Halfway thru India

I'm at the midway point of my passage thru India. The tour I'm on is actually a three part Circle of India tour of which I'm only doing the first two parts. Some of our group including our group leader are leaving at this point to go their separate ways. They are each now going off to explore more of India and/or other places like Thailand and Singapore on their own. It seems no one just does these kind of tours but use it as a kind of springboard to more adventures. I'm using it as a kind of respite letting someone else make the decisions for while then I'll go back out on my own again.

Last night we had a little farewell dinner for the folks who are leaving the tour. It wasn't at all a tearful event because everyone has so much more to think about. It was probably the most expensive meals I've had on my entire trip and by home standards still only cost about as much as an OK lunch! But it means the New Delhi is expensive by India standards and since I still have two more months ahead, I'd better be careful.

Speaking of Delhi, as far as big cities I've visited in India this one is by far the best. It could be that I just didn't see the more modern areas of Mumbai or the other places and we did get a more extensive walking tour of New Delhi including using their metro which far and away nicer than most of the metros I used throughout Europe. It looked brand new so that may account for most of the niceness about it. The people seemed a bit more friendly in Delhi, too.

Most of the cities and villages we have been visiting are not exactly on the beaten track of western tourist attractions. Delhi, of course is an exception. We visited one of the main downtown shopping districts and as it was lunch time, went to a restaurant. Turns out it was really a bar. It was a tourist attraction but I think it was for Indian tourists or maybe it was the Indian idea of where westerners might want to go to get a touch of home. The place was called Rodeo. The walls were covered with enlarged news clippings of famous western people. People like Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp and Jesse James. The wait staff all wore cowboy boots, cowboy hats and even six shooters (wooden facsimiles of Colts). The menu boasted tex-mex fare. AND the bar stools were saddles! It was a crack up. We stayed even though the buffet we thought we were going to was not to be seen. They more or less had the idea of tex-mex but I guess some of the ingredients just aren't available so they would substitute the closest thing from an Indian kitchen. I enjoyed the lunch and I will say I have never had quacamole with quite the bite this one did!

Our guide had taken us to the shopping district and then cut us loose. We just sort of naturally grouped or paired off and wandered around. I was with Sheila the Scotborn Utahan. After window shopping, bookstore browsing and the tex-mex lunch we headed to the metro. Sheila has had her arm in a sling since Omkareshwar. That was enough to have about 1/2 the metro coach offering her a seat. Since we were only going a few stops she politely refused. As we approached our stop, I knew that we should start making our way toward the door. As I started making tentative moves to the door, I caught the eye of a young guy and he asked if this way our stop. (I think that's what he asked.) I replied just saying the name of the stop I wanted. (I was happy that I could pronounce it so I used it when I could.) So the young guy took over clearing our path to the door. Of course, we had no idea which exit to take to the street level and once up there nothing looked familiar enough to venture walking off so we hopped into a bicycle rickshaw and for about 75 cents had a nice ride back to the hotel.

One and half days remaining in Delhi and then we are on the road again with a new group and new group leader. "More misadventures?" "Adventures, my friend, adventures!"