until you find something you like. The more I say no the more frantic they seem to get in getting out all the packages to show me. Meanwhile I'm thinking, shit, he was going to have to refold all of this hope this doesn't piss him off. I didn’t buy too much since the quality from this bazaar seems on the low end. I did buy a nice pashmire scarf and some earrings.
The street food looked and smelled SO good, we wanted so bad to eat them but knew that we couldn’t dare. So far I've been good and haven't gotten sick and want to keep it that way.
It was crazy to see the narrow streets are riddled with hundred of electrical wires all knotted and twisted together, like whoever installed them were high on acid. It felt like all of india was out shopping today. I don’t generally like big crowds and after awhile I was ready to leave.
It wouldn't be as much of a cultural experience but a shopping at a regular mall (2 of them by the hotel) sounds really good right about now!
It wouldn't be as much of a cultural experience but a shopping at a regular mall (2 of them by the hotel) sounds really good right about now!
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