Delhi.....just no words (By Josh)

I have been thinking about how to use words to describe Delhi. It's not a place you define by "sights". It's not a monument or mosque that is the excitement of Delhi. It is much deeper and abstract. Our day yesterday was like no other day in my life. We decided to venture to Old Delhi to visit the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid. Both impressive sites but completely overshadowed by the chaos, poverty, smells, and smothering attention we experienced. Before we came to Delhi I remember thinking travelers have been coming here for decades but I also remember reading that most people fly into Delhi as thier port of entry and then catch the first train out.
Well, the hundreds of thousands of staring eyes on us all day (and following us)and particularly at the mosque said it all. We saw almost no foreigners in Old Delhi so we understood quickly why so much attention was on us.
On the street, you get used to it but I will never ever forget walking into the Jama Masjid(Delhi's mammoth mosque that holds 25,000 people). We walked in and looked up to 500 year old bleachers with all eyes on us and those that had cameras were taking photos of us and approaching us in swarms for photos. We have always tried to keep as understated as we can(that obviously is difficult here!) so it was overwhelming. Now, this was later in the day, our journey here led us through the decrepit old Delhi streets with cows grazing, donkeys pulling, people missing eyes,children missing limbs, some running around naked thick with layers of dirt, many of them grabbing our hands and not letting go. At one point we had a persistent little girl who followed us for 10 minutes. We couldn't walk without someone following us. The poverty was gut wrenching but the norm in this part of Delhi. Even worse,we learned from Murad, that slum lords and sometimes parents will disfigure their children purposefully for begging, he called it a "business" so it was better to not give anything as you are supporting this special form of evil. And so as hard as it was we did not give (aside from
one man who hopped up to our rickshaw early on in our Delhi experience with one leg and basically wouldn't let go until we paid him as he yelled that God would reward us for our generosity). And so we spent 7 hours walking the old delhi streets visiting colorful markets, tasting incredible food and somehow managing to handle the noise, poverty and constant beggers and for niki particularly, the lewd looks from men. She handles herself well and I say humbly, we both have done some traveling before we met and much together. India is considered the Everest of backpacking and I am proud of the last 6 weeks. We haven't let fear or intimidation guide us yet and the trials and situations we have encountered have only made us better people.
And so our day made us better people. How to describe that, impossible but Delhi is a teacher, and we soaked it up.
Now, I also haven't mentioned one of my favorite pastimes here, I'm sure Niki will differ, THE AUTO RICKSHAWS! Nothing gets the heart pumping like taking an auto rickshaw around Delhi! In any given second you are dodging cows, oncoming traffic, bicycles and people and most of the time you feel like and accident is imminent, but it's not! Indians have a serious talent! It is amazing how they are capable of driving in such chaos and in three days of taking Rickshaws everywhere we haven't seen one, it is something everyone should experience! ( I can't stop, I look for any reason to take one! The adrenaline rush is incredible! Check out the attached video which by the way is a quiet street!)
Today we spent booking trains ahead as we have learned the hard way that you need to book well in advance , it looks as though we are busing it to Jaipur instead of the train as its full. We also got an Indian cell phone which makes bookings and basically everything easier!
After our errands we just hung around Haus Kahz Village (our area) researching and booking our next
guesthouses in Agra, Jaipur and Udaipur at a groovy coffee shop called Flipside that played old school Tom Petty and had star wars quotes all over the walls! Not to mention fantastic cappachinos:)
Then had a great night hanging out with a Swiss couple we met yesterday, Toby and Barbara.Toby spent 4 months in Vancouver and Victoria and loves Tim Hortons, Europeans are coffee connoisseurs so that surprised me, what do they put in that coffee? :)
Off to bed, we're heading to Humayun's Tomb and the B'hai Temple tomorrow:)
Over and Out:)