Thursday, May 24, 2012

Day 1-New Delhi, Old Delhi, South Delhi, Who knew there were so many Delhis

Our first real day in India, we were off to explore the capital, Delhi. Between visiting Gandhi’s ashes, a mosque and a Jain temple, we saw a lot of crazy things. Crazy things I saw in Delhi:
  • An elephant, just wondering around
  • A snake charmer
  • Amazing Technicolor parades of saris
  • Monkeys climbing phone lines
  • A bird hospital
  • Ice blocks toted via bicycle
  • Ice blocks on the sidewalk after a bicycle crash
  • The thieves market where they sell chopped car parts from tiny street storefronts
The highlight of the day was definitely the rickshaw ride through Old Delhi. Our guide told us that we were in the highest crime area of Delhi. So we held our bags close and boarded the tiny cart pulled by an even tinier man on a bike.

He wove us in and out of Old Delhi alleyways pack with stores, street vendors, people and vehicles. I mentioned the crazy Delhi traffic earlier. Today we saw it up close. I couldn’t believe how nonchalant people were as our rickshaw tires rolled inches from their toes, or how our driver managed to weave us into oncoming taxis and buses when we hit the busier streets.

I got off our rickshaw 40 minutes later knowing we never could have navigated the back alleys alone, thinking I saw some “real” India today, and feeling just the slightest bit like I just survived a harrowing experience.

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