Homesick :-(

I must give Delhi a chance – but it definitely has a different feel than Bangalore. I’m in the Connaught Place area – a major business/retail district in central Delhi. It’s a busy hub of activity, from street vendors to major brand stores like Pepe Jeans and Nike. I miss The Grand Ashok, my drivers, my work buddies, and the guys who brought my Diet Coke on the hour. This is where the “real challenge” of travel begins, and I’m confident the adventures will be worth the minor inconveniences of dirty hotel rooms in noisy business districts.

The morning started off on a sweet note: my driver brought me flowers. Now granted, they were flowers plucked from a tree… but they had the most indescribable fragrance. He said that these trees grow native to South India and nowhere else. He knew that if I had grown so fond of jasmine over the last week that I’d surely enjoy the blooms he brought. Just to tell you how good the people are in Bangalore – he got me to the airport, fought off the “airport helpers” who were insistent on getting into the car and putting their hands on my luggage, got all my luggage to the gate, told me to be “very” careful, and told me to call him if I had any trouble in Delhi since he has family here. I have been oh-so-very spoiled. And blessed. (and the flowers rest tonight in water in the ONLY glass in room 217 here in Delhi)

The flight was great – I was quite impressed with Jet Airways. First time in six years I’ve enjoyed a full-service meal with REAL silverware on a plane… :-)

Upon arrival, I checked in straight away to my hotel (oh, my gracious… I’m not going to discuss further because I know my Mom is reading this…) (I have my luggage, Mom… everything is GREAT!) and then headed to Janpath Road where there’s a large market. Now remember – I had intended for Jaipur on Sunday to be my “market trip”… Geeeeeeez - I need to quit my day-job and just go be a buyer... I SO love to shop! And shop I did... I just couldn’t help myself – I went ahead and bought a cashmere wool rug from the nicest man. He’s part of a third generation rug family from Kashmir. We drank Kashmir green tea and talked at length about the transitions in Kashmir, the dying off of the textiles and rug trade as families want more for their children and send them away rather than have them be part of such a “poor” economy… We discussed the evolution of families – seems to be a pattern on my trip here. The rug is gorgeous – these pictures don’t do it justice. What I really appreciated was that he educated rather than pushed. There are not enough words to describe how aggressive some of these shopkeepers are. In some instances, the better their English – the more prepared they are to realllllly suck up your time… But I’m really pleased with the rug and if I find another in Jaipur, I’ll just have two... hmmn, three… oh, heck, FOUR!

After my shopping excursion (saw some beautiful textiles, pix below), I returned to my hotel and relinquished my driver for the day. From there, I took things on foot in the general area of Connaught Place – including the underground market of Palika Bazaar (which reminded me of a not-so-historic version of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar). It appears Delhi is ramping up for Dasara – with many storefronts sporting strings of jasmine and marigolds. Not surprisingly, I spent more time photographing “life” here in India than the structures that make it famous. Those great pix will come, but for now I’ll share today’s adventure and the people that made it memorable.

P.S. To add some context, Delhi is different in that people want to be paid when you take their picture. The old woman crouching with the “fried corn” over coal embers: 12 cents USD…….. the mom carrying the smorgasbord atop her head: 25 cents USD. I always ask, as it’s the respectful thing to do before I take a snap. And I never barter. And I’m always humbled at what I’m sure each of these folks believe is a “barter-able” price for an American tourist to get a good “snap” of Indian life, for I know the amount that wouldn’t even buy me a soda from a vending machine will buy their dinner… Life is so good.