City Guide New Delhi Part 5



The now familiar note of the taxi's horn no longer prompted a reaction
from me as we dashed through the streets to the center of the city.

Our destination was the heart of India's government known as King's
Way. King's Way, or "Rajpath" is an area of the city akin to
Washington D.C.'s Pennsylvania Avenue and the National Mall. New
Delhi's ramshackle neighborhoods soon gave way to nicely landscaped,
gated compounds and clean, wide boulevards. Roundabouts smoothly
distributed traffic. These roundabouts featured beautiful plants and
an occasional sculpture. One sculpture that impressed me re-enacted
Mahatma Gandhi's Salt March.

The taxi driver found a parking place, and we walked to the very impressive
India Gate. The sun was beginning to set, and bright lights lit up the
gate in all
its glory.

From New Delhi

India Gate is a memorial to the fallen soldiers of the
First World War and the Afghan War. India's Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier rests under the arch. Permanent honor guards stood at
attention next to the "Flame of the Immortal Soldier."

From New Delhi

The
Rashtrapati Bhavan ( The Prime Minister's residence) at the end of the
Rajpath stood silhouetted against the evening sky. Throngs of people taking
an evening walk surrounded the monument. Many entrepreneurs took
advantage of the captive crowd to hustle trinkets and henna body art.

From New Delhi

After the last rays of sun disappeared on the horizon, we found our taxi and
drove into the night. We were ready for a few hours of rest back at Rod's home.


Continued in Part 6

some foggy night

some foggy night, originally uploaded by troy-lovegates.

8.25.59

8.25.59, originally uploaded by Least Wanted.

Pudong lights

Pudong lights, originally uploaded by Gwladys et Julien.

Zoltron SIgn, NYC

Zoltron SIgn, NYC, originally uploaded by stickerobot.

Horfe graffiti vs Rolls Royce

Horfe graffiti vs Rolls Royce, originally uploaded by freaQ.

City Guide New Delhi Part 4




I kept my eyes on Jay as we snaked through the crowds of taxi drivers
offering their services. We jumped onto a mini bus that Jay's friend
Rod had arranged for us and were off on the
wild streets of the city.

From New Delhi

New Delhi is fairly flat, so I was not able
to see very far in any
direction. The main road we traveled was nicely landscaped
with small trees and shrubs. Many trucks shared the road with us.

From New Delhi

I
later found out that most heavy trucks are only allowed in the city
during the late night and early morning hours. All of these trucks are
brightly painted and on the back, the words "HORN PLEASE" are printed in large
lettering. There were also many rickshaws.

From New Delhi

These were painted green
and had the letters CNG printed on the back. CNG stands for
Compressed Natural Gas which all rickshaws are required to use. I
noticed a few luxury sedans and sport utility vehicles. Most would fit
right in on the streets of any affluent American city. Among all these vehicles,
bicycles and motorcycles were always in the mix.

From New Delhi

We arrived at Rod's house, found our rooms, and promptly went to
sleep.

The next day we met with the directors of a children's
home that we planned to visit. Their names are Wickerum and Vipin.

From New Delhi

These twenty-three year old men are the guardians of over 70 children.

Early in the afternoon, Mary, one of Jay's friends, took us to a
department store called Fabindia.

From New Delhi

The Fabindia location we patronized
was on the 2nd floor of a mall called Centric Plaza. We were met at
the door by a doorman who let us into a well lit air-conditioned
store. All of the store attendants were very helpful and spoke very
good English. I was impressed by the contrast of the conditions on the
streets below to the luxury of this boutique.
After purchasing a few articles that we would need for our stay in Delhi,
we walked out to our waiting taxi for a quick stop at Rod's
house before venturing out again to the center of the city.


Continued in Part 5

Towers

Towers, originally uploaded by 303db.

Table.

Table., originally uploaded by thedudecompany.

, originally uploaded by The automatic asthmatic.

New Delhi City Guide Part 3



Many passengers on the plane were still sleeping when the lights came
on and the captain gave the word to have the cabin sanitized.
Immediately, two attendants walked the aisles with what looked like bug
bomb cans. They held the cans above their heads, as the cans spewed a
wet mist on all the passengers. Looking out the window, I noticed
that the problem in Minneapolis was not going to be an issue here.
Dozens of airport staff; many appearing not a day over 15 years old,
began unloading the plane, occasionally pausing to look through
important looking
papers. As we queued up to have our papers inspected so we could enter the
country, two cameras attached to large screens scanned the line. Jay
told us that they were thermal imaging cameras and if someone in the
line had a higher than normal internal temperature, they would be
taken aside and inspected for illness. All the attendants and
paramilitary personal were wearing medical face masks. Preventing
foreign illnesses from entering the country was paramount. Since the
United States was one of the main countries dealing with the H1N1 flu
virus, special forms were given which asked about our current physical
issues. My medical sheet was examined and signed, my visa was double
checked and stamped, and I was cleared for entrance into the great
country of India!

After the rest of my group collected all their checked packages, Jay
called his friend Rod, to tell him that we were ready to be picked up.
We walked to a fairly deserted part of the airport. The only major
sound emanated from a very large split-flap display board. I had
never seen a flap display this large.
Unfortunately, the airport-wide photography ban prevented me from
recording a small video clip of the board in operation.
There are only a few of these large scale flap boards left in the world.

As we neared the door, Jay was stopped by three security officers.
They were worried about the contents of the over sized box Jay was
handling. One security guard whipped out a large knife and was intent
on making sure the contents of this box were benign. Jay was able to
persuade security that the the box was harmless by assertively telling
them that it was a gift for children. We decided it was time to leave.
Jay gave us one warning as we exited into the hot night : " Don't get
lost in the crowds of people, just keep going and follow me!".

Continued in Part 4