India Trip: Excuse Me While I Pee on this Wall

FROM 1/28/08:

Well this is certainly different.

I have been, more or less, consistently cold for the past two or three days straight. Not an experience I am entirely familiar with. At least when I am not camping. Delhi it turns out is quite a bit colder than Vellore with the nightly temperatures falling down into the low 40s and upper 30s. And no heating system of any sort. Add to that the recent development of a upper respiratory tract infection and an increase in the general number and aggressiveness of touts in the North and I have not felt too great. Nevertheless, the experience remains enjoyable. I know some of the minor difficulties and discomforts are only passing, and so they just give the trip character. It is also a bit amusing seeing auto-rickshaw drivers zipping around in blankets and caps and gloves. Unfortunately I have none of those and the only pair of shoes I brought with me were my sandals. I technically could purchase many if not all of these, but my dang frugality prevents me from doing so. I already got more gloves and hats and shoes than I need in a town that almost never freezes. And so I am cold and in Jaipur and enjoying it all. Well, most of it all.

My entrance into Delhi was relatively uneventful. Air Deccan, the airlines I flew north with, is much like Southwest airlines, but with far less leg room. Sitting fully upright and with my butt to the back of the seat my knees were still snug up against the back of the chair in front of me. Upon arrival the pre-paid taxi I took, which are generally supposed to be the most legitimate, tried their best to take me anywhere and everywhere they could. After unexpectedly stopping at Humayan's tomb, which I had no desire to go to but which they took me to anyways amongst the confusion of poor English being spoken by both parties, they finally dropped me off near my hotel and asked for money for lunch in addition to the extra gas money for taking me to the tomb. What?! This has been the second time I have wanted to curse out in anger, but this time I held my tongue. I gave them the 20 rupees I had in my pockets (about 50 cents worth), they scowled, and we went our separate ways. I hope they lead unhappy lives.

Our hotel (Kathryn and Kristen would arrive later) was in the "tourist ghetto" of Paharganj. "Tourist ghetto" is quite accurate as our hotel (Smyle Inn Hotel) was back in some alleys behind some urinals, shops, and other budget hotels. The space in the area is so crowded and narrow that taxis generally never go out there, but instead drop you off at the entrance to manage your way on your own. Thankfully I found the place without too much difficulty (with some help), and the girls got an airport pickup from the hotel which guided them directly to it. Despite the rooms being about the size of prison cells and the bathrooms so small that upon sitting on the toilet my knees hit the piping underneath the sink, I didn't mind the place. The breakfast they served was great and the shower was one of the hottest and strongest I've had in my entire stay in India. Those two things almost always win me over. So that was our housing arrangements.

Our itinerary was fairly haphazard. After intermittent discussion and the undertaking of a few errands we were ready to head out shortly before lunch time. We started first with the Jama Masjid in Old Delhi. It is India's largest mosque and, I must say, quite impressive. One of the minarets was also accessible for a small fee allowing an amazing and informative view of the city. Everywhere you look for miles and miles is civilization. Buildings and buildings and buildings. Visibility was admittedly limited by the perpetual hazy skyline as Delhi is one the world's most polluted cities, but it was a view I cannot say I have ever seen before. I was unable to take panoramic pictures of it all due to the construction of the minaret and the number of people up there with me, but hopefully the few pictures I could take will do it justice. Anyways, we also went to the Old Fort, but there were huge lines, and, as time was limited, we headed off to the National Museum instead. After I picked myself up a beard that is.

I had tried to go to the National Museum the day before as I had arrived earlier than the ladies and had had some time to kill, but, unfortunately, Republic Day celebrations completely killed that idea as everything was closed. Doubly unfortunately, all the Republic Day festivities took place in the morning and as my plane did not arrive till about 130 in the afternoon so I was not even able to partake in them. Curiously much a similar thing happened to me and a friend of mine a few years back in Paris on Bastille Day. Oh wells, I can imagine the parade in my head and it is beautiful. Getting back to the story at hand, though, we went to the National Museum and here, after an hour or so, parted ways. Kristen and Kathryn went off to catch an earlier train, and continued to tour the museum. Although not quite as impressive as many of the museums in Europe, and generally lacking in any singularly impressive exhibits like the Ishtar Gate or Rosetta Stone, it was nevertheless a remarkable place and well presented. I would certainly recommend it.

So now alone again I, and with most the major sites already closed for the day, I headed back to Paharganj to have some dinner, use the Internet, and make some calls. At approximately 8:45 I headed off to the Old Delhi train station for my night train to Jaipur. My train wasn't due to depart till 10:40, but as I was unaware of how Indian trains worked and I was foolishly hoping for some respite from the masses inside the station I decided to head over early. The end result of my decision was me sitting on a cold bench with a bunch of blanket clad Indians and a few rats for two hours. There was some brief confusion with finding and boarding my train, as there seems to be with just about everything I do here, but by 10:40 I was in my almost completely empty sleeper car and the train was headed out of the station. I don't know how you, random reader, feel about trains, but, personally, I love 'em. Not so much trains themselves, but riding in them. Night trains are particularly great. After setting up my bed platform for the evening I locked up my bags and promptly fell to sleep.

And then -- lest it get too peaceful -- things got tricky again. I arrived at the Jaipur train station at 4:30 in the morning as scheduled, and, after securing an auto-rickshaw, proceeded to make my way to where the girls had set up residence for the night. It is an almost universal trait amongst auto-rickshaw drivers here, and I imagine everywhere they exist, that they will always claim they know where the place is you want to go even if they have only a vague hint of an idea. There are a few exceptions who will tell you they do not know the place, but this auto-rickshaw driver was no exception. We drove about somewhat haphazardly it seemed on the mostly deserted streets and finally came up to a street closed off by a locked gate. The driver and I exchanged a few words -- both not understanding anything each other said -- and the driver and I proceeded to shake and bang on the gate for a while. Within a few seconds a barking dog and an older man came out of a nearby guard shack and opened it up for us. We then proceeded to the next gate outside Shahar Palace itself which was thankfully not locked, and then began to wander about the poorly lit premises. Finding no one awake and few lights on we resorted to the tried and true method of shaking and banging on random doors. This time we had no success, however, so we headed back to the gate so that I could send the driver on his way. It was then that we finally disturbed the owner of the place enough to get him to come figure out what exactly it was we were doing on his property. Within a few minutes and the unexpected awakening of two English girls in the room next door by mistake I was finally able to join up with Kristen and Kathryn. There was some rejoicing, but mostly just the sleepy, disoriented exchanging of hellos. And so commenced the Jaipur portion of my venture north.

Will our hero see the Pink City successfully? Will he escape the clutches of the touts and scammers?! Will he Will he make it out alive?! Find out next time! On this blog. Right here. Woohoo. Seriously.

Now a Public Safety Announcement. If you ever come to India, and especially the Golden Triangle, do not ever, ever sit against a wall along the streets of whatever city it is you happen to be in. Why? Because they've probably, at at least one point in that week, been urinated upon. Possibly twice. This has been a Public Service Announcement. Have a good one.