So I'm back
The sim card is working surprisingly well, You may remember from the last post that all I had to do was collect it, This of course was not quite true. I had another couple of trips to the sim card shack and it was turned on about 6.30 pm. It wasn't on the prepay plan that I ordered. but it works and apart from 15 txt a day from Vodaphone India all is good, sort of
There are no shortage of transport options here , bike rickshaw tuk tuks uber taxi and train
The interesting thing about tuk tuks is they are all 20 rupees to wherever you want to go. which is good about 40 cents. not so good if you are the driver trying to bring up wife and kids but good for the affluent western tourist. And do I feel very affluent here, (which is strange because my bank account in NZ is minus several thousand dollars.)
The less the optimal thing about tuk tuks are they always end up costing 100 rupees and you never end up where you want to go.
You get in negotiate the fair which is not that hard because it is always 20 rupees, say where you want to go and your off. Unfortunately you are not off to where you want to go.
After weaving and beeping and lurching you invariably end up at the ""Indian government tourist handicraft emporium which has "three floors of shopping sir, and I shall wait outside."
They don't seem to understand the English "for fuck sake not again, just take me to where I want to fucking go", and to be fair I, being English, have never bothered to learn another language and if i did, probably Hindi would not be my first choice. ( particularly with the chance of Moroccan/Swiss/kiwi grandchildren on the horizon)
You even end up in one of these place when you are strolling around minding your own business .
Yesterday i was strolling around minding my own business it was 10 am in Karol Bagh where I am staying.
It was Monday and most of the shops and establishments were closed. I didn't really mind because I was just filling in time waiting for more pain at the dentists.
Anyway this guy from the fresh lime juice stall said hello and I made the mistake of saying hi back. and to cut and exceedingly long and funny story short, I ended up in the back of a tuk tuk pulling up in front of an ""Indian Government craft emporium far from my hotel in Karol Bagh.
The guy was pretty indignant that I didn't go in.
What he didn't know was that I was on first name terms with all of the staff at the "Indian government handicraft emporium , three floors" as I had been there 6 times since I arrived here in Delhi.
I keeping bumping into stumpy the man you may remember from the last instalment. who rather unfortunately has had his arms amputated above the elbow on both sides. When i say i keep bumping into him it probably more true to say that he keeps on bumping into me. It find it confronting and often turn and walk away hoping that I don't feel a hand on my shoulder. I'm sure he is quite harmless though.
I have resolved on my last day to put all my last change into a little bag with a strap so I can give it to him in a generous but practical and handy way.
It is difficult to know how to treat beggars we are told by the Government of India not to give them money but it is very hard not to . Although I guess with nothing, they are fact several thousand dollars richer then me, except I am in the rather envious position of being white with a western passport. and I have my poor "beggar forefathers", who fought long and hard for social welfare free health education etc etc cheers guys I appreciate it. I really do
The sim card is working surprisingly well, You may remember from the last post that all I had to do was collect it, This of course was not quite true. I had another couple of trips to the sim card shack and it was turned on about 6.30 pm. It wasn't on the prepay plan that I ordered. but it works and apart from 15 txt a day from Vodaphone India all is good, sort of
There are no shortage of transport options here , bike rickshaw tuk tuks uber taxi and train
The interesting thing about tuk tuks is they are all 20 rupees to wherever you want to go. which is good about 40 cents. not so good if you are the driver trying to bring up wife and kids but good for the affluent western tourist. And do I feel very affluent here, (which is strange because my bank account in NZ is minus several thousand dollars.)
The less the optimal thing about tuk tuks are they always end up costing 100 rupees and you never end up where you want to go.
You get in negotiate the fair which is not that hard because it is always 20 rupees, say where you want to go and your off. Unfortunately you are not off to where you want to go.
After weaving and beeping and lurching you invariably end up at the ""Indian government tourist handicraft emporium which has "three floors of shopping sir, and I shall wait outside."
They don't seem to understand the English "for fuck sake not again, just take me to where I want to fucking go", and to be fair I, being English, have never bothered to learn another language and if i did, probably Hindi would not be my first choice. ( particularly with the chance of Moroccan/Swiss/kiwi grandchildren on the horizon)
You even end up in one of these place when you are strolling around minding your own business .
Yesterday i was strolling around minding my own business it was 10 am in Karol Bagh where I am staying.
It was Monday and most of the shops and establishments were closed. I didn't really mind because I was just filling in time waiting for more pain at the dentists.
Anyway this guy from the fresh lime juice stall said hello and I made the mistake of saying hi back. and to cut and exceedingly long and funny story short, I ended up in the back of a tuk tuk pulling up in front of an ""Indian Government craft emporium far from my hotel in Karol Bagh.
The guy was pretty indignant that I didn't go in.
What he didn't know was that I was on first name terms with all of the staff at the "Indian government handicraft emporium , three floors" as I had been there 6 times since I arrived here in Delhi.
I keeping bumping into stumpy the man you may remember from the last instalment. who rather unfortunately has had his arms amputated above the elbow on both sides. When i say i keep bumping into him it probably more true to say that he keeps on bumping into me. It find it confronting and often turn and walk away hoping that I don't feel a hand on my shoulder. I'm sure he is quite harmless though.
I have resolved on my last day to put all my last change into a little bag with a strap so I can give it to him in a generous but practical and handy way.
It is difficult to know how to treat beggars we are told by the Government of India not to give them money but it is very hard not to . Although I guess with nothing, they are fact several thousand dollars richer then me, except I am in the rather envious position of being white with a western passport. and I have my poor "beggar forefathers", who fought long and hard for social welfare free health education etc etc cheers guys I appreciate it. I really do
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