Gandhi's eternal flame
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
There is an eternal flame on the black marble ghat.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Lahore Gate
Lahore Gate
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
So called because it faces Pakistan, and the city of Lahore.
Chatta chowk
Chatta chowk
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
This is a "covered market" inside the red fort. Notice how this name resembles "Chatachuk", the weekend market in Bangkok. I am sure that this is cognate and not just a coincidence. I have noticed that a "psar" in Cambodia is a "besar" in Indonesia, which is a "bazaar" in Turkey.
Diwan-i-am
Diwan-i-am
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Hall of Private Audiences in the Red Fort. It was once covered in white marble with a silver ceiling. It still looks pretty good in red.
The old and the really old
The old and the really old
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
In the back are buildings from the British occupation of the Red Fort from 1857 (when the fight for Indian Independence began), but the red sandstone structure is from the 17th c. when Mughals built the orignal Red Fort as the capital of the Mughal Empire.
Khas Mahal and Roti Masjid
Khas Mahal and Roti Masjid
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
The Roti Masjid, is Pearl Mosque, the private worshipping place of Aurangzeb, a Mughal empreror.
Entrance to the Diwan-i-am
Entrance to the Diwan-i-am
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
This is the entrance to the private living are of the Mughal emperor in the Red Fort.
People getting out of a truck
People getting out of a truck
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Actually, this was a dump truck, but they put a cover over the top and all these folks came out the back. It looked like a pilgrimage of sorts.
Red Fort and the Lahore Gate
Red Fort and the Lahore Gate
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
The Red Fort was built by Shan Jahan in 1648. He had planned on moving the capital of the Mughal Empire from the Red Fort in Agra (where the Taj Mahal is) to Delhi, but he never made it because his son imprisoned him and took over the empire. Regardless, it stands as an important site in Indian Independence, as a place or repression and liberation. During the Indian uprising, the British garrisoned their troops here and placed their administrative offices in the confines of this "Green Zone". Later, it was the place where Indian nationalists made important speeches declaring themselves free of British rule. There really isn't much to see inside, however, but it does have a small interesting museum on Indian Independence.
Jama Masjid
Jama Masjid
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Built in 1658, this is supposed to be the largest mosque in India, holding about 25,000 worshippers in its courtyard.
Auto-rickshaws
Auto-rickshaws
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
These CNG (clean natural gas)-powered beasts trawl around looking for tourists like sharks in water. They're essentially tuktuks, and like in Thailand, they like to overcharge tourists. I bargained a ride down to 50 Rs, but when I watched the meter, the long ride only cost 10 Rs! The driver smiled and shook his head, because he would never let a tourist use the meter!
Convenience store
Convenience store
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
I heard on the news that Tesco Lotus (basically Walmart) was trying to negotiate a deal to open up their massive SuperCenters in India. Apparently, there are no Hypermarkets or Supercenters in all of India -- Carrefour, Walmart, and Tesco-Lotus all want to get in to the potential 1 billion customers. For now, however, small stores like this seem to be the place to buy toiletries and snacks.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Back in New Delhi
I've arrived in India! When I left three months ago, it was surprisingly cold, but now it is perfect spring weather. There is less soot and smoke in the air because of the warmer weather; I think there had been a lot of fires lit to keep people warm.
It is nice to be back! I've got a nice room for less than the cost of a youth hostel in Europe at Hotel Silver Shine in the Pahar Ganj area. It's where I stayed at last December. It's relatively expensive (less than $20), but the alternatives are either much more expensive or mosquito havens; I've got a good medium. I've got cable tv, refrigerator, hot water shower, and, more importantly, no mosquitos.
I went to care of some business at the Embassy cantonment area all morning and actually got it all done! I crashed out in the afternoon for a six hour siesta (I only got an hour sleep on the short 3:50 flight from Bangkok) and woke up in the dark. I visited a local eatery cooking up a thali plate, rotis and naan bread for dinner. Dinner cost me only 20 rs, which is less than 50 cents.
No diarrhea yet in me or the cows, so all is well. I'm going to do some sightseeing tomorrow!
It is nice to be back! I've got a nice room for less than the cost of a youth hostel in Europe at Hotel Silver Shine in the Pahar Ganj area. It's where I stayed at last December. It's relatively expensive (less than $20), but the alternatives are either much more expensive or mosquito havens; I've got a good medium. I've got cable tv, refrigerator, hot water shower, and, more importantly, no mosquitos.
I went to care of some business at the Embassy cantonment area all morning and actually got it all done! I crashed out in the afternoon for a six hour siesta (I only got an hour sleep on the short 3:50 flight from Bangkok) and woke up in the dark. I visited a local eatery cooking up a thali plate, rotis and naan bread for dinner. Dinner cost me only 20 rs, which is less than 50 cents.
No diarrhea yet in me or the cows, so all is well. I'm going to do some sightseeing tomorrow!
Monday, March 20, 2006
Back on the road soon
I'm still in Bangkok for a few more hours. I've got a ticket on an Air India flight to New Delhi tonight (technically early tomorrow morning). I tried to get some business taken care of at the US Embassy (I needed a letter from my embassy to process a visa), but failed (they'd never heard of such a thing, and wouldn't do it!); it reminded me of trying to get stuff taken care of back on base in Keesler, so I wasn't too disppointed. I guess I could have pressed the issue, but I could tell that the automaton behind the window would not have budged. It's so different from the "mai ben rai" (Thai for "no problem!") attitude here. Anyways, I'm going to pick up where I left off three months ago in Delhi. It's hot and humid here in Bangkok, but at least the air is relatively clean (no black boogers), soot-free, and there's no cow dung on the road. I made a trip to McDonald's last night to savor "beef" once more time.
Khao San road video
This is a look at the backpacker ghetto in Bangkok, Khao San road.
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