Our Own Spring Break

I have returned from my ten day trip to North India! We don't have spring break, so we decided to make our own. It was not so much of a spring break as it was a slightly stressful incredible learning experience. We started off with a 22 hour train ride in the 3rd tier a/c class. This is the structure of the Indian railway: 1st class (straight up Darjeeling Limited) which has your own closed off area and diner car and good service.; 2nd tier a/c which has two bunk beds (the bench that you sit on is also your bed) and they feed you and it's all grand; 3rd tier a/c is similar except it has 3 bunks rather than two, so just a little less expensive and more cramped; 2nd tier sleeper is cheaper than 3rd a/c but only has two bunks. the only food you get is what you pick up from the platform, your own food, or getting it from the millions of workers who sell chai and snacks (think the peanut and beer at baseball games); 3rd tier sleeper is the same but a little more crowded and then there is 2nd tier and 3rd tier general seating which is extremely cramped and uncomfortable. We travel by way of the 3rd tier sleeper which was not the most enjoyable of experiences. From Hyderabad to Delhi we took the 3rd tier a/c because of the 22 hour part, and that was good. The food was excellent: chicken masala, rice, daal, chapati, bread omlettes, mango juice, yummy desserts that could best be described as space food-esque sugar flakes. yum. And the food just kept coming. So food was a good way to keep of occupied and then we slept followed by a little bit of huddling under blankets because the a/c worked too well, then off to the busy streets of Delhi. Where to start with Delhi...wow. Everything can be romanticized upon seeing it through the window of a car through eyes that have been tainted by a false sleep on a train ride. The roads and new, there are flowers and huge government buildings. So we sped past those to the Pharanganj area which literally left me speechless. The main bazaar was one of the most crowded and ridiculous places I have ever been to. Way too overwhelming of an environment to stay in. Seeing how going low-budget traveling requires very little planning, we just waited the .25 seconds it takes for someone to offer you this or that and soon we were whisked away to find a hotel. A Lonely Planet is a good thing to have and it did lead us to the right area, but there are so many hotels you just kind of have to close your eyes and pick. We settled for the first one we found because we were exhausted and the room had a tv and room service so at the high price of 600rs/night (roughly $12) we unpacked and readied ourselves for the day in Old Delhi.
Anything labeled 'old' in India usually means Muslim, as far as my time here has tought me. Old City in Hyderabad is the Muslim district and Old Delhi is the leftovers from the Muslim empire. Apart from all the terrible things they did, they did bring a lot with them like fantastic architecture. Basically, they all had very good taste. So we took a rickshaw to the Red Fort, which if you can't tell is a fort made out of sandstone. Life on the inside of the Mughal Empire probably wasn't too shabby. Large lawns, quaint ponds, elaborate mosques...we took our time looking around and took frequent breaks to lounge on said lawns. This was also the first time we successfully were Indian residents. For tourist sites there is an Indian price which is usually 5-15 rupees and then there is the foreigner price which starts around 200rs. As we are registered through the Indian government as residents, a quick flash of a card and our price was drastically dropped. It was a good feeling. After some cold drinks and snacks on the lawn we walked past all the amazing shops in the bazaar in the fort and headed for Jama Masjid. The short time it took to leave the Red Fort and get to Jama Masjid was probably one of the craziest things I have experienced here. New to us were bicycle rickshaws. Thin, young Indian men pulling two or three people via bicycle. We decided it was something worth experiencing so for 50rs we were pedaled down the street to Meena Bazaar. It was kind of difficult to deal with someone physically struggling to wheel you down the street while cars and motorcycles zoomed by honking. It is a popular mode of transport but just because everyone's doing it does not mean I have to enjoy it. After a short fight where we refused to give our driver more money, we headed down the treacherous path that was the bazaar. It was a pretty amazing place and if I hadn't have been overstimulated with everything else, I could have done some decent shopping. There were hundreds of shoes, tacky children's clothes, all sorts of gifts, fresh fruit-you name it. The street was also lined with sick people. Here's the thing about sick people: the point is to feel bad for them so you give them more money, but often times it's just another scam. People wearing casts will sit for awhile and look miserable with a cast then if ignored will take it off and walk away. Babies are passed around to make it look like everyone is just looking out for 'their' child. Sometimes they are horribly sick. I gave money to a woman whose entire body had been burned, to the point where she didn't even have fingers and could not smile to thank me. Like everything in India, it takes finding a balance between helping those very much in need and naively handing out cash. After just a few moments in the bazaar we see what I hope I don't ever have to see again. A child stole something from a vendor and was running away and just in front of us the vendor catches up with him and drags him off to be beaten by an angry mob. The whole walk down a beggar attached himself to Abby and I and by attached I mean clung to our arms. But we finally made it to the wonderful masterpiece that is Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India built by Shah Jahan whose name you might recognize as he also commissioned the Taj Mahal. But as the trend goes, we can't go anywhere without some sort of squabble so we spent about ten minutes fighting the man at the gate. This is also a balancing act: at what point do you forfeit a fight and give into getting ripped off? Too much arguing becomes exhausting and accepting defeat is no fun either. First off, we were told the entrance fee is 200rs. Everyone, including Lonely Planet, knows this is a free site so we immediately told him no and he gave in since we obviously had some idea of what was going on. Erika and i both had on long pants and short sleeved shirts. At mosques it is required that shoulders be covered and we were respectfully dressed but this did not matter to ticketwala (-wala can be added to almost any noun to refer to someone who sells or manages that noun). He wanted our elbows covered so he pulls out the neon colored robes specifically aimed at humiliating tourists. Abby had her elbows covered and he tried hard to put one on her but we won that fight too. Ticketwala was not happy we had won twice so then he starts up about cameras. I have my dad's SLR which I just can't hide and most places you do have to pay extra to take pictures (this even applies to small children) so I handed over the 200rs, no problem, but then he wanted money from Abby whose digital camera was put away. This is where the bulk of the argument stood, convincing ticketwala that she was not going to take any pictures but he assured us that was not the problem it was just the fact that she had a camera on her. It got to the point where we were taking off the robes and getting ready to walk away that he finally gave in and just let us through. Like the Red Fort, we took our time strolling around, smiling awkwardly at those also forced to have the neon robes, and taking in the beauty. Our time was short lived as I let my guard down and a kid asked to have his picture taken and I said sure, forgetting that I had to pay him so I went to him and showed him I had deleted the picture and wasn't going to pay him and he was relentless and then got his buddies to harass me too so we had enough of that and left. We strolled around until we found a rickshaw and headed back to our hotel with comfy beds and a tv after a completely exhausting day. Even though this might sound like a terrible time, these aren't things that make me miserable or ruin anything for me. Had Delhi been my first city in India I might have felt different, but I feel comfortable with knowing the flow of things here so it wasn't anything too out of the ordinary. If every time I went out I had a grand old time, I wouldn't be getting the full perspective of Indian life. All in all, each experience is so important in creating my personal outlook and understanding of India.