Day 5 on our experience was to give us an historical and business understanding of India. It was perhaps our most "touristy" day as we visited monuments and historical sights.
We started the day at the Qutub Minar, a monument and tower about 240 feet tall built in 1193 after the defeat of Delhi's last Hindu kingdom. The tower is made out of sandstone and marble and tapers as it nears the top. At the base of the tower is the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque which was the first mosque to be built in India. In the courtyard of the building is a 23 foot tall iron pillar which, despite being in the elements for 900 years, contains no rust.
Equal to the interest in the historical buildings at this site was the other Indians' interest in us. Almost from our very entry into the site, we were asked if people could take our pictures. We were more than willing as we were just as interested in having our photos with them!
Also interesting about this place was the bathroom! We had to buy tickets, actual tickets, to get in. It was 3 rupees for a urinal and 5 rupees (8 cents) for a toilet! Note, the price did not include toilet paper!!!
Our next stop was the India Gate. The India Gate is a war memorial dedicated to those soldiers from India who lost their lives in World War I. To me, it was very reminiscent of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The area was full of people hawking goods at us and we did not stay long.
We did, however, have an unexpected treat...an Indian cobra show! Just like in the cartoons, the man played his pipe and a cobra crawled out of his basket. He didn't dance quite like we thought he would, but it was still fun to watch - and to touch!
We did, however, have an unexpected treat...an Indian cobra show! Just like in the cartoons, the man played his pipe and a cobra crawled out of his basket. He didn't dance quite like we thought he would, but it was still fun to watch - and to touch!
After the cobra show, we headed to a shopping district to shop for some souvenirs and to have lunch. I was able to go into a small grocery store and buy a pack of spice for Steve. I was hoping to load him up on spices, but unfortunately we never found quite the right place. We ate at a Kashmir restaurant, which was a first. I had a yummy dish called Khubani chicken which had a sauce infused with apricot pulp and special herbs.
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| A tiny grocery store |
From lunch we got in our bus and drove a bit before being deposited at the side of a busy road. We walked for a while and then entered into the underground Metro. The Metro was a crowded, busy place and it wasn't even rush hour! The train itself was really nice, though, very smooth and cool, quite unlike what I was expecting.
We got off the metro in Old Delhi and took another crazy rickshaw ride to the same place we were last night. We drove through a congested, packed street which was home to the stores that sell wedding saris. Oh my, the colors were amazing - so vivid and bright and alive! Speaking of alive, I'm very glad we made it through this district alive because It. Was. Crazy!
We tried once again to go into the mosque, but this time it was closed to non-Muslims for prayers. So we got back aboard our rickshaws to the next Metro station. Since our van was stuck in traffic, we took the Metro to Dwarka, the area of town where we were staying. Once again, our van hadn't caught up to us, so Robyn hailed some autorickshaws (like the tuk tuks in Thailand) and we had a crazy fun dueling rickshaw ride back to the hotel.
Once finally back at the hotel at 8:30, we were exhausted, but there was still another part to our itinerary that we hadn't got to yet. While half the team decided to stay in and order dinner, the other half rallied and headed out the door at 9:00 pm for dinner! Guess which half I was on?
Cybercity is a modern business center located southwest of Delhi. It is where many international corporations have their offices, like Deloitte, American Express and Google. It is also home to the thriving "call centers" where our customer service calls get routed from the US. Also in this area is a new concept for India, Cyber Hub, an outdoors food and entertainment district very reminiscent of something you'd find in North Dallas or southern California. It is a mix of restaurants from India and beyond and included Krispy Kreme, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks.
Walking through the metal detectors (they're everywhere - shopping malls, subways, mosques, etc.) was liking flipping a switch on everything we'd experienced in Delhi. This area was away from the noise of traffic, from the bustle of people and from the dirt of Delhi. It was like being transported back to the US for dinner. Except our dinner was way better than anything you'd get in a place like this in the US!
We went to an Indian restaurant specializing in cuisine from the Rajasthani and Gujarati regions of India. Basically every place at every table was set with a large circular plate with many little bowls in it. As soon as we sat down a multitude of servers descended on the table and filled all our little dishes and the spaces in between with different curries. It was fantastic! Most Indians eat with their hands (right hand only) and so we all decided to try it tonight. It was fantastic! At the end, they come around with water so you can wash your hands.
Robyn also bought us special "treats" at the end, something called a "pan". It's supposed to be a mouth freshener that you pop into your mouth and chew and chew on. The leaf it's wrapped in tastes just like licorice. I dissected mine and found a semi-flavorful filling of coriander seeds, dried cherry and something that tastes like soap. I didn't think it was too bad, but poor Lyndsey spit hers out very quickly!
The other really interesting part of the night was talking to Robyn about cost of living in India. The discussion started in the van when I was asking him about the call center jobs. These are considered good, middle class salaried jobs so we were wondering what they paid. According to our calculations, a call center job pays about $5,400 a year. No wonder they are outsourced! To give an example of housing cost, Robyn told of a person who has a 3 bedroom apartment and pays $150 a month. But in that apartment live a brother and his wife, another brother and his wife and child, the parents, an unmarried sister and the man. What a difference to how many of us live in the US.
We got off the metro in Old Delhi and took another crazy rickshaw ride to the same place we were last night. We drove through a congested, packed street which was home to the stores that sell wedding saris. Oh my, the colors were amazing - so vivid and bright and alive! Speaking of alive, I'm very glad we made it through this district alive because It. Was. Crazy!
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| This is how people illegally tap into the power lines. |
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| Me, Robyn and Jess on our rickshaw |
We tried once again to go into the mosque, but this time it was closed to non-Muslims for prayers. So we got back aboard our rickshaws to the next Metro station. Since our van was stuck in traffic, we took the Metro to Dwarka, the area of town where we were staying. Once again, our van hadn't caught up to us, so Robyn hailed some autorickshaws (like the tuk tuks in Thailand) and we had a crazy fun dueling rickshaw ride back to the hotel.
Once finally back at the hotel at 8:30, we were exhausted, but there was still another part to our itinerary that we hadn't got to yet. While half the team decided to stay in and order dinner, the other half rallied and headed out the door at 9:00 pm for dinner! Guess which half I was on?
Cybercity is a modern business center located southwest of Delhi. It is where many international corporations have their offices, like Deloitte, American Express and Google. It is also home to the thriving "call centers" where our customer service calls get routed from the US. Also in this area is a new concept for India, Cyber Hub, an outdoors food and entertainment district very reminiscent of something you'd find in North Dallas or southern California. It is a mix of restaurants from India and beyond and included Krispy Kreme, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks.
Walking through the metal detectors (they're everywhere - shopping malls, subways, mosques, etc.) was liking flipping a switch on everything we'd experienced in Delhi. This area was away from the noise of traffic, from the bustle of people and from the dirt of Delhi. It was like being transported back to the US for dinner. Except our dinner was way better than anything you'd get in a place like this in the US!
We went to an Indian restaurant specializing in cuisine from the Rajasthani and Gujarati regions of India. Basically every place at every table was set with a large circular plate with many little bowls in it. As soon as we sat down a multitude of servers descended on the table and filled all our little dishes and the spaces in between with different curries. It was fantastic! Most Indians eat with their hands (right hand only) and so we all decided to try it tonight. It was fantastic! At the end, they come around with water so you can wash your hands.
Robyn also bought us special "treats" at the end, something called a "pan". It's supposed to be a mouth freshener that you pop into your mouth and chew and chew on. The leaf it's wrapped in tastes just like licorice. I dissected mine and found a semi-flavorful filling of coriander seeds, dried cherry and something that tastes like soap. I didn't think it was too bad, but poor Lyndsey spit hers out very quickly!
The other really interesting part of the night was talking to Robyn about cost of living in India. The discussion started in the van when I was asking him about the call center jobs. These are considered good, middle class salaried jobs so we were wondering what they paid. According to our calculations, a call center job pays about $5,400 a year. No wonder they are outsourced! To give an example of housing cost, Robyn told of a person who has a 3 bedroom apartment and pays $150 a month. But in that apartment live a brother and his wife, another brother and his wife and child, the parents, an unmarried sister and the man. What a difference to how many of us live in the US.
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