My second full day in Delhi. My first Indian Tibetan breakfast was at a very modern café called Ama which in Tibetan means mama. I had a mushroom and spinach omelet with some toasted Tibetan bread that looks like German toasties or English muffins. Along with that was fresh ginger tea and honey. I spent the day in MT (Majnu Ka Tilla) with a group of locals and we were all sharing and swapping stories about their culture and mine. How people normally greet each other (what is old traditional Tibetan and what is more modern), how people resolve conflicts in our respective cultures, etc. It was an interesting exchange. There is a little temple in a tiny square here that I hope to take photos of tomorrow. I seem to pass it when it’s closed. Tonight I had more yummy momos (the veggie stuffed like ravioli). It was VERY hot and humid again today so I feel a bit worn out from that.
When walking through the tiny streets, there are all sorts of people trying to sell you something, i.e. an ear cleaning service, shoe shining (even for sneakers!), selling fruit and homemade snacks and there are tons of mom and pop shops selling everything from drinks, to toilet paper (in super tiny rolls that we would think was the rest left on a roll… VERY interesting comparisons). I will try to take photos of the tiny streets too but if you stop too long you are constantly approached by beggars too who won’t accept no. When you go to leave the quarter, before you reach the outside gates you are literally bombarded by guys who want to give you a lift in a Tuck Tuck (I think yesterday I wrote Chuck Chuck.. ha ha or a rick ha or some sort of transportation around Delhi. You don’t want to be in ANY vehicle that is open air here!
I thought I was winning the battle with the cockroaches but I'm not so sure... I changed rooms so my new room has a wonderfully working air conditioner!! However, the bathroom has a few interesting special points - whenever I flush the toilet the water from the tank starts running down the outside pipe and floods the floor. Whenever I use the sink when it starts to drain, it comes out on the floor too. It's an interesting feeling standing in the bathroom with your socks on and then you get them baptized with toilet water and toothpaste water. The light in the bathroom suddenly didn't work too so I told them downstairs and they sent up one of their guys and he sort of wiggled the light fixture then the light went on!!! Later it didn't work again so they came up again and replaced an energy bulb (but just one, not the second blown out one...) I have to chuckle because there are so many things that are different. Like exposed electrical wires... But nonetheless, everything seems to function. Somehow. Maybe not at the speed or punctuality that we are used to but, it works!! Just like my dome mosquito net... And yes the left side is higher because I have my air mattress on TOP of the normal mattress. It was hard like a board. :)
That’s all for now…
When walking through the tiny streets, there are all sorts of people trying to sell you something, i.e. an ear cleaning service, shoe shining (even for sneakers!), selling fruit and homemade snacks and there are tons of mom and pop shops selling everything from drinks, to toilet paper (in super tiny rolls that we would think was the rest left on a roll… VERY interesting comparisons). I will try to take photos of the tiny streets too but if you stop too long you are constantly approached by beggars too who won’t accept no. When you go to leave the quarter, before you reach the outside gates you are literally bombarded by guys who want to give you a lift in a Tuck Tuck (I think yesterday I wrote Chuck Chuck.. ha ha or a rick ha or some sort of transportation around Delhi. You don’t want to be in ANY vehicle that is open air here!
I thought I was winning the battle with the cockroaches but I'm not so sure... I changed rooms so my new room has a wonderfully working air conditioner!! However, the bathroom has a few interesting special points - whenever I flush the toilet the water from the tank starts running down the outside pipe and floods the floor. Whenever I use the sink when it starts to drain, it comes out on the floor too. It's an interesting feeling standing in the bathroom with your socks on and then you get them baptized with toilet water and toothpaste water. The light in the bathroom suddenly didn't work too so I told them downstairs and they sent up one of their guys and he sort of wiggled the light fixture then the light went on!!! Later it didn't work again so they came up again and replaced an energy bulb (but just one, not the second blown out one...) I have to chuckle because there are so many things that are different. Like exposed electrical wires... But nonetheless, everything seems to function. Somehow. Maybe not at the speed or punctuality that we are used to but, it works!! Just like my dome mosquito net... And yes the left side is higher because I have my air mattress on TOP of the normal mattress. It was hard like a board. :)
That’s all for now…