Dec. 25
We got up this morning very early. Too early. So we decided to go for a walk before our formal tourist day got started.
This proved to be quite an adventure. We quickly learned that tourists taking a stroll are irresistibly appealing to a wide range of street vendors. One driver of a tuk-tuk (a small, three-wheeled taxi) simply wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. “Oh yes,” he said. “Walking is good exercise.” Then he added, “but don’t you want me to take you to the good shops?” This fellow stayed with us for about ¾ of our hour walk, hoping for a fare.
We were walking along when suddenly Lenny’s face turned into a frown. He stopped and pointed to his sneaker, where I saw what made him upset: a large blob of unidentified excrement -- on top of the shoe, not underneath it! This would have been extremely unfortunate for Lenny had we not had the good luck to find ourselves, at that exact moment, face to face with a guy who cleans shoes on the street. He quickly identified the offending stuff as “monkey shit” and cheerily set upon cleaning up the mess on Lenny’s shoe. When he finished, Lenny gratefully gave him 200 rupees (about $5), but the previously nice fellow suddenly turned into an extortionist and demanded 500 rupees. Lenny politely but firmly informed him that the 200 rupees was his limit. The extortionist-monkey-shit-cleaner furiously followed us down the street until we turned the corner. The morals of this story …. 1. Always negotiate the price first, and 2. avoid walking in place where there are monkeys above you.
We retreated to our oasis, the Imperial Hotel. We met up with Joan and Missy and our guide Rachna, and spent the afternoon seeing various sites in Delhi. First we visited Humayun’s Tomb, several enormous structures that were created in the 1500’s as a tomb for a Moslem conqueror. Then we visited Qutab Minar, which contains the remnants of a mosque on a site that had been built and rebuilt with religious buildings for hundreds of years. This monument included a magnificent tower that doesn’t look as impressive in the photos as it does in person.
We ended the day with a visit to the Delhi Haat market where we bought some sparkling bangles and a few other small items. The market was packed with people and quite a lively scene. Missy got some henna done on her hand – we were amazed that the lady was able to apply a whole hand of henna in about five minutes flat.
Missy and Joan went out to dinner with some friends, and the three of us ate in the hotel’s Spice Market (Thai) restaurant. The food was good, but the décor was really the highlight – quite intricate and detailed decorations. We’re all very tired and looking forward to sleep!
-- Donna
We got up this morning very early. Too early. So we decided to go for a walk before our formal tourist day got started.
This proved to be quite an adventure. We quickly learned that tourists taking a stroll are irresistibly appealing to a wide range of street vendors. One driver of a tuk-tuk (a small, three-wheeled taxi) simply wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. “Oh yes,” he said. “Walking is good exercise.” Then he added, “but don’t you want me to take you to the good shops?” This fellow stayed with us for about ¾ of our hour walk, hoping for a fare.
We were walking along when suddenly Lenny’s face turned into a frown. He stopped and pointed to his sneaker, where I saw what made him upset: a large blob of unidentified excrement -- on top of the shoe, not underneath it! This would have been extremely unfortunate for Lenny had we not had the good luck to find ourselves, at that exact moment, face to face with a guy who cleans shoes on the street. He quickly identified the offending stuff as “monkey shit” and cheerily set upon cleaning up the mess on Lenny’s shoe. When he finished, Lenny gratefully gave him 200 rupees (about $5), but the previously nice fellow suddenly turned into an extortionist and demanded 500 rupees. Lenny politely but firmly informed him that the 200 rupees was his limit. The extortionist-monkey-shit-cleaner furiously followed us down the street until we turned the corner. The morals of this story …. 1. Always negotiate the price first, and 2. avoid walking in place where there are monkeys above you.
We retreated to our oasis, the Imperial Hotel. We met up with Joan and Missy and our guide Rachna, and spent the afternoon seeing various sites in Delhi. First we visited Humayun’s Tomb, several enormous structures that were created in the 1500’s as a tomb for a Moslem conqueror. Then we visited Qutab Minar, which contains the remnants of a mosque on a site that had been built and rebuilt with religious buildings for hundreds of years. This monument included a magnificent tower that doesn’t look as impressive in the photos as it does in person.
We ended the day with a visit to the Delhi Haat market where we bought some sparkling bangles and a few other small items. The market was packed with people and quite a lively scene. Missy got some henna done on her hand – we were amazed that the lady was able to apply a whole hand of henna in about five minutes flat.
Missy and Joan went out to dinner with some friends, and the three of us ate in the hotel’s Spice Market (Thai) restaurant. The food was good, but the décor was really the highlight – quite intricate and detailed decorations. We’re all very tired and looking forward to sleep!
-- Donna
posted by SawMillLodge at 6:20 PM
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