21 July – Delhi
Slept really well, as it got cool at night. Went to the
station early in the morning to get tickets for Delhi on the Dehra Dun-Indore
express. We boarded the general compartment. It was nice and entertaining –so
many people….and of course there is the general rudeness also. The wooden berths were so uncomfortable – I
could not wait for Delhi to arrive! It arrived at 12 pm. We immediately got an
AC retiring room (after Rs 50 under the table). Good comfortable room. And then of course went out to the gali to
have lunch – kachoris!! Again! And then had doodh malai – I tell you – good
food is only in India!
It was super hot, so came back and took siesta. Evening
went to Chandini Chowk for Sunday market. Interesting stuff – fun to look
around and also bought some stuff – don’t know how long it will last or if it
is authentic. Went to Bhagirath palace to get some CDs…a lot of it was closed,
but some shops were still open and yes – I did buy some CDs. As we were walking
back through the Sunday market, papa was in the front and I was behind him,
suddenly 2-3 guys went past me and I could not quite tell then but later
recalled that I could tell that they were pickpocketers. And of course its
always papa’s pockets that get picked, which is why I carry all the money. He
did not lose a lot of money but it is still a violation of personal space. It
brought us down a little bit.
We came to Haldirams in Chandni Chowk and we had some
samosa and kachori. Yum! Came back to our room by 6:30 pm and then went out to
the market outside the railay station. Its quite good. I needed to get a suitcase which we bargained
one from Rs 650 to Rs 350. Unbelievable!! But did not buy that – bought another
nice one for Rs 1100. (Note from later on – the handle of the suitcase broke on
the way to USA!).
Dinner was samosas and then off to bed!
22 July -
Delhi
Last day in India and Delhi is closed. We packed up and vacated the room. Papa went
to get a cheaper room, but they did not have one so we had to get a bed in the
dormitory. And there was not a single woman there!! Just me! We left around
9:30 am to go to Darya Ganj to go to Papa’s bank, but found out tah the bank
branch had shifted a few doors down. I went to Halidram to get some namkeens
while Papa was at the bank. It was a
nice bank – clean and airy.
Then we were off to Janpath to all the emporiums. Bought
some nice jewely at the Gandhi emporium. Wandered around to the Coffee House
and had vada and coffee. Definitely tasty! Went back to the room to rest but
found some cops sleeping on our beds! Ugh! Went to the supervisor who gave some
silly excuse as to “kya kar saktey hain? Police waley hain!” but after making
some noise, they came and rudely woke the cops and then we had to wait until
they changed the bedsheets and pillow covers. Disgusting behavior.
Went back to Janpath again at 4 pm to enjoy the street
market, which as always is enjoyable.
There is a lot of bargaining (from Rs 1800 to Rs 750) but the goods
there are so good – all hand made and all the vendors are women. Amazing
ladies!!
Came back to the station – took a quick shower and got
ready for dinner – which was naan and paneer – most awesome and it was just a
dhaba near the station. Perfect ending to a great day. Picked up the luggage and then we were off to
the airport.
Bye bye India.
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