Sunday

After oversleeping again, I was determined to get some sightseeing done today. First stop Safdarjung's Tomb, where I was the only visitor except for a family lounging on benches in the park. It was quietly majestic and the carved vaulted ceilings inside looked like so many places, but was like nothing I had ever seen.
Here I really take too many pictures.

From the tomb I walked in to a quiet neighborhood of large houses called Jor Bagh. Amongst the houses atop a small hill was a simple temple of 5 rooms. Flowers and mirrors fills each room. The statues were small and colorful. A family was just getting together with bags of wreathes and I left to give them privacy.


Next is the Laxmi Narayan Virla Mandir, a temple of white and red stone.

Walking barefoot with a few hundred others, I followed the flow of people through all the rooms. I was suprised by all the mirrors in the temple. In the back is a small five sided room with mirrored walls and a foot tall statue in the center. In the room you can see yourself from every angle, which was very shocking to me. Unfortunately my camera had to be left at the door, but it wouldn't have meant much to look at pictures anyway.
I have taken very few pictures on the trip, Delhi happens so fast that by the time I understand what I am looking at, it is gone. Monkeys, and cows and babies on the backs of motorcyles appear over and over again but only for split seconds.
Next to the temple was a high school with hundreds of motorcycles parked in front. I crossed the street to have a snack of cucumber, chilie powder and lime juice. Its taste reminds me of the mangos on streets in Brooklyn. Past the high school is another quieter, older temple of pink stones.
It was just before noon when I took a cab to Counnaught Place for lunch. The crowded stores from yesterday were all closed on Sunday, so I wandered around looking for a cool place to sit down. McDonald's was very open and packed. I had decided to stop drinking soft drinks but a fountain coke sounded good. I felt guilty buying it, but only after a sip street children appeared from nowhere and pointed and grabed at it till I handed it over. I look as they run away then notice for the first time that there are whole groups of kids sitting in front of McDonald's waiting for people to come out. It is sad. I wish I had gotten good food for them instead, but nothing else seemed open.
While searching for a resturante, I was accosted by a man claiming to be the brother of the receptionist at my hotel. I shook his hand and then immediatly realized that this must be a scam, but too late, he followed me around and around till I got in a cab and insisted he not get in.
After stopping for coffee, I headed to the iconic Lotus temple. By iconic I guess I mean it looks exactly like the icon of it on the map. It is a temple for all religions and people, and all kinds of people lined up to walk along a winding path up to the temple. The Lotus sits in a vast rolling green lawn. The paths were heated by the sun and burned the bottom of my foot, but it felt great.


A short list of guidlines are read before you enter, there is no talking inside. At the door young women with their heads covered and badges usher groups in silently. The people who work inside speak with signs. I witness a great conversation between two guards about who should take lunch break first. Inside is a constant murmur of bare feet and the occasional baby's laugh which is quickly stopped. Chairs have wood frames and marble seats, and are set up in rows. I sat to the side in order to watch people. Whole families, one very serious guy praying, a group of teenagers, a women with 3 babies, couples and a Japanese tour group. Most people seem content sitting silently and after a while I stopped looking and just sat. I forgot where I was.



Coming back down the path, I was suprised to find that I was inside for two hours and have missed the Old Delhi tour I planned on. On the path, a visiting family asked to take a picture with me. This happened to Lynn many times in Beijing and Shanghai, and I am still baffled by it. I felt like a giant standing with the family, and also very sweaty, none of them even seemed hot.
The noise outside the gates was shocking, and I got angry for the first time here when the cab repeatedly tried to take me to different shops. I was told that if I spent ten minutes inside a shop, the driver would get free gas coupons. So After walking around a horrible store of over priced glitter, I came out to face the angry driver who said I was only inside for five minutes and he refused to take me further.
I ended up walking along a construction site on the highway and finally managed to find a cab. Now covered in layers of sweat and dust, I decided to go back to the hotel.
On my list of places, only the sites of Old Delhi and Qutab Minar remain. If time permits, the Jhandewala Deviji Temple would be good as well.
I am suprised that my flight is at 1am on monday, it is a day less I would have in Delhi. This throws out my plan of visiting the Taj Mahal as well as taking a religous tour. I would only have time for one, but which one?