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I am now in Delhi, enjoying the hospitality of Mark, with whom I attended primary school.

Lovely place

If a little overdone in places like the power supply for the 2  bedroom house

Went to the Indira Gandhi Museum, and to the Mahatma Gandhi Smriti,  which are both sited where they were respectively assassinated.  pics from the Mahatma site

Then to Khan Market, for my coffee fix and to buy some shirts and shoes that are not to the taste of some i have asked.  it is a relatively upmarket area aimed at westerners a bit.

Then today I went into Chandni Chowk in old Delhi, and hired a Rickshaw, more about that later, but if you don’t they just keep hassling you.

Anyway on with the show

Up to the spice market first

The up on top of a building to look around

On the stairway

Views moving about

So then comes the crunch, where I get to pay him what I think it is worth for his services, at his starting point I could have hired a car and driver for 5 days, anyway get down to 500 rupees and he has done very well out of me, Mark says it should have been around 200. Hate the guilt feeling and all that they lay on you, but hey…. I’ll survive and i am not broke, nor he below

So now walking to the metro station I did not buy this

Hmm maybe it would have matched the shoes.

The train to Hauz Khaz and walked back from there passing the fellows below along the way.

Dinner tonight is at the Italian cultural center, with a Michelin star chef, fundraising for the Italian earthquake.

Another day of Delhi tomorrow, then effectively leaving the following day for Amsterdam.

Just quickly some pics from the second part of their wedding I have been to.

The first part was lunch, this part was followed by dinner.

Then the Karaoke, an international cricket umpire was first.

Loved the sleeve

 

Today’s startup

Sunday night session

The last meal I had at the wedding, this chicken curry was followed by a mutton biryani and ice cream.

Update:

This is I believe Jimmys niece, I gave her a lol lie I got from the hotel, then had her coming back for more. None more to be had though

And my effort at the fireworks below. There is some reason that Parsees can’t set off fireworks, luckily non Parsee Jay was available.

Now I seem to be back more where facilities are available I am updating old blog posts, adding pix and commentary.

Not how you should do this, but …. so from Vadodara onwards have new content.

Been on the train from Madgaon to Surat 16 hours now, my piece of the train shown below.

More later

Did manage some sleep, but sleep has been trashed by getting ill the other day and having to get to the train by 4 am.

Walking through Margao at 3 am. With all the street dogs was a bit unnerving, also was hard work to find my place in the Wagon.

In Surat now anyway, though earlier than expected by  Jay, so enjoying a night in a hotel.

Recovering well!

I am now in a hotel at Madgoan/Margao, I have a train to catch at 4 am.

Yesterday evening my digestive system finally rebelled on me, I am blaming the fish curry.

A bad nights sleep and still feeling a bit queezy but…

If I found a McDonald’s I would be in to see if I could eat something familiar.

I have bananas and banana cake water and fruit juices for the trip.

Shared the trip out of Arombol with the same folk I went there with except for Ziv the Israeli.

Jon  gave up on cashless India and the yoga course and will be cross country skiing in Norway instead.

Margao

Queueing at an ATM that may get some cash loaded in it some time soon.

Then again it may not, nothing may happen. But only beach lounging to do otherwise.

If it does get filled we can only withdraw 2500 rupees,about 50NZD.

It might also include the new 2000 rupee note which is hard to spend as no one has change.

Still getting a unique holiday experience.

Will update later.

10:30 now a brinks van and a guy with a gun were here but no change.

At least we get to wait in the shade.

Update:

So at 2pm 2 guys with a metal box and a guy with a gun turned up and filled the ATM.

I was 6th in line at this stage.

A limit of 2500 rupees per withdrawal, but apparently you could just do more withdrawals.

Any I used the 2 cards I had for my account, the eftpos and the debit and got 5000.

Jon from Norway missed out by 2 people from getting any cash and has now abandoned his yoga retreat and gone home.

 

Save

Save

Now dealing with the cash crisis in Goa.

Will be paying in Euros here for my accommodation and I hope my tab at the Hungry Gecko.

Update

Have had time and decent power and wife coinciding. So here is more Goa.

Street stalls

Out side the Cactus alley

The Cactus alley

Guys from the Hungry Geckos

Deepak in his Che t shirt

Roshan  and the nights fish

The crew. We arrived together and left together mostly.

L-R Matt, Anastasia , Daniela , Jon, myself, bit dark, but hey it was!

After some heavy rain the sky cleared a bit.

The crew were an interesting bunch, Matt and Daniela work for an NGO that tracks political violence, she lives in Delhi, and is from Austria. He is Canadian and lives in Ottawa.

Jon was a shipbuilder from Norway, working in oil these days and in Goa for a yoga workshop.

Anastasia,  who we met there was Belarus/Israeli.

The Hungry Geckos guys were great, and the Cactus people where I stayed. Paid in Euros, Indian cash crisis and all that.

Deepak and Roshan, and I suspect t the others, are from Nepal.

This is Akil who drove us around Rajasthan in his diesel Suzuki. Sooner him than me on Indian roads I must say.

Even though we could not verbally communicate he did in other ways.

view from Honeymoon point, that is a marble mine out the.

Altitude 1200m I believe, was actually cold for the first time in India.

And should have checked this out.

pretty impressive fortress this one. A few  km of walls.

Will update today’s posts later if I get wifi to use my tablet.

And there were of course temples.

Then we went on to a big temple complex, a Jain temple in Ranakpur