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Published: March 16th 2006
We are in Mumbai, now. It's pleasantly hot...the streets are teeming with people, vendors and traffic. We woke up late today after the 22 hour-long train trip from Delhi.
It takes a few days for your mind to arrive in India. Our bodies arrived at Delhi airport in the midst of the coldest weather here in 70 years. A pall of wood smoke hung over the city as people (mainly the poor) were burning anything to stay warm. The "hordes of humanity" as Darla put it were waiting outside the airport even though it was after midnight. Fortunately, our guest house had sent a driver who was holding a sign with our names on it. We drove through the dark streets to the Master Paying Guest House in a quiet suburb. Our room was cold - no-one has a heating system - but they had thoughtfully placed hot water bottles in our beds.
We awoke at 11:00 am the next morning. Our hosts Avnish and Ushi introduced themselves and made some suggestions as to where to go - which meant shopping as far as Darla was concerned and also some restaurant suggestions.
A fifty rupee (35 R/$1C) autorickshaw ride took us on a wild ride to the center of Delhi. They drive on the left here and there are few other rules beyond 'survival of the fastest' as all traffic darts in and out of the smallest spaces, jockeying for a little better position mere inches from the next vehicle. Rear-view mirrors are non-existent.
We spent the day touring "emporiums" and craft expositions where Darla searched for a pashmina shawl. The finest shawls are made from the fibres shorn from the throat area of a small goat that lives high in the Himalayas of Kashmir. My lesson for the day was that angorra - an inferior shawl material - was wool that came from a rabbit. No purchase - even a taxi ride - is complete without a lengthy bargaining session that is bewildering to the uninitiated
Between stores and dodging traffic, we were accosted by 'touts' who tried to lure us into other shops. We soon learned to not even say a polite 'No' as they took this as a 'Yes'. Anyone from the west is a mark here as even the poorest traveller is fabulously wealthy compared to many Indians.
Have I mentioned the food? We have eaten amazingly delicious food since our arrival. The best food is regular Indian food from restaurants frequented by Indians. Masala dosa - a pancake filled with spicy potato and chick pea...nan...dal...samosas...mutton burri...biryani...and Indian tea which is strong and thick with the milk and sugar in from the start. Indian beer - a light lager - is pretty good and reasonably cheap.
We planned to leave Delhi on the Saturday but extended our stay one day to take in a tour, offered by our host Avnish, of "Hidden Delhi" - a Delhi not normally seen by the average tourist.
The tour began at 7:00 am with a cup of tea. We drove to the morning wholesale flower market with hundreds of vendors selling fresh-cut flowers. It was a riot of colour and people. Avnish then bundled us back into the car and drove to Old Delhi. Abandoning the car, we started through the narrow streets on bicycle rickshaws. Our first stop was the spice market - such exotic smells and sounds. People everywhere...goods moving on carts, trolleys, wagons and even peoples' backs. We next went to a small restaurant on a narrow street for breakfast. My memory fails me as to what we ate but we wolfed down spicy deep-fried pancakes that puffed up as they cooked. We ripped off hunks of the pancake and dipped it in various sauces and curries.
Back on the rickshaws, through more narrow streets, we visited a house owned by a Hindu and then another owned by a Muslim. We climbed up four stories to the roof top and a view of the skyline.
We drove down the famous Chandni-Chowk - past temples and mosques to the Red Fort, a huge old fort in the heart of Old Delhi.
Then we went to a Hindu temple where we took off our shoes and let Avnish lead us through the basic tenets of the Hindu religion - the various gods and their place in man's on-going search for enlightenment. Our last stop was a drive through the seat of power where the Indian parliament is and then to the laundry service that does the laundry for many of the politicians and their houses. Laundry is scrubbed by hand in stone pits, rinsed in other pits and hung to dry. Dozens of people are employed here - almost a small village within the city - and there were children everywhere helping out or following us looking for candy. We ended the tour feeling rather special - that we had really arrived in India.
The next day started badly as we managaged to miss our fast 14-hour train to Mumbai and barely got on a slower train. There was one seat left in the 1AC class - the most expensive way to travel on the train. However, we met a very interesting Indian industrialist on the train who gave us a glimpse of how the well-off Indians grow up, go to school, live and work. He had travelled the world and was very kind to us, explaining a lot. As the car was crowded, he even gave up his seat for us when an old couple boarded the train a few hours into the trip. This old couple, obviously well-off to be able to afford 1AC, spoke very liitle English. They had brought along their servant who dished out meals from a hamper they carried and then washed up after them. The servant slept in another car. Darla and I were in the upper bunks. We didn't sleep all that well but at least we were horizontal.
In the morning they got out their Hindu prayer-books and sang their prayers for over half an hour. They were so cute. If we could have recorded the prayers we would have as they were so melodic and enchanting. After a morning stop, enough people got off the train that we could move into our own compartment.
We got to Mumbai (it was finally warm) and were blown away by the grandness of the architecture - left behind by the British Raj. We went to the Crawford Market this morning. This is a vegetable, fruit, spice and meat market. We bought fresh figs, papaya and oranges and then went across the street to a fabulous Indian vegetarian restaurant for brunch - 77 rupees or $2.
Despite that lunch, everything is more expensive than we expected (isn't it always) and we hope things will get cheaper as we get out of the cities. We leave for Goa by train tomorrow morning. We'll try to post another message in a week or so.
We've missed or lost a few email address so please forward this link to anyone who you think might be interested
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Rob P
non-member comment
Thanks for keeping us informed
Who would have thought that you would have been cold! We have been warm with temps at 12c and the buds out. Frioghtening Best wishes Rob in DC