दिल्ली

For the next couple days we set out to explore New Delhi.  We grabbed breakfast in the marketplace, eschewing the deep fried potato sandwich in favor of a freshly baked parantha meal.  The uniformed schoolchildren who flooded the streets waved and smiled at my companions.

Comin' through!

We took the Metro to visit as many famous monuments  as we could handle in three days, which turned out to be two:  Hamayun's Tomb and the Red Fort.  We also milled around the marketplaces and Rajiv Chowk.

No yawning:  monuments are important!

The Metro takes some effort.  I tended to get separated from the ladies, which was a nuisance.  Each time we used the Metro I had to get in the security lines, walk through the metal detectors, and enduring the men with the hands.  We couldn't all use the "Ladies Only" cars for the obvious reason, so we had to squeeze onto the much more crowded mixed ones.  I learned that if you're on a crowded train, then when it stops, you're supposed to push as hard as you can against people trying to board!  Then when the doors close, people relax and more room is found.  So the big guys hang out near the entrance for this job and disinterested guys like me are herded further in.  When the train shakes you hang onto people near you.  You get used to that kind of thing, and keep your hand on your wallet.  Evidently, it is illegal to take photos on the Metro.  So we were bad when we took this:

Jennifer had visited the Beard-Wallah.

The monuments were alright.  I'm no architect, but I can appreciate walking around a well-preserved ancient site and trying to visualize old times.  We found a large group of visitors sitting in a row of benches at the Red Fort, with a large lawn before them.  My companions thought it was a good opportunity for an impromptu acroyoga/juggling show.  Here is a video of our performance:

Notice that most of the audience just stares stoically... We wondered why: is it because according to Victorian England, women are not meant to show off their yoga flexibilities in public?  Who knows? Another notable incident at Red Fort: with no warning, a couple handed Jennifer their baby and took pictures.

Neither of them is comfortable with this arrangement.

It turns out that in India, parents trust and half-expect you to play with their children.  There is no fear of weirdos like in the States.  My friend Viji says that once when he was in an American restaurant he went to play with a child, like he would in India, and folks were horrified.  Anyway Jennifer was shocked.
Do you wish people were friendlier with children in the West?

Rajiv Chowk was a nice little outdoor mall area in a huge circle, nicely organized with lots of western-friendly stores.  We were looking for Hindi alphabet books for toddlers, internet cafes for blogging, and food.  Yeah, we went to a McDonalds.  I'm sorry.  But we wanted to tell you about it.  So the McDonalds in India don't have beef or pork.  They do have chicken, potato, and cheese sandwiches.  I got a McSpicy Paneer and a McAloo Tikka, which were both pretty good.  Above on the TV screens run horoscopes.  There is a big glass box with ketchup and mustard packets in it, labeled, "Please drop the unused condiments in the box."

We go way back.

 Back in Baljeet Nagar I witnessed Courtney's...
Antic #2:  Carrying a large box of water bottles on her head like a local.

When in Delhi...

This was pretty cute and got her (more) attention, but her neck kind of hurt afterwards.  One really impressive thing about India is how much stuff people can carry, either on their heads, or pulled by a wagon through the busy streets.

After just a couple days we were exhausted. Partly because of the effort it took to move through Delhi, and partly because the pollution there is awful.  If you blow your nose, it comes out black.  I'm told that this is much better than twenty years ago, when you wiped sweat off your brow and it came off black.  Wahoe Cottage certainly isn't insulated or climate-controlled, and I feel bad for Jolly.

The next day we left Sonu and her family.  They were good to us.

Bye Sonu!

Next:  Wahoe Travel