Next stop the India Gate, or maybe the Arc de Triumph of India? Although the India Gate is not too distant from PVR Priya, we walked a large portion of the distance. As an aside, If you have never walked towards a monument that you can see in the distance, it always seems closer than it actually its’ due to its size. The rikshaw ride was short, about 20 minutes, and then the walking started, and continued, and kept going a bit further, until we were almost there, and then we walked some more..
Even though it was about 9p when we arrived at the gate, it was still packed with people and vendors who do not commonly clear out until 11p from what I am told. The gate is a large four column structure with an enclosed top, similar to the Arc de Triomphe in France. Three flags sit in front of the gate symbolizing the three parts of the military in India; the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. Sheltered under the gate is an eternal flame that burns to memorialize all of those who have given their lives in the defense of the country. Sitting next to this flame is a gun with a helmet balanced on the hilt. Visiting the memorial at night made it shine in the darkness, a beacon of hope in the surrounding darkness of the park.
We rested for a little bit in the grassy area around the Gate, Rahul bought a small toy for his nephews and niece, and we all discussed the amount of litter that existed in the near vicinity. Even after nearly 20 minutes of talking about how the litter problem is created, propagated and possible solutions, two of the party members who will remain unnamed added to the problem. You know who you are Rahul and Monu, so I will spare you the shame of public flaming. :P
After some more walking, we parted ways, jumped in separate rikshaws and headed to our respective homes for the evening. We called it an earlier night, as Rahul’s family was arriving in the morning. We had another good day in India, minus the heavy smog starting to take a toll on my breathing.
Showing posts with label day two. Show all posts
Showing posts with label day two. Show all posts
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Posh drinks
PVR Priya, the market area that we headed to, was, as I was informed after we arrived and went through security, a target for a terrorist attack in the past. It has since become very secure, and guards are dispersed throughout, and tend to all of the entries, so I was not concerned about safety issues. We wandered around a bit looking at the stores that scatter the market area, most familiar to me and some not. We then came across a fountain to sit down at, which I think from the steep incline of the slick stones in front of the fountain we were not actually supposed to sit there, and took a few pictures.
Being in a posh area, we decided to splurge at a fancy coffee house after our photo session, this is not a common extravagance that students get to have, so Rahul and I were happy to give the Bihar brothers and Ashutosh a small treat and rest from the heat of the day inside the AC. The interior is very similar to chain coffee houses in the States, i.e. Starbucks, but the service is much, much, much slower. To their defense, they do serve you at the table, but still they move at the pace of snails. I was later told that this was caused by the people that tend to populate coffee houses in India. Couples, lacking much money but still wanting to spend time with each other, will go to a coffee house, order a 100 rupee coffee, and sit and talk with each other for hours on end. If you are looking for a fast cup of joe, this is not a place you would want to go.
On order from our table included 3 mint mojitos, non-alcoholic if you were wondering, a ginger spritzer, and mango chill. My drink of choice, being an against the grain kind of guy at that moment, was the bright pink ginger spritzer. It was like a herd of ginger-beasts trampled the prairie of my taste buds; my sinuses began to hurt a bit after I finished the drink. All of the beverages were drinkable, but the mojito was by far the best drink, as the mango was watery, and the ginger being as it was previously described, was not the favored drink. Sad I had to finish that concoction. That is what I get for being different I guess.
Being in a posh area, we decided to splurge at a fancy coffee house after our photo session, this is not a common extravagance that students get to have, so Rahul and I were happy to give the Bihar brothers and Ashutosh a small treat and rest from the heat of the day inside the AC. The interior is very similar to chain coffee houses in the States, i.e. Starbucks, but the service is much, much, much slower. To their defense, they do serve you at the table, but still they move at the pace of snails. I was later told that this was caused by the people that tend to populate coffee houses in India. Couples, lacking much money but still wanting to spend time with each other, will go to a coffee house, order a 100 rupee coffee, and sit and talk with each other for hours on end. If you are looking for a fast cup of joe, this is not a place you would want to go.
On order from our table included 3 mint mojitos, non-alcoholic if you were wondering, a ginger spritzer, and mango chill. My drink of choice, being an against the grain kind of guy at that moment, was the bright pink ginger spritzer. It was like a herd of ginger-beasts trampled the prairie of my taste buds; my sinuses began to hurt a bit after I finished the drink. All of the beverages were drinkable, but the mojito was by far the best drink, as the mango was watery, and the ginger being as it was previously described, was not the favored drink. Sad I had to finish that concoction. That is what I get for being different I guess.
Eat your heart out Little Bo Peep – Lunch at Ashutosh’s place
After leaving the Red Fort, we headed back down to South Delhi to grab some lunch with Ashutosh. Traffic was as expected, hectic and teeth grinding, but we made it safely. We arrived starving and unable to get a hold of Ashutosh, so we grabbed a snack of mushroom cauliflower curry at a small restaurant down the street from his flat. After food, Ashutosh called us back, so we headed up to his place to meet up with the Bihar brothers and Ashutosh at his flat. He rents a flat in an area heavily populated by students, as the rates are quite manageable, even for students.
Student housing is quite simple, even compared to standards in the States. It is not uncommon for students to move every couple months, sometimes to a flat just across the street, so the arduous task of moving furniture is mitigated by just not purchasing it in the first place. Ashutosh pays around 60 US dollars for a studio sized apartment with a small kitchen off to the side and a shared bathroom. The flat is shared between the two roommates, who, with a lack of beds and furniture, find the space to be plenty large for them. Even with the five of us occupying the majority of the floor space for lunch and chatting, more on that in a few lines, there was plenty of space for several more to have joined in. It was quaint but comfortable, and I sincerely thank Ashutosh for sharing his place with Rahul and me.
We hung out for about an hour, catching up with each other, and sharing a bit about India versus the US. Thankfully most of the conversation today was in English, I really wish I could speak Hindi fluently, this trip would be much smoother for me. Rahul offered to cook some food for us, as the three we met were hungry, and our snack was rather small in terms of lunch proportions in India. The Bihar brothers hung out with me while Rahul and Ashutosh ran to the market for ingredients.
While gone, the Bihar brothers and I shared a few jokes, flipped through photos of Facebook talking about my life in the States and my recent studies. It was nice getting to know them a bit better. Shortly after leaving, Rahul and Ashutosh returned from the market with lunch ingredients, and everyone pitched in to help cook, minus the guest, myself. I would have liked to help out, but all the jobs were filled up. Monu chopped the onions, Sonu crushed up the garlic, Rahul prepared the main ingredients, and Ashutosh walked outside to have a cigarette. With Rahul behind the wheel, I trusted lunch would be good.
Served up for lunch was mushroom fried rice and a dish composed of mutton hearts. That is right Little Bo Peep, mutton hearts. Mutton is lamb over the age of 2 years, a bit hard to find in the States unless you know where to look, and definitely not as popular as in most other countries. The fried rice was on par with what Rahul usually cooks, meaning delicious, and the mutton heart, although a bit dry and chewy, as heart usually is from what I was informed, was an interesting new dish for me. For the first time that I had heart meat, I was pleasantly surprised. Eating commonly fattier meats, the dryness took me back a bit, but I just slapped on a bit more gravy and dug in. I do not know if I would say heart is my favorite meat, but I am willing to try it again in the future. Finishing the meal with a cold drink, Thumbs Up, which is similar to Coke but not as sweet, we started to discuss plans for the evening.
Next culinary exploration, the kidneys?
Student housing is quite simple, even compared to standards in the States. It is not uncommon for students to move every couple months, sometimes to a flat just across the street, so the arduous task of moving furniture is mitigated by just not purchasing it in the first place. Ashutosh pays around 60 US dollars for a studio sized apartment with a small kitchen off to the side and a shared bathroom. The flat is shared between the two roommates, who, with a lack of beds and furniture, find the space to be plenty large for them. Even with the five of us occupying the majority of the floor space for lunch and chatting, more on that in a few lines, there was plenty of space for several more to have joined in. It was quaint but comfortable, and I sincerely thank Ashutosh for sharing his place with Rahul and me.
We hung out for about an hour, catching up with each other, and sharing a bit about India versus the US. Thankfully most of the conversation today was in English, I really wish I could speak Hindi fluently, this trip would be much smoother for me. Rahul offered to cook some food for us, as the three we met were hungry, and our snack was rather small in terms of lunch proportions in India. The Bihar brothers hung out with me while Rahul and Ashutosh ran to the market for ingredients.
While gone, the Bihar brothers and I shared a few jokes, flipped through photos of Facebook talking about my life in the States and my recent studies. It was nice getting to know them a bit better. Shortly after leaving, Rahul and Ashutosh returned from the market with lunch ingredients, and everyone pitched in to help cook, minus the guest, myself. I would have liked to help out, but all the jobs were filled up. Monu chopped the onions, Sonu crushed up the garlic, Rahul prepared the main ingredients, and Ashutosh walked outside to have a cigarette. With Rahul behind the wheel, I trusted lunch would be good.
Served up for lunch was mushroom fried rice and a dish composed of mutton hearts. That is right Little Bo Peep, mutton hearts. Mutton is lamb over the age of 2 years, a bit hard to find in the States unless you know where to look, and definitely not as popular as in most other countries. The fried rice was on par with what Rahul usually cooks, meaning delicious, and the mutton heart, although a bit dry and chewy, as heart usually is from what I was informed, was an interesting new dish for me. For the first time that I had heart meat, I was pleasantly surprised. Eating commonly fattier meats, the dryness took me back a bit, but I just slapped on a bit more gravy and dug in. I do not know if I would say heart is my favorite meat, but I am willing to try it again in the future. Finishing the meal with a cold drink, Thumbs Up, which is similar to Coke but not as sweet, we started to discuss plans for the evening.
Next culinary exploration, the kidneys?
Tourists pay how much more?!
The queue for the fort was quite long, but moved quickly. We were pretty happy to be inside, but then realized we were just past the first of four steps to get in to the fort. Next we had to purchase our tickets, another line to stand in, but at least they separate it out into Indians and foreigners, so my line went quickly. I thought the separation was nice, until I paid my ticket and asked Rahul what he paid for his. Indians pay 15 rupees for the admission, about 30 cents US, and foreigners pay 250 rupees, about 5 dollars US. That is right, I paid almost 20 times the local price.. *sigh*
Rahul and I had a good chuckle about the price discrepancy, and moved on to the next step, baggage checking, as you are not permitted to take your bags in to the fort, or so the signs say. Later we found out it was fine. The officer running the baggage check told me to think of a number in my mind that we should pay for the locker. I found this to be interesting, but went along with it. I chose 20 rupees, and he said that was fine. I took the key, met Rahul outside, and opened the claim check to find out that it only costs 2 rupees per bag. Since we put two bags in the locker, it should have been only 4 rupees. I assume he pocketed the leftovers, as he seemed pretty happy about the 20 rupees I was willing to pay. Oh well.
Step four, another security check point, where we found out we did not actually have to check our bags, silly signs. Stepping across the now empty moat, and through the one remaining wooden gate, we had finally arrived inside! Several vendors had set up shops where the market used to exist, and we found a place to grab some water before heading for the courtyard. There were quite a few tourists in the area, which was expected, but I am fairly sure they were all European. Not many of them responded well to my smile and nod, can’t a white guy get a break around here!? Even fellow tourists do not smile back!
The interior of the Red Fort is enormous, with the ability to house over 50,000 troops and supporting facilities/people it had to be large. It now is mostly a historic place, but also houses a small amount of Army soldiers in the converted hotels. The grounds were quite clean, a stark change from the area surrounding the Fort. Entering the courtyard, we were greeted by the Royal Court where the Mughal emperors would address their subjects. It has since been stripped of some of the more extravagant features, like a series of silver guardrails and a golden separation between the emperor and his subjects, but the elaborately hewn marble throne and seating area remain intact. Rising about 20 feet above the subjects’ gathering area, the throne is an ornate, at the least, pure white marble masterpiece. The detail is lavish, and the stone rare, making this costly even when origin actually constructed. But this throne was only a glimpse at what awaited us.
The Red Fort is a true sight to behold. An entire city resides within its’ walls, capable of housing 50,000 soldiers of the emperor’s army, along with all their accompanying support. Waterways riddle the interior, feeding the large and ornate fountains that reside within the courtyard. Buildings made of marble and red stone house columns with intricate stone inlays and meticulously hard carved embellishing. The windows are screened with exquisitely detailed metal flowers, and the ceilings are lavishly garnished with silver working. It is sad that I could not have visited this place around 300 years ago when the waters still flowed; I bet that would have been a majestic sight to say the least. Oh, and I would have been able to take a nice cold dip in the marble lined bathhouse, tempting a more then welcome reprieve from the 100+ degree temperature outside.
At least we had the shade trees to help us stay cool.
Rahul and I had a good chuckle about the price discrepancy, and moved on to the next step, baggage checking, as you are not permitted to take your bags in to the fort, or so the signs say. Later we found out it was fine. The officer running the baggage check told me to think of a number in my mind that we should pay for the locker. I found this to be interesting, but went along with it. I chose 20 rupees, and he said that was fine. I took the key, met Rahul outside, and opened the claim check to find out that it only costs 2 rupees per bag. Since we put two bags in the locker, it should have been only 4 rupees. I assume he pocketed the leftovers, as he seemed pretty happy about the 20 rupees I was willing to pay. Oh well.
Step four, another security check point, where we found out we did not actually have to check our bags, silly signs. Stepping across the now empty moat, and through the one remaining wooden gate, we had finally arrived inside! Several vendors had set up shops where the market used to exist, and we found a place to grab some water before heading for the courtyard. There were quite a few tourists in the area, which was expected, but I am fairly sure they were all European. Not many of them responded well to my smile and nod, can’t a white guy get a break around here!? Even fellow tourists do not smile back!
The interior of the Red Fort is enormous, with the ability to house over 50,000 troops and supporting facilities/people it had to be large. It now is mostly a historic place, but also houses a small amount of Army soldiers in the converted hotels. The grounds were quite clean, a stark change from the area surrounding the Fort. Entering the courtyard, we were greeted by the Royal Court where the Mughal emperors would address their subjects. It has since been stripped of some of the more extravagant features, like a series of silver guardrails and a golden separation between the emperor and his subjects, but the elaborately hewn marble throne and seating area remain intact. Rising about 20 feet above the subjects’ gathering area, the throne is an ornate, at the least, pure white marble masterpiece. The detail is lavish, and the stone rare, making this costly even when origin actually constructed. But this throne was only a glimpse at what awaited us.
The Red Fort is a true sight to behold. An entire city resides within its’ walls, capable of housing 50,000 soldiers of the emperor’s army, along with all their accompanying support. Waterways riddle the interior, feeding the large and ornate fountains that reside within the courtyard. Buildings made of marble and red stone house columns with intricate stone inlays and meticulously hard carved embellishing. The windows are screened with exquisitely detailed metal flowers, and the ceilings are lavishly garnished with silver working. It is sad that I could not have visited this place around 300 years ago when the waters still flowed; I bet that would have been a majestic sight to say the least. Oh, and I would have been able to take a nice cold dip in the marble lined bathhouse, tempting a more then welcome reprieve from the 100+ degree temperature outside.
At least we had the shade trees to help us stay cool.
Morning chai
We slept through the night much better, as we had a working air conditioning! Rahul got up some time around 6a, and I rolled out of bed around 8:30ish. We did not have a huge day planned; we just had a few things we wanted to see, so there was no rush to be out of the door early.
After we got ready, we took the metro into Chandni Chauk and stopped by a sweet shop for breakfast. That is right, I am on vacation, and I can have sweets in the morning if I want to! Well the real reason we stopped in for sweets was Raksha Bandhan, a festival that day where sisters tie knots on their brother’s wrists, give them sweets, and then demand rupees at knife point. Crazy I know. Well the last part about the knife is not true, but the brothers do commonly give the sisters money. So for breakfast we had a few somosas, kachauris, dhokla, and a few sweets. Kachauris are fried wheat cakes stuffed with lentils and spices, and dhokla is a Gujarati dish made of a cake soaked in some spicy oil topped with chopped greens like cilantro. Out of every dish I have eaten so far, dhokla is the first Indian dish that I just could not handle. I think it is the combination of flavors and textures that just do not seem edible after you start to chew on it. The sweets that we purchased were cashew paste filled with some dried fruit, a drop of saffron juice, and big sugar cubes all wrapped in a piece of silver foil. They say the silver is good for your health, I did not really see any benefit minus making my fingers shiny. Even without the added health benefits, they were mighty tasty.
After breakfast, we stopped by Gaurav’s Tea Emporium for our obligatory cup of morning chai, said hello, and chatted a bit. The special chai here is something I will surely miss when we leave Delhi.
After we got ready, we took the metro into Chandni Chauk and stopped by a sweet shop for breakfast. That is right, I am on vacation, and I can have sweets in the morning if I want to! Well the real reason we stopped in for sweets was Raksha Bandhan, a festival that day where sisters tie knots on their brother’s wrists, give them sweets, and then demand rupees at knife point. Crazy I know. Well the last part about the knife is not true, but the brothers do commonly give the sisters money. So for breakfast we had a few somosas, kachauris, dhokla, and a few sweets. Kachauris are fried wheat cakes stuffed with lentils and spices, and dhokla is a Gujarati dish made of a cake soaked in some spicy oil topped with chopped greens like cilantro. Out of every dish I have eaten so far, dhokla is the first Indian dish that I just could not handle. I think it is the combination of flavors and textures that just do not seem edible after you start to chew on it. The sweets that we purchased were cashew paste filled with some dried fruit, a drop of saffron juice, and big sugar cubes all wrapped in a piece of silver foil. They say the silver is good for your health, I did not really see any benefit minus making my fingers shiny. Even without the added health benefits, they were mighty tasty.
After breakfast, we stopped by Gaurav’s Tea Emporium for our obligatory cup of morning chai, said hello, and chatted a bit. The special chai here is something I will surely miss when we leave Delhi.
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