Delhi Daze

Hey Delhi! Why so serious?

Woke up this morning and transferred to my new hotel to start the official second half of this trip.

Checked in and waited for Suji to arrive- we decided to meet up here in Delhi and do an 8 day tour of the mid-northern part of the country together. Of course she was jet lagged after her flight, and I was wrecked after all this traveling so the night was spent quietly watching Hindi spiderman on the Hindi Disney network. Suji passed out earlier than me so I made a quick Mickey Ds run for more Maharajah goodness. Came back and also passed out.

The next day we were up bright and early as we met our tour guide in the lobby and waited to be wowed by Delhi. At least, that's what we hoped for.

The tour started off at a huge Mosque called Jama Masjid - the largest mosque in India. The guide, like most tour guides, was fairly unhelpful and directed us inside where we were left to our own devices. There's a courtyard in the center of the complex, and in the middle is a large pool where people could cleanse themselves before going in the main temple - of course judging from what I could see, it was mostly used as a thing for people to sleep on.

Don't be fooled: It's not as interesting as it looks.

The temple itself isn't that impressive. It's big, but hollow, and since there were no prayers at the time we went: very empty.

We found out that for an extra 100 rupees you could climb up to the top of the left miranet to get a good view of the city. After paying ( and discovering women weren't allowed to go alone) , we climbed up the 100+ spiraling stairs and made it to the top. The whole tower was very small, maybe 2 meters wide, and the top wasn't much better. Add in three other tourists and the place was very cramped. The view was nice, though, and you could see the whole city so it was definitely worth it.

After descending, we met up with our guide again and took a short drive to Rajghat,the burial place of Ghandi.

Just hanging with Ghandi...nothing to see here.

Our guide told us that in Hinduism, when the person dies, the body is always cremated and then the ashes (should be) spread on the Ganges. That being the case, Ghandis body isn't here, but this is where he was cremated.

The burial site itself is in a national cemetery, where the VIPs of India are laid to rest. Ghandi has his own acre, it seems, and you follow a long path down to either go directly around the marker, or see it from a route above. The place itself is very quiet and peaceful- a lot like the cemeteries back home. We've all heard the name of course, but here in India Ghandi is revered and you can see the respect the Indians have when they stand next to, and pray at the grave. Just ignore the obnoxious people like me taking photos beside it.

After the cemetery, As we were heading back to the car we came across the oddest thing. Suji noticed him first. It was a snake charmer! This was one of the things I'd wanted to see before I got here, someone who plays the flute and had a cobra come out of a basket.

It's all fun and games until I get poisoned!

It cost me 200 rupees, but I got to see it and hold the cobra as well - one of the scariest things I've ever done! Totally worth the money

From there, we were taken to the Gate of India: Delhi, which frankly wasn't as impressive as Mumbais, and then quickly drove passed the parliament and presidents home before having lunch at a very posh (and touristy) restaurant. This is where things started to go downhill with the guide, as we were clearly being taken to places where the guide was getting commissions. Worse, the food at the restaurant wasn't that great and ended up costing us 2000 rupees - the most expensive meal I've had in India yet!

From there it was a quick stop at the lotus temple- a giant lotus shaped hall where people practised meditation. There were too many people trying to get in, tho, so we settled for a photo opt and left.

The tour ended with shop after shop of things we didn't want to buy. Suji wanted to go to a local market and find some things, but the guide kept taking us to "his" places, which were government approved (read:expensive) and only had touristy junk. In fact, i think the only reason he took us to the last place was so he could get a ride home.

Suffice to say, we weren't pleased with how our day in Delhi went and for the guide that = no tip.

It was about 6 at this point, and the day just kept getting busier as we made our way out to a suburb of Delhi, sans guide, to visit the Kingdom of Dreams.

The KoD is kind of like a very concentrated broadway complex, and features India's first and only Bollywood musical, Zangoora.

First, let me say that the place is REALLY tacky. Before the show starts you can go into this large shopping arcade which is done up like different parts of India; think disney world in a street. On the bottom floor you can get foods from around the country at various cafeterias - I got momos from a Rajahstani place that came with the spiciest sauce I've had here yet!

On the top floor are shops where you can buy more touristy stuff but at exhubarant prices. Actually, the prices weren't so bad but the way you had to buy things was.

The whole complex uses a card system, where you had to put a balance on a debit card and pay. It was really annoying- we wanted food and were wiling to pay cash, but no! We had to run around trung to find a stall that issued these cards instead. Horrible way to do business.

Anyway, we browsed the arcade for an hour or so until it was finally time to go in for the show. We took our seats, which were actually perfect, and waited for it to start.

Now, I didn't know how this was going to go, all I knew about it wad that it would be in Hindi and there would be singing. That's all. Honestly I was expecting to be bored.

I wasn't.

The story is about a prince who is rescued from his palace on the night of his parents assassination and taken in and raised by gypsies. As he gets older he becomes the typical Han Solo-lovable rogue and falls in love with a princess whom he must eventually save and win back his kingdom from the man who took it. Typical fantasy story.

Along the way, there's lots of singing and dance numbers, all of which put west end/broadway to shame, ad well ad great wire work and special effects.

I loved it.

It was definitely an Indian experience, and even though I didn't understand what they were saying, all the bollywood theatrics (along with Sujis translating) made it an exciting time.

The best part for me? At the end, rather than take a boring bow and curtain close, the actors actually do a closing dance routine and try to get some audience participation from the crowd. The music and dance is so enthralling that even I wanted to get up and join in( i didnt).

It was a great time; definitely a highlight for the trip.

When the musical ended it was past 10, and being an hour out if the city proper, we got in our car and our driver brought us back to the hotel. Reading it now, it doesn't look like we did much, but this was one of the fullest days I've had here, and I'm exhausted. The next 7 days promise to bring me more of the same...

Next up: Reshikesh!