Tuesday April 5th
Happy 50th Carol!
This morning I journeyed back to the Embassy to pick up the receipt for my passport. When I got there, I talked to the same woman and told her I was worried about flying in India without a passport, so she photocopied my passport and my Indian visa for me and put an official Embassy stamp on them. Hopefully that will take care of it.
Going back to the hotel in another tuk tuk, I noticed the road that led to my hotel had a long line of people waiting for something. So, when I got back, I ditched my stuff and was about to go for a walk, but the manager asked if I wanted lunch. He told me there was a buffet offered for a group of Palmolive salespeople and I could have some too. He gave it to me for half price and told me to go in right away because it was hot, fresh and that way I would beat the others! Food was great – mild curried food with rice, naan bread and fruit.
Then I had a talk with Philip (the manager) about what I should do in Delhi over the next few days. He gave me ideas, maps and directions. So, now I have some plans for the next four days before my tour starts. Then I went for my observation walk.
Turns out the people were lined up for food. They were all given (paid for?) a Styrofoam plate of curried food. Along the way, I saw that cow laying contentedly on the road while beeping traffic whisked by him. The little girl on the sidewalk was sleeping there and covered with flies. I also crossed a little river. Along the bank was a small shanty area. The woman washing her child on the sidewalk lived there, as did the boy and his two friends. They came up to talk to me, but had limited English. People smiled at me, waved at me and a group of three men sitting on a bench invited me over to take a picture of them. As I wandered around, people glanced at me or ignored me totally. No one tried to sell me anything and the only people to bother me were a few little kids begging for money.
When I got back I told the manager that everyone at the hotel was very friendly and he said “We're Indian, that's what we are famous for”!
Then I returned to my room for a relaxing evening of watching nature shows on the Discovery Channel!
Well what an interesting day! I had an Indian taxi driver once who was so
ReplyDeleteoffended when another race construction worker was swearing at him and
giving him the bird. He said in India everyone was respectful and polite!
You've got to love that!
Hiya Joe!
ReplyDeleteHoly coW! I remember in Kathmandu there was a cow sitting on the road as they painted the white line, they painted the line around the cow then painted his horns! No bother the cow! But I wonder if everyone swerved along with the line!
That is the way in the subcontinent, they try for a little order but there are just too many variables!
Aaaah Great Mother India has it all...she is just fantastic! Enjoy,
ReplyDeleteg
The cow is obviously drunk and has fallen to sitting in the gutter. Bovine Alcohol Abuse (BAA) is on the rise in India. Be careful when walking Joe because a one ton sober cow can be pretty intimidating. Just give him a few rupees and back away.
ReplyDeleteOnce the cow has it's buzz on it will calmly walk back and stand in the traffic.