Delhi day 2

Red Fort, Sikh Temple, Train to Jailsamur

"You want fake beard?" (hes trying to sell me a fake beard)

We started out the day taking a tuk-tuk car thing to the red fort, and got our first look at Indian streets during the daytime, which are even more hectic than they are at night. Arrived at the red fort, which is an incredible sight because of its size. The outer wall runs over 1 k and varies in height from 12m to 33m. Construction started in 1638 and was finished in less than ten years, the original idea being to move the capital to this new fort. However, before this could happen, X was imprisoned by his son who usurped the throne.

The interior of the fort are Hammams, living quarters, audience rooms, and strangely enough, barracks contributed by the British, which look very out of place in the surroundings. We spent only about an hour or so looking around the fort since we were on a tight time schedule, which would continue throughout the trip, but that was enough time for at least 20 people to accost Gardiner and I wanting to take pictures.

Cool stonework in one of the fountains

Benny Lava Pose, about to do jetpack operation

More classic Indian posing

All the Indian tourists were much more interested in taking pictures with Gardiner and I than with the actual fort

After perusing the Red Fort we felt a need for food so we went over to a nearby VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT (WOOOT) and got some grub, which was again very good. The food put us in the mood for some religious enlightenment, so we crossed the street to the nearby Sikh temple to take a look. There was an information center and a man working there gave us a rundown on the history, theory, and happenings in the temple. The believes that one must overcome the conflict in the world that arises from he need to be right, and from fighting between religious groups. They believe in only one god, which is the same god for all religious groups and in freedom of worship. Someone should not try and impose their beliefs on another, but instead try and understand from all points of view without altering. The temple we were at honored one of the main gurus who was executed for preaching freedom of religion. Members of any faith or no faith can come to the temple and take part in the rituals ad well as be fed from the auminity kitchen. Overall it sounds like a very good, tolerant religion, one that I would like.

Ritual washing at the enterance to the temple

Man making Chipati at the restauraunt we went to

Once we had gotten our cultural fix for the day we go in another rickshaw and drove to the parliament building and or India gate which is a monument to the solders killed in WWI, The parliament building was HUGE, one of the most massive I have seen, and again, we saw monkeys!!
Parliment behind a cool gate

Steffen being an uber-tourist and searching the book for Kobe Biff

On the way back to the hotel our rickshaw driver let each of us drive, WOO, Steffen and I each drove just for a few minutes, but Gardiner was pretty decent at it and actually drove the entire way home, which was both scary and funny as all hell. Everyone around us thought it was either really funny, or in the case of this guy, had a very dim view of letting tourists drive on the streets of Delhi. Our driver kept control of the brakes, so I guess we weren’t totally going to die, but there were a few very dicey moments.

Gardiner driving, Steffen running along ahead taking pictures and me riding on the side sticking my leg out - the driver loved us!!

Very dubious about foreighners driving rickshaws...

Mid-scoop

Impromptu trip to the Great Wall at 5 AM

The title pretty much sums up my weekend.  After friday night I did not think the weekend could possibly get anymore crazy, but nooo, I was mistaken.  The events that I am about to relate are the kind of antics that you would expect Jess Perri to be involved in. 

But first, so that I can keep up my: reporting-on-the-cultural-side of-china bargain, A little about what I did during the day:  Went to the Temple of Heaven, one of the three most famous sights in Beijing which was built t0 be perfectly semetrical down to the placement of the plants in the huge garden surrounding it.  I actually found the garden to be far cooler than the temple itself because it was packed with people singing, playing ma jong, twirling long ribbons and dancing with fans.    The highlight was when a tall gangly british guy decided to try his hand at ribbon twirling and ended up so completely tangled in the ribbon that he fell over.  He then decided that his talents were better suited for the fan dance and drew a large crowd again with his antics there.  The old ladies loved it, (although I couldn't tell if they were laughing at him or with him), and he seemed to be enjoying his first foray into the world of dance as well.  It was a little like seeing a really spindly, tall stork surrounded my tiny birds trying to imitate them but failing miserably. 

Now on to the night:  

 

8:00 PM: 

Leave the apt, reassure john that I will under no circumstances be coming back after midnight. 

8:10 PM:  

Turn down two offers to go to clubs since I definitely will not be staying out past midnight.

8:30 Pm: 

Get to Nanlouguxiang, discover that one of the girls there is Becca's roommate and two of the others I met a few weekends ago - small world.  Start playing a drinking game involving animal movements; beginning of the downward spiral

10:00 PM: 

Wipe out while trying to get a cab, reassure all present that I am in no way drunk.  Go to Rickshaw.  Play pool, drink copious amounts of redbull vodka. 

12:00 AM:

Head to Kokomo, still slightly lucid at this point.  Over the next four hours: get in a fight with an aussie, talk about dostoyevsky for an hour, talk to the same dutch guys from Club Bud with whom I seriously discussed Hans Brinker last week, speak in spanish for one hour, salsa dance, and probably much more, we shall never know.

5:00 Am:

Meet a kid living in Singapore named Matt who is leaving for the great wall in 30 minutes, decide that it would be a great idea to get absolutely no sleep and go immediately hike for 11k on the great wall, wearing flats, a miniskirt and a nice top. 

5:30 AM: 

Have a rare burst of clarity and think better of the clothing situation and change into a T-shirt and head over to Matt's hostel to catch the bus.  My excitement about climbing the great wall is interrupted by a guy yelling CMC very loudly.  Turn around to see a blond guy wearing nothing but black silk boxers standing in an alleyway holding a jump rope (completely hammered as well).  Side note: has anyone even seen / let alone owned a jump rope in the last 15 years?   Turns out naked-silk-boxers-while-jump-roping-kid went to CMC.  After a lengthy introduction during which he told me four times to say hi to Christian Wolfgruber for him he demanded a CMC picture and then ran off back down his alley, disappearing from whence he come. 

6:00 AM - 6:00 PM : 

HIKED THE GREAT WALL!!!!

In retrospect, this was probably one of my greatest drunk adventures ever considering others have ended up:  accompanying jess to the emergency room , and lighting a senior's couch on fire (by mistake).   

I sobered up by the time we arrived and the wall was extremely amazing.   I was expecting it to be much more touristy because of pictures I have seen, but we were really the only group walking it.  At one point I went ahead of our group and couldn't see or hear another person for miles.  That was truly amazing because the area is so remote and expansive, and the wall becomes exponentially cooler if it is devoid of other human presence.   

The walk was long and hard, but we all made it, although today I can barely walk.   After we got back I went out to watch the closing ceremonies with some girls I met the night before: Emma and Alessandra, then I met up with Matt again and grabbed some drinks in NanLouGuXiang and HouHai with him.   All in all it was an eventful 24 hours. 

Tonight I am taking it easy and going to watch Pulp Fiction at Lush with Veronica and maybe have a beer or two if my liver hasn't completely pulled a coup' d etat by then. 

Later Skater

Roach Sighting!!

(The exclamation points are not in a good way)

Day 8,

8 PM

Today I hate china.   I saw what I thought was a cute little beetle scurrying across our floor  - but it was a ROACH.  gross.   Ever since my dad told a story when I was a kid about two crawling up his pants at an airport I have been mortally afraid of them.  

On the bright side though:  Veronica is in china!!  Hopefully I can find her though because Becca already cant find her, and it has not even been  24 hours yet since she landed in Beijing.  She brought a valuable cargo of items that I forgot in the US and can't find here, mainly: rainbow sandals.   I have been wearing the white canvas shoes that I bought for three pesos in Salt for the past month, and now they are not white anymore, but a disgusting shade of grey streaked with patches of darker filth.  I realized a few nights ago when I sat down for a moment in Guijie that I must look like a bum. 

We are planning on going to Rickshaw tonight to watch the US bball finals against Oz.   Hopefully there will be a big aussie crowd.. they are always down to make some noise and have a few beers. 

Midnight

We got confused about the time and missed the game, but I heard it wasn't that great, we won by a lot.   Instead I watched transporter 2.  Which was awesome, and they left it completely open for a third one.  I recommend it to anyone, as long as you like crazy action movies that have negligible plot and a lot of unrealistic moves.