Julie in Jodhpur: The arrival and a day in Delhi

I only left the States a few days ago, but already so much has happened that I have no idea where to begin. So a long post follows...
I have tried to include a bunch of pics, but they are sometimes difficult to upload, so just trust that there will be large albums when I arrive home...

Arriving in India is completely overwhelming. I got into to Delhi at about 4 in the afternoon on Tuesday, and was instantly bombarding by overwhelming heat and smells the minute I stepped through the plane's doors. And the ride from the airport to my hotel was definitely an abrupt transition. Within minutes I was in a rickshaw that was constantly competing with cars, buses, cows, and goats as it attempted to navigate the roads. (Honestly, I think crossing the street in India is far more dangerous than skydiving in SA ever was...) My hotel, Hotel Namaskar, was in the Main Bazaar--a hectic and extremely crowded and dirty section of New Delhi--but a perfect place (at roughly $7 a night) for someone with only one day to get adjusted, sightsee, and head to the train station. Besides, with multiple mango stands right outside of my door, I can't complain.

Minutes later I headed to the cafe next door to call my parents and tell them I was safe and sound and strangely enough, I ran into Ms. Deborah Sacks (a friend from Fieldston, who I knew was backpacking India as well, but with whom I had not yet exchanged itineraries). It was great to see her and I went out to dinner and drinks with her friends from UMich--a pleasant way to spend my first evening.

On my first full day (yesterday), I did a bit of touring around Delhi. Delhi is really like no city I've ever been to. It is absurdly crowded, chaotic and...well...much more polluted than Accra, Bangkok, Joburg, and the various other places that I would have been tempted to compare it to. The sky is extremely gray and with all the animals, mopeds, bike and motor rickshaws, and people navigating the street at once it is simply overwhelming and a wonder that I have yet to see someone get run over.

The heat is also extremely impressive (and oppressive). An example: A floor length skirt I bought in Thailand that is meant to be very wrinkle-y (and was indeed tied in a knot in my backpack) was completely ironed out after walking five minutes. Honestly--the city had the same effect on my skirt as hanging it up in the bathroom as I showered would have. It was odd, to say the least.

The view from my bicycle rickshaw--on one of the "highways"

In terms of sightseeing, I went to three places: Jama Masjid, Red Fort, and a spice market.

Jama Masjid is the largest mosque in all of India and was really beautiful. Though they have separate hours for Muslims and non-Muslims, there were some people praying. It is vast and almost entirely open, with the exception of a tower which was off-limits to unaccompanied women like myself.

Jama Masjid

Red Fort was also really fascinating and a nice introduction to Indian history. Built originally by a Mughal emperor, the fort was then taken over by the British, and in 1947, seized by the Indian army as they fought for independence. It interestingly reflects each of these pieces of history very clearly--with ugly buildings that were added by the British, a beautiful mosque, an archeological museum featuring Mughal art, and an Indian history museum that is very proud of its displays of the weapons used to gain independence (the displays additionally point out the ironic way in which India eventually used weapons brought in by the British against them).

The emperor's throne (made of gold, silver, ivory, and stone)..difficult to see in the photo

A beautiful enclosed mosque

And the spice market (though too hectic to take photos of) was, as you can imagine, a feast for all of the senses. I will have to stop there on my way back to the States and pick up something from the hundreds of, often unidentifiable but extremely fragrant, baskets.

Some more interesting things:

The beloved Mahatma Gandhi's face is on the Indian rupee (something I would imagine he would not have approved of).

I am almost always the main attraction wherever I go. Though I don't feel unsafe or threatened in the least bit, it may get annoying (men have taken photos of me and do simply stare). But given that I am often the only white person in the area (it is not tourist season) and given that I am a women by myself, it is not surprising. Just something I will have to get used to and when I purchase my own salwar kameez some of this may die down.

The main greeting, namaste, literally means "I recognize the self in you," which I adore.