Delhi

We’ve worked on the just ‘go with the flow’ plan...but man I get frustrated here!

We arrived to Delhi around 0800. I hardly slept on the overnight train despite having a sleeper. We couldn’t get a sleeper with AC but we did have three big fans blowing on us and open windows all night. I would like to know where all the women are in India!!? We see so few! I saw only two in our cabin on the train and the rest were men- dozens and dozens of them! The sleeper we were in was one big train compartment and is similar to an army barracks! Basically, you walk down an aisle and on one side are cubby holes containing 6 beds (two rows stacked three high). On the other side are two bunks running parallel to the aisle. So, anyone walking by can see you...there are no doors and no privacy. There is a half wall and a mini sort of chain link fence between us and the other upper bunks. The compartment is huge! Until later in the night, everyone sits on the bottom bunk- to eat or visit. People come down the aisles selling various foods like chai, omelets, veg burgers (which is raw veggies on a hamburger bun). The train also serves dinner if you want it. Steve ordered a veggie dinner and as we were waiting for that two oversized police men came towards us. They shooed away sitting passengers and took their seats. The one who appeared to be in charge said “What country are you from?” Steve answered ‘Canada’ and he even did it without the squirmy hesitation that strikes him at every U.S. border crossing. The one in charge handed me a paper in a plastic cover. It was a dozen or so warnings to tourists traveling on Indian rail. For example we are not to talk to anyone, not to give anyone money, not to accept food or drinks from anyone as they may contain poison, we are to keep all money and valuables next to skin, lock our bags, and not to leave our bags unattended, and to find one of them if we have any trouble, etc. Then we sign a paper saying we read the warnings. I asked “where do we find you” and he just nodded and gave me a look that said ‘don’t worry- we find you’...I have heard they are always near us. So off they go and then comes Steve’s dinner. He finished that up and we read for a while. When the train stopped, poor people, disabled people, and performing people, entered the train for baksheesh. A little boy sang and played the rocks- just like some people play the spoons! He should go on “India has Talent” because he was pretty good! A little boy came on holding an old blind mans hand- the blind man sang and the little boy collected coins. One guy came on and his legs were deformed so he used his arms as legs. Half naked dirty kids came on...
Soon enough we climbed up to our top bunks, cable locked our bags to our beds and tried to get comfortable. The bunks are hard and narrow. I looked down and see men sharing bunks! I don’t know how they did it- they slept at opposite ends of the bunk. Also, through the night the train picked up more and more people- and these people had no seat, they were in the aisles and on the floor. There was a rather heated argument in hindi that broke out in the cubby hole next to me at 0200 and lasted for a long time.
Finally that train gets to Delhi, it has barely stopped and a women is thrusting her child through one of the unbarred windows and the kid starts gathering bottles. We get off the train and are pounced on by rickshaw and cab drivers. We have found a hotel on tripadvisor, we know its near Jassa Ram Hospital and that it should only be 3km from the station. Everyone here is trying to make a buck, and the drivers are notorious for taking tourists to hotels where they receive a commission (the commission is of course paid by us and can be rather high) or to a travel agency where they also receive commission. So we are looking for the pre-paid taxi/rickshaw booth but when I say we are being pounced on I am not exaggerating. We can barely push through this crowd- all of whom are vying for our business. With no pre-paid booth in site, we give in to frustration and get a motorized rickshaw. We agree on 200rps for both (WAY over priced- we find out later it should be 50rps!!!) and we ask to be taken to Jassa Ram. We thought the man setting the price was the driver but no, he is the tout. So we all pile in the rickshaw and the whole way he is fishing for information- do you have a hotel, a tour booked, I know this place, I know that...we just keep saying we need to go to Jassa Ram. We are so happy to get there, but we know we have to get rid of these guys. Steve goes to pay him and the tout says “220” and Steve says “No way, 200 is enough” and we walk to the hospital entrance. We can see in the reflection of the doors that they aren’t leaving, they are watching us. So we enter the hospital and go to the front desk, Steve asks to use the bathroom, and he takes his sweet time doing so. Finally the rickshaw disappears. Now on foot, we take a couple wrong turns, but find our hotel in less than 30 mins. Yay! It isn’t a bad place, we have AC, wifi, and breakfast included. Its also near a shopping district of the non-tourist area- so prices are marked and locals are shopping. There is even a McDonalds a few blocks away- complete with metal detectors and guards! We settle in nicely and rest for the day.
The next morning Steve is not feeling well. He is sneezing like mad, has a sore throat, a cough, and fatigue. By the afternoon he has a fever, chills, and diarrhea. Swine flu crosses my mind so I download some info on when to seek medical help but keep in mind that the hubs is perfectly healthy. No sense in getting panicked, so we wait. I ventured out solo to a corner store to get him some juice and water. The fever subsides by the evening but he is so weak. He has no appetite and I am starving, I haven't eaten since my toast for breakfast. So, Steve being the best husband, musters up the energy to walk with me to get some take away dinner. It nearly knocks him out! He spikes again through the night but the next day no more fever. He feels weak but well enough to take a little tour around Delhi. We hire a driver and guide...Instantly I don’t like the guide, I don’t like how he talks to me and I don’t like how he talks to the driver- like we are of lower quality. We visit popular sites around the city- a massive hindu temple, the government buildings, India gate, Indira Ghandi’s Memorial/museum, and my favorite- the Lotus Temple. While trying to enjoy Indira’s memorial, a group of five guys keep trying to take my photo- I keep turning away, but it really starts to annoy me- I’m trying to enjoy and learn at this place and at the same time avoid them. We wait for them to get ahead of us. But as soon as we walk outside they are there waiting- this time with video. I am so irritated, I said something along the lines of don’t do that and leave me alone and Steve acts as my shield. In the courtyard they ask Steve for a photo. I am walking away because we know they want my photo but Steve plays dumb and jumps in for a pic with them and asks for 5 rupees. They say “we want a picture with her” and Steve said “that will cost 50 rupees” hahaha! They look at him like he is crazy. A similar sequence of events happens at the lotus temple. Its incredibly frustrating.
The contrast between rich and poor in Delhi is unreal. We see massive shiny skyscrapers with shacks built from garbage at their bases. Some streets look like they could be anywhere in North America and the next street is a dump- literally. The poverty here is depressing and widespread. Beggars are everywhere and tap on our car windows at almost every stoplight. The tour guide is annoying to me. We have about 20 mins before the Lotus Temple opens for visitors. He says “we go to government emporium” which is like a shopping place. We are cool with that because its always better to be in air conditioning than in the heat. The vendors at the place are aggressive and pushy. We go into the jewelry section and I spot matching ankle bracelets I like. I ask how much, he says “3600rps” then says “its real silver” so I inspect it. No stamp. I am proud of my recently acquired assertiveness and ask “where is the stamp?” he fumbles around with it and then says “you try on here” and points to a mirror. I have enough junk jewelry to know what feels fake and it certainly doesn’t feel real...hmmm. I reply “you said its silver and there is no stamp and it feels fake” He says “its real” I say “no its not and you are a liar” and walk away. I know the stamp can be counterfeit too- but they didn’t even bother faking that. Steve is beside me now and says “whats wrong?” I tell him what happened. The other jewler says “I will show you real stuff!” but I am so mad I get out of that scammer joint. Our guide is following us and asking what is wrong- why we aren’t shopping. I tell him they are scammers and try to sell me fake silver. “Ok, I know another place” and we walk around the corner. This time its the pillow cases that catch my eye. I bought two similar ones in Turkey and two from India would be nice. “How much?” and the guy says “900 rps.” I said “thats way too high.” Twenty dollars for one??? I paid maybe $2-3 in Turkey! Nothing was marked in the ‘emporium’ and I read that gov. emporiums have fixed prices. Knowledge is power and we bolted. No commission for our scuzzy guide either. By the end of the tour, Steve is completely exhausted. He hasn’t been eating and has no energy left.
We planned to see Jaipur and Agra by storing our packs at the hotel and just jumping on trains with small day bags. But thus far our encounters with people here have not been good- I trust absolutely no one and feel like we are constantly being preyed upon for money. We change our plans. Instead we hire a car and driver to take us to these places. This way we don’t have to worry about booking the train tickets which allows us more flexibility and best of all- less interaction with the people. We scope out the Air India office (with much hassle- “its not here anymore”, “it moved to the airport- I can take you there for 40rps” etc etc) at Connaught Place and joyfully change the departure dates on our tickets. We wander around Connaught Place and I see a lady selling cushion covers! Hmmmm....”how much?” and she says “100rps” I almost jump with glee! I don’t even bother haggling and I buy two. I feel like I have won something. Finally we head to the Red fort (its closed due to the upcoming Independance Day) and then go back to our hotel.