After spending much of the morning planning the next leg of our adventure, forgetting necessities for our day pack at the hostel, and just plain moving slowly, we finally started our second day in Delhi at around noon. Intending to go to Huyamin’s Tomb in South Delhi—which is actually fairly close to our hostel in comparison to the red fort we went to the day before—we walked a kilometer or so down the stereotypical Ignou Road towards the main street to catch a rickshaw. What a trip. The “sidewalk” was broken and unearthed more often than not, leaving us to hop over the exposed sluggishly flowing sewage. Men would stop their work to stare overtly at my breasts and whistle at them as if they expected my covered cleavage to respond. Boys are running up behind me and attempting to take pictures of my butt at every corner as if it rivals the derrière of JLo. Every westerner is treated like a whore-ish movie star ! This practice, quaintly referred to as “eve-teasing,” forces Ty to break his attempt at stoicism in the face of adversity and leaves him laughing so hard I can almost see tears. I’m glad he has such protective instincts.
One thirty minute rickshaw later, putting up with the sexual harassment proved to be worthwhile. The tombs were AWESOME, and are said to have been the prototype for the Taj Mahal. Even the barber was given his own tomb since he was trusted with holding a razor to Huyamin’s neck. Pretty sweet. The peacefulness of the grounds was hard to leave. After the tomb, we attempted to go see this Muslim shrine not realizing that it was almost prayer call. The extended side street in front of the shrine was completely filled with Muslim men wearing their whites from head to toe. Needless to say, it was all Ty could do to suppress his laughter in response to the wonderful attention received.
For our second lunchtime meal in India, we headed to Sagar’s—right next to a Subway that DELIVERS (why do we not have those at home??)—and feasted on heaping servings of Southern Indian style vegetarian cuisine for less than a dollar a plate. Yummmm. Bellies full, we went to the Baha’I Lotus Temple for a little bit more of that rare, coveted silence and peacefulness in Delhi. Thoroughly exhausted, we called it a day.
PICTURES SOON!
Tonight we are catching a nine hour bus to Shimla, a Himalayan mountain town, where we will stay for one night en route to Dharamsala. Can’t wait!
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