A Week of Adventures

After leaving the V.K.V. and heading back up North, we spent the next few days resting in New Delhi. Meat deprivation in the South made for carnivorous urges that could only be satisfied at KFC. They were.

The rest of the few days consisted of laying around, going to see Slumdog Millionaire (two days before the Oscar wins!), and playing endless games of rook. Nearby the New Delhi YMCA is the Palika Bazar. I can best describe Palika Bazar as a grungy underground market where shopkeepers will stop at nothing to get you into their store. Being the movie lover that I am, I was interested in obtaining some American movies so I could get caught up. I asked a man at a Hindi movie shop if he had American movies. It's all sort of a blur, but within an instant I was whisked off from my EMU companions down darker alleys and hallways until I was told to sit down in a little room that reminded me of a CSI interrogation room. The man I had followed strangely knocked on the ceiling of the room. A trap door in the ceiling revealed itself, and a man began handing down stacks of pirated DVDs. I wondered, "Is THIS the black market?!? Is THIS the place they're always talking about?!?" :) Not wasting any time, I quickly shuffled through the stacks, picking out seven that interested me. Rather than ask for my money, the man led me through more hallways to an unsanitary tattoo parlor where three men were sitting around a little DVD player. The man had them put all of my DVDs in and test for quality control. I probably would have had to buy the DVDs regardless, but I'm pleased the quality was up to par. I payed and was led back to where my friends had been, but they were gone. Not knowing that they had gone back to the YMCA, I searched for a while before making an announcement over the PA system at the Police Assistance Office. All in all, a time of sheer terror/adrenaline/disbelief at the situation's absurdity. Since I made it through unharmed, it's easy to look back and say that I'm glad I had the unique experience.
Another solo adventure I had occurred after we drove to Jaipur, Rajasthan. I had spotted some McDonald's while we were driving through and decided that was what I needed before bed. At the hotel desk the worker asked me where I was going and instantly dashed out of the hotel when I told him. After a couple minutes he came back after retrieving a little old man pulling an appropriately rickety rickshaw. I reluctantly got in and realized after 15 minutes of getting pulled around town in the dark that the driver had no idea where he was going. I asked a man passing on a bicycle, "McDonald's kahaa hai?", and pretty soon he had the driver squared away. Upon arrival, I enjoyed a McChicken meal and a soft-serve ice cream. Once the digestive process was far enough along, I went outside and made sure to take an auto-rickshaw back to the hotel.
There are many other things I could tell you, but I thought a few stories might be appreciated the most. Other than what I mentioned above, we visited several artisan guilds, Amber Fort, Jaigurh Fort, saw the Maharaja at his palace, and rode elephants. Through elaborate facial expression (click the picture to take a closer look), this picture documents the emotions felt when an elephant pulls you away from solid ground. Good times.
As usual, more adventures, like and differing from the ones above, await in the month and a half to come. Stay tuned next week for news from Ranthambore and Jodhpur!