My openness led me to be dragged to several tourist shops by my autorickshaw driver.  I guess there is a strike on in Delhi today, so all the shops at Connaught Place were closed.  As I was walking, a man started talking to me.  I told him I was was shopping for a sweater (it’s cold here!), and he said I should grab an auto to a bazaar close by.  He said don’t pay more than 10 rs.  He then flagged down an auto and told the driver to take me there.  Instead, we went to two high-priced tourist shops.  I didn’t complain, and just strolled around each for a few minutes.  We mostly spoke in Hindi, and I said that I was looking for something cheap to keep warm.  “You want local,” he said, and proceeded to take me to a small bazaar with clothes for locals.  I found a nice sweatshirt for 125 rs.  All’s well that ends well.

Then on the metro, there was a guy who was obviously interested in talking to me.  He started chatting, and in rather broken English, told me he was from the U.K.  My beware-of-scam alerts were going off.  Then there was an announcement over the intercom, and he said that we had to get off that train, because it wouldn’t stop at my station.  I was very suspicious, but lots of people got off at the next stop, so I reluctantly followed.  Everybody stood there, and about 30 seconds later another train came, and we all got on.  He was genuinely trying to help me.

My people reading skills are a bit rusty.  In Sweden you can pretty much trust anybody implicitly.  Many people here in Delhi are just interested in trying out their English, or being hospitable to a foreigner.  I try to treat all the people that approach me that way.  The trick is picking the touts out from the rest.  Actually, one guy was totally honest with me.  “Let me show you some shops,” he said, “I’ll be honest, I get 2% commission.”  I was honest too.  “Sorry man, I was just taken to two shops that I didn’t want to go to.  Maybe next time, I’ll see you first.”

Things also felt differently because I was coming home to friends Maria & Robert, not to a hotel.  I caught a pre-paid taxi from the airport and after a bit of asking random pedestrians and then repeated calls to Maria, my driver and his sidekick (a guy who jumped into the cab as we left the airport) managed to find the neighborhood.  I was then able to relax and drink a cup of coffee with Maria.

Today I caught the new metro down to Connaught Place.  The metro was also shiny and new, with spotless cars and platforms.  There were even automated announcements for all the stops.  After strolling around Connaught, I met my friend Parvez for lunch at Saravana Bhavan, a wonderful South Indian restaurant.  I then went back to his place and hung out while he practiced with a friend for an upcoming concert.  Before heading home in the evening, I stopped at my favorite paratha stand for one andha and one aloo paratha (egg and potato stuffed breads).

Prices have changed in an interesting way.  Mid-range and expensive things have gone up a lot.  Meals that used to cost 60 rs in 2004 are not 120 (so at least 100% increase in 5 years).  On the other hand, prices for common things have only gone up very slightly. My aloo paratha only set me back 10 rs (up from 8 in 2004).  That seems to tell me that there has been a lot of income growth for the middle and upper classes, but those at the bottom have not benefitted.  I should go dig up the World Bank figures.

Other things that are new for me here: plastic bags are a thing of the past.  I bought some fabric yesterday, and they gave it to me in a little cloth bag.  I commented that it was nice not to get plastic, and I was told that plastic bags are now banned.  I wonder when the U.S. and Europe will catch up.

On Saturday morning we got up early and headed to the temple, for a Losar ceremony. The area around the temple was packed with Tibetans and tourists all trying to get a view of the ceremony through the temple windows. The Tibetans were all dressed in their finest clothes, while the tourists were mostly pretty scruffy. Everybody was in a festive mood.
Inside the temple, monks with large yellow hats chanted, their voiced being brought to the crowds over loudspeakers. Tea and sweet rice were served to those attending. After the monks were finished, a group of children sang and danced.
Later in the day, while Sarah rested in at the hotel, I went to visit my old neighbors. They had invited me over to celebrate with them. The stuffed me full of cookies and tea (salty butter tea and sweet milk tea). The decorations for Losar consisted of stacks of food offerings — sweet cakes, fruit, butter, tea. They explained that in Tibet, the celebration lasts for fifteen days, but here in India they limit it to three. The first day is spent at the temple, while the second and third are spent visiting friends and family.
Last night I joined my friends Champa, Pema, Raj and Mark (the friends with whom I was in Kerala) for a small gathering on their balcony. The lit a fire, cooked food and served “Chang”, home-made Tibetan barley beer. It tasted a bit like sake, but was not as strong. It was fun to see them again now at the end of my trip.

We sat on the platform with an older man who was waiting for his wife to arrive on the train. With him was his neighbor, who didn’t want him to come to the station alone, since “Delhi is not safe at night”. The man had just spent two months in Los Gatos, California, and we had a good talk. Actually he saw more of California in those two months, than I did in ten years.
We arrived in Amritsar at around noon on Tuesday, and took a room in a hotel near the old city. After stuffing ourselves with Naan at a Dhaba next door, we took a cycle-rickshaw to Jallianwala Bagh. From there we walked to the Golden Temple. Even though I knew what to expect, it was still as impressive as on my first visit. Sarah was struck by the clean gold and white marble which shone in the bright sunlight, and by the humility of the Sikh pilgrims coming to worship. Again we both felt welcomed.
From there we visited a chai stall I had gone to on my first visit. The Chaiwalla remembered me, and asked lots of questions about my trip. We were soon joined by a group of locals who listened in and discussed what Sarah and I said. After chai we wandered the narrow back alleys of Amritsar.
The next morning we headed to the train station. After taking langar (in this case tea and sweet toast) with the richshaw-wallas outside the station, we boarded our train to Pathankot. Sitting in our section were three travelling salesmen, with whom we chatted. At one point, one of them (an older Sikh man who sold auto parts) asked if we could sing. I said that Sarah could. After some encouragement she began to sing a Hind movie song (”Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”), and all three of the men joined in. Afterwards Sarah said to the same man, “you have a good voice, you should sing us a song.” He first went to the end of the car to practice, and then came back and sang a song for us. Just a typical day with travelling salesmen.

He lives close very close to Mark’s apartment (where I stay in Delhi), so I hopped in an auto rickshaw, and was there in five minutes. We sat and chatted for about an hour, and then his cook broght dinner. After eating, we went down to Parvez’ office and watched some of his videos.
His work deals mostly with causes, such as rights for the disabled, and feminist issues in India. I found his films inspiring, and powerful, blending strong visuals and his ear for music. In fact two of the films are music videos, in one of which he himself performs. It was nice to see some of the contemorary art being produced here — something other than bollywood.
When I told him I was vegetarian, he said he would take me to have some of the best veggie food in Delhi. So, the next evening we drove out to a suburb (actually in Uttar Pradesh), to a little restaurant in a quiet neighborhood. It is the sort of place that you would never find as a tourist. The food was excellent, especially the roti (flat bread) which was hot and crispy.
On friday evening we met again for a meal at a dhaba close to his house. It is a paratha (stuffed flat bread) joint (more of a shack), with tables out front. When we arrived it was swarming with people eating hot parathas. Parvez fought his way through the crowd and returned with one egg and one potato paratha for each of us. Again I have to say that the best food in India is to be found at dhabas (little road side stalls).

While wandering the back alleys of Pune, I came across a small ‘café’. The proprietor sat cross-legged on a little platform with his tea-making equipment surrounding him. I ordered spiced milk and watched as he leaned this way and that to make it. This simple activity was so artistic.

With less than two weeks until Sarah arrives, I don’t have much time to get back to Delhi, but I wanted to break my trip up into smaller pieces. I wanted to go to Bangalore, but all the trains for the next four days were over-booked. So, I decided to go to Hampi as my first stop. In Hampi are the ruins of a city, which was the capital of a Hindu empire until the middle of the 16th Century, when it was sacked.
The only train I could get left around two in the afternoon. It got me to Guntakal, where I needed to change trains around 11:30 at night. I took a tiny, grimy retiring room at the station, happy just to have a place to lie down. At 6:00 the next morning I was on a train to Hospet, the nearest railhead to Hampi.
I found Hampi to be beautiful, and annoying. The ruins are scattered all around a rocky landscape. Huge boulders perch improbably on top of each other. A small city has grown up in and around the ruins, with some shops actually in the structure which was the old bazaar. I found it annoying because absolutely the only industry here is tourism. I am discovering that I don’t really like the places where tourists congregate.
On my first day, I met a Japanese girl who spoke Hindi (and virtually no English). It was wonderful to discover that I could actually carry on a conversation in Hindi without relying on English. It was also nice to meet somebody else who was connecting more with the culture than the average tourist.
The next day, which was thankfully cloudy, I roamed around the ruins. I discovered a wonderful huge Ganesh statue. At one point I met a group of local art students practicing their water color skills by painting the buildings and rocky landscape.