Today we left Delhi. People are denying that they have Delhi Belly by saying they might have a touch of indigestion, or "didn't sleep well." But I know that people are popping the antibiotics today.
Before scooting out of Delhi, we stopped for a photo of The India Gate. This familiar-looking gate is a memorial to fallen Indian soldiers. Those 90,000 who died in World War I and the 1919 Anglo-Afghan War. There were some families and groups of friends visiting the Gate.
As with any monument or place of interest, there were hawkers everywhere. A twist on this theme was the first snake charmer we have seen. He is just a guy, with a basket of cobras in his gym bag. Any interest will make him sit down, whip out the basket, and set those little snakes a dancin'. They are small, and coiled around each other, and apparently defanged, as he was getting snapped at quite a bit. It is about 50 rupees for a shot (around $1).
Apparently, there is a "snake rescue" project of sorts that attempts to rescue these snakes from guys like this. Although if they are defanged, I'm not sure what you would do with them. It is shocking when you see them for the first time. We are programmed to fear snakes, and that fear comes straight to the forefront when he dramatically removes the lid of the baskets and cobra heads pop up. This gave me a serious case of the willies.
Of course, the even more disconcerting thought is how many of these guys are strolling around Delhi with snakes in innocent looking gym bags.
We had quite a drive to Jaipur, not in the least aided by the traffic. We took an expressway, and it was a sea of cars. All jockeying for position, using the lanes as mere suggestions and honking all the way. Auto-rickshaws with three girls sitting on the back trying to compete with giant busses and sneaky little compacts. Everyone smiling and waving. Amazing.
We made our way to the state of Rajasthan, specifically the capital, Jaipur. I can see the poverty and the garbage that people seem to associate with India as we pass through smaller towns. There were small camps and slums, but also businesses and small roadside truck stops with men washing in a large basin. The garbage is everywhere, but it mostly looks like it got dumped in the most convenient place. In the ditch, say. In Delhi, people would unwrap something and just through the lid or the plastic into the gutter. Other people do come along and sweep it up, but I didn't see waste bins or garbage trucks.
We made it to Jaipur with time to hit the bazaar.
Jaipur is Named for Jai Singh II, who could trace his lineage back to the Kachhwahas Rajputs (builders of the Amber fort). He began building this new city in 1727. It was India's first planned city, with wide boulevards containing stalls of equal size, all laid out in rectangles. Artisans and merchants flocked here to make and sell their goods.
In 1857, Maharaja Ram Singh had the entire city painted pink, the color of hospitality, which now all residents have to maintain. It is a law. They are keeping The Pink City pink. Probably to keep it in the red. It is quite stunning to see the city all colored roughly the same. Or at least, variations of a pinkish orange hue. More terra cotta than pink.
We braved crossing the street. The procedure is this: run like hell to the middle, pause, then run like hell the rest of the way. Those who were the right age to remember Frogger did quite well. The Bazaar was full of scarves, textiles, shoes, henna artists, trinkets, and the top two souvenirs: bangles and puppets.
Bangles! They are everywhere. They come in every color, every thickness, and every design imaginable. Women here wear three or more on each wrist. There are walls of bangles in each stall, they are pulled out in boxes for your approval and purchase. "Excuse me, Madam, bangles!"
Puppets are jangled in front of everyone, we were followed by a seller, and as with most things, as we moved away the price came down, down, down. I bought one to get his picture, but then had to tell him (in a Ceci-inspired way!) that we were "done, stop, scram!"
The cow situation here is much less a problem than I had anticipated. People in our group are stunned by the three cows lounging in the road. Our bus almost slaughtered one on the way here. This is mild compared to Ethiopia. In Africa, there are herds of them in the road, not to mention the donkeys, goats, sheep, children and people. This is a much more organized country. There are sidewalks and people use them.
Of course, so do the cows. I was talking to a friend in the bazaar when I was shoved rudely from behind. I thought someone had fallen into my behind, but then I realized it was a giant bull brushing past. We were laughing so much, watching him mosey his way down the stalls, peeking in occasionally, taking up the entire walkway.
Butt-brushed by a bull. Welcome to Jaipur.
Before scooting out of Delhi, we stopped for a photo of The India Gate. This familiar-looking gate is a memorial to fallen Indian soldiers. Those 90,000 who died in World War I and the 1919 Anglo-Afghan War. There were some families and groups of friends visiting the Gate.
As with any monument or place of interest, there were hawkers everywhere. A twist on this theme was the first snake charmer we have seen. He is just a guy, with a basket of cobras in his gym bag. Any interest will make him sit down, whip out the basket, and set those little snakes a dancin'. They are small, and coiled around each other, and apparently defanged, as he was getting snapped at quite a bit. It is about 50 rupees for a shot (around $1).
Apparently, there is a "snake rescue" project of sorts that attempts to rescue these snakes from guys like this. Although if they are defanged, I'm not sure what you would do with them. It is shocking when you see them for the first time. We are programmed to fear snakes, and that fear comes straight to the forefront when he dramatically removes the lid of the baskets and cobra heads pop up. This gave me a serious case of the willies.
Of course, the even more disconcerting thought is how many of these guys are strolling around Delhi with snakes in innocent looking gym bags.
We had quite a drive to Jaipur, not in the least aided by the traffic. We took an expressway, and it was a sea of cars. All jockeying for position, using the lanes as mere suggestions and honking all the way. Auto-rickshaws with three girls sitting on the back trying to compete with giant busses and sneaky little compacts. Everyone smiling and waving. Amazing.
We made our way to the state of Rajasthan, specifically the capital, Jaipur. I can see the poverty and the garbage that people seem to associate with India as we pass through smaller towns. There were small camps and slums, but also businesses and small roadside truck stops with men washing in a large basin. The garbage is everywhere, but it mostly looks like it got dumped in the most convenient place. In the ditch, say. In Delhi, people would unwrap something and just through the lid or the plastic into the gutter. Other people do come along and sweep it up, but I didn't see waste bins or garbage trucks.
We made it to Jaipur with time to hit the bazaar.
Jaipur is Named for Jai Singh II, who could trace his lineage back to the Kachhwahas Rajputs (builders of the Amber fort). He began building this new city in 1727. It was India's first planned city, with wide boulevards containing stalls of equal size, all laid out in rectangles. Artisans and merchants flocked here to make and sell their goods.
In 1857, Maharaja Ram Singh had the entire city painted pink, the color of hospitality, which now all residents have to maintain. It is a law. They are keeping The Pink City pink. Probably to keep it in the red. It is quite stunning to see the city all colored roughly the same. Or at least, variations of a pinkish orange hue. More terra cotta than pink.
We braved crossing the street. The procedure is this: run like hell to the middle, pause, then run like hell the rest of the way. Those who were the right age to remember Frogger did quite well. The Bazaar was full of scarves, textiles, shoes, henna artists, trinkets, and the top two souvenirs: bangles and puppets.
Bangles! They are everywhere. They come in every color, every thickness, and every design imaginable. Women here wear three or more on each wrist. There are walls of bangles in each stall, they are pulled out in boxes for your approval and purchase. "Excuse me, Madam, bangles!"
Puppets are jangled in front of everyone, we were followed by a seller, and as with most things, as we moved away the price came down, down, down. I bought one to get his picture, but then had to tell him (in a Ceci-inspired way!) that we were "done, stop, scram!"
The cow situation here is much less a problem than I had anticipated. People in our group are stunned by the three cows lounging in the road. Our bus almost slaughtered one on the way here. This is mild compared to Ethiopia. In Africa, there are herds of them in the road, not to mention the donkeys, goats, sheep, children and people. This is a much more organized country. There are sidewalks and people use them.
Of course, so do the cows. I was talking to a friend in the bazaar when I was shoved rudely from behind. I thought someone had fallen into my behind, but then I realized it was a giant bull brushing past. We were laughing so much, watching him mosey his way down the stalls, peeking in occasionally, taking up the entire walkway.
Butt-brushed by a bull. Welcome to Jaipur.
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