Very long and very dirty train ride. I slept good, though. By the end of the journey, everything was covered in a good layer of dirt. Arrived in Delhi about 2:00pm maybe. About 20 hours train ride.
The train stopped at the Old Delhi Train Station, so got a cycle rickshaw to Paharganj and waked to Anoop Guest House. Those cycle rickshaws, they sure earn their money...you feel so bad for them, they work SOO hard, with their one speed extra large tricycles, trying to up hills with a load of 200 pounds behind them.
Checked in, and went upstairs to my room. I looked at myself in the mirror, after having done a long, dirty train ride. I was hideous!!! I looked like I hadn't showered in months, my hair was up all over, by lips were severly chapped, sun burn peeling on my face, dirt covering me. I took a picture of myself, I looked so bizarre! Then I showered, hit internet quickly, then booked an open-ended ticket to Kathmandu for about $205CDN. I fly tomorrow at 10:00am.
Went upstairs for supper. Had chicken pizza. It was awesome. They have a resident cat in the restaurant at this guest house. One of the workers brought it the leftovers of a chicken skeleton to munch on. Did it enjoy that! AFter it was done, the cat stood there and bathed itself all over. A while later, one of the workers brought up a tiny kitten. It was still a little unsure on it's feet. It was so cute, and the worker was teasing the kitten with a piece of chicken meat. Once the kitten had it in it's mouth, the worker had a tough time getting it back! Then the other cat came along...it wasn't that happy about having competition in the restaurant...a new kitten on the block! It swatted the kitten a couple of times, but the kitten was pretty fierce fighter, clawing back. It was pretty funny.
There was a french guy at the hotel, backpacking with a three year old kid! How tough would that be!
India seems to have a lot of older backpackers, 26+ years old. Unlike SE Asia, where the backpacker age was 18-25.
There are virtually no cats and chickens around...you see them all over in SE Asia.
Went back to the internet and brought my journal up to date. As I was using the internet, the lady sitting next to me was on the same flight to Kathmandu as I was. She's older (50 perhaps), her name is Shawna. Born in Israel, living in US now. I think she was nervous, she seemed happy to meet me.
After internet, headed outside to "shop". Decided to brave the maddening Delhi scene. Walked all over Paharjang and bought a pair of nice sandals for way too much rupees. 1250 rupees. He started at 1850, I started at 800, and that's where ended up. I suck at haggling! I have no clue what they're worth, but I don't think they're worth what I paid......oh well.
AFter that, kept walking around and got a haircut for 20 rupees (about 60 cents). The man was a master with the scissors.
About 9:00, the shops started to close down and things quieted down, so went back to the room, packed, wrote in journal, watched MTV.
I have to admit, now that I've been in India for a while, and "culture-ized"...I like Delhi now! It's insane, in your face, full-on, crazy busy, bizarrely dirty...but it's fun! My first experience with Delhi was just off the plane, and it was too much, too quick, overload on the senses. I needed time for everything to sink in. It's kind of similar to Khao San Road in Bangkok, except the streets are tiny, there's cows everywhere, garbage is piled up everywhere, but tons of stuff happening, lots of locals and tourists.
No comments:
Post a Comment