India, my love
Much has happened my dear friends.
The rocky start we encountered did not persist.
Off the plane in Muscat,Oman, the air was thick and warm, my nose ceased to peel and I could really breathe. Sleeping in the airport for half a day caused some confusion for my poor circadian rythms but upon our arrival in Delhi at 730pm sept.13 I felt I had a surreal amount of energy.
After customs we came face-to-face with the fact that we are white and thus, highly desiratble customers. Taxi companies started fighting over who would take us where. We decided to go with the "official gov." one but later noticed that many said this. 450Rupees later, we're driving to Paharganj, a busy bazaar in Delhi. But what ho, we stopped. Driver claimed we had to sign something in this tourist building...seems to me taxi don't required contracts. So as Logan picks up the pen I'm asking why and so they say we don't need to sign anymore. (My time here has already made my english simple) Then the man call our hotel (Vivek) and claim it doesn't have sapce, even though I made a reservation. He gives me the phone and I speak to a man...also involved in the scam. Being tired and having read about these scams I hung up and walked out telling them that I will go anyway. Obviously dissapointed, they made our driver take us to Vivek and we had a room waiting for us, just as I thought. Leaving the scam office, I noticed the man shaking his head to his partner in the back in dissapointement. He won't be sending these tourist to an over-priced hotel. Scam 1: averted.
Of course, then the Vivek hotel manager says our rooms are 800Rs. per night. I had to inform him that it was acturally 250Rs and then he settled for 350Rs. Scam 2: Mostly Averted.
I'm getting good at this.
Our Delhi hotel was right in the middle of a bazaar and had an excellent 24-hr rooftop patio. A good meal came to 130Rs (3$) for both of us. We ventured out into the market that never sleeps, bought water, and observed. The smell of India, as is often talked about, really isn't so bad. There are some wafts that are less-than-desirable but they don't usually last long. Smells like good food, B.O., incense and still water. Vivek was one of the nicer hotels in Delhi, but there were still some icky things. Our bathroom ceiling was peeling some sort of red nastiness and our toilet did not flush, which I realized, when I proceded to tell the hotel attendant, is not uncommon. That's why there's an extra bathroom on every floor, some with toilets, some without.
The next day, we wandered to find some phones to call home and came across a very friendly man who, after charming us, brought us to a gov. tourist office. There we met us with a good deal where we can have a driver take us through Rajasthan, have all our hotels booked and paid as well as our bus and train tickets. (to Varanasi, Jnasi, Kathmandu...) He was very nice and I did not believe he was scamming us to we went with it. Now we have Pavneer Kumar, our driver who only speaks a little english but has a large heart; alawys referring to us as family and that "your problem, my problem". It's nice to travel at our own pace and stop whenever we like. It also helps to have someone who knows the food and the customs so that we can actually understand what's going on. We drove for a long time, then stopped for lunch and I bought my first Indian garb, a dress/trouser combo that is tie-dye brown and tan. (I'm not ready to wear hot orange and pink yet)
Oh, one more thing; the food is sooooo tasty. I haven't felt sick and my BMs (haha) are as good as normal. Hopefully it's the homeopathics and all that oil of Oregano I'm taking.
So there, our journey continues West, to the desert land of Rajasthan.
The rocky start we encountered did not persist.
Off the plane in Muscat,Oman, the air was thick and warm, my nose ceased to peel and I could really breathe. Sleeping in the airport for half a day caused some confusion for my poor circadian rythms but upon our arrival in Delhi at 730pm sept.13 I felt I had a surreal amount of energy.
After customs we came face-to-face with the fact that we are white and thus, highly desiratble customers. Taxi companies started fighting over who would take us where. We decided to go with the "official gov." one but later noticed that many said this. 450Rupees later, we're driving to Paharganj, a busy bazaar in Delhi. But what ho, we stopped. Driver claimed we had to sign something in this tourist building...seems to me taxi don't required contracts. So as Logan picks up the pen I'm asking why and so they say we don't need to sign anymore. (My time here has already made my english simple) Then the man call our hotel (Vivek) and claim it doesn't have sapce, even though I made a reservation. He gives me the phone and I speak to a man...also involved in the scam. Being tired and having read about these scams I hung up and walked out telling them that I will go anyway. Obviously dissapointed, they made our driver take us to Vivek and we had a room waiting for us, just as I thought. Leaving the scam office, I noticed the man shaking his head to his partner in the back in dissapointement. He won't be sending these tourist to an over-priced hotel. Scam 1: averted.
Of course, then the Vivek hotel manager says our rooms are 800Rs. per night. I had to inform him that it was acturally 250Rs and then he settled for 350Rs. Scam 2: Mostly Averted.
I'm getting good at this.
Our Delhi hotel was right in the middle of a bazaar and had an excellent 24-hr rooftop patio. A good meal came to 130Rs (3$) for both of us. We ventured out into the market that never sleeps, bought water, and observed. The smell of India, as is often talked about, really isn't so bad. There are some wafts that are less-than-desirable but they don't usually last long. Smells like good food, B.O., incense and still water. Vivek was one of the nicer hotels in Delhi, but there were still some icky things. Our bathroom ceiling was peeling some sort of red nastiness and our toilet did not flush, which I realized, when I proceded to tell the hotel attendant, is not uncommon. That's why there's an extra bathroom on every floor, some with toilets, some without.
The next day, we wandered to find some phones to call home and came across a very friendly man who, after charming us, brought us to a gov. tourist office. There we met us with a good deal where we can have a driver take us through Rajasthan, have all our hotels booked and paid as well as our bus and train tickets. (to Varanasi, Jnasi, Kathmandu...) He was very nice and I did not believe he was scamming us to we went with it. Now we have Pavneer Kumar, our driver who only speaks a little english but has a large heart; alawys referring to us as family and that "your problem, my problem". It's nice to travel at our own pace and stop whenever we like. It also helps to have someone who knows the food and the customs so that we can actually understand what's going on. We drove for a long time, then stopped for lunch and I bought my first Indian garb, a dress/trouser combo that is tie-dye brown and tan. (I'm not ready to wear hot orange and pink yet)
Oh, one more thing; the food is sooooo tasty. I haven't felt sick and my BMs (haha) are as good as normal. Hopefully it's the homeopathics and all that oil of Oregano I'm taking.
So there, our journey continues West, to the desert land of Rajasthan.
Really enjoying the highlights of your adventure. I'ts intersting and quite entertaining. Glad to hear things are going well. Keep it coming. I'll get your blog site address to Michelle and Christine. Take care, Rocket really misses you too.Love Mom
Posted by
Anonymous |
11:15 AM
Hey Dominique! Great blog, it sounds like you are having a terrific adventure. The pushyness of the Indian merchants is not a factor of them being Indian, it is a very common attribute of all merchants and vendors in third world countries. They are increadibly adept and talented at getting people to buy their wares. Necessity is the mother of invention right? I know how difficult and stressful it is to travel like you are with someone, so keep your sense of humour about you and you will be fine. As always, be careful. You have surprised me with your saviness and ability to make yourself heard and understood. Keep it up and keep writing your blog.
Posted by
Anonymous |
10:39 AM