Delhi.

Hey everyone!
Just a note to keep myself connected to some sense of
familiarity. I use this e-mail travelogue/journal as a way of
reflecting on my experiences and sharing them, but also
(especially now) to keep emotional contact. So thanks for being
there.
Delhi is absolutely insane! They say there are about 14 million
people living in this place and most of them are dwelling in
extreme poverty. The streets are out of control - and I've seen
some pretty heavy and intense places in all my travels - but
this place is beyond any of them. The goal here is simply to
survive. Things are so filthy. Living conditions in the heart
of the city are horrendous. There's no consciousness of health
here, the focus for many seems to be on finding water to drink
(even if it's dirty), food to eat, and avoiding being run over
or stepped on. Even spirituality seems to hover on the far
fringes of life. Death is lingering everywhere.
Sure there are exceptions, women roaming in their bright-colored
saris, people hustling to work, government palaces and business
centers, etc. But mostly, the streets are filled with cars,
soot, smog, grime, scooters, busses, auto rickshaws (basically
3-wheeled golf carts), and bicycle rickshaws. People line the
streets, some standing, others walking, sitting, limping,
meditating, sleeping, begging, dying... Traffic scurries like
rats, moving in every conceivable direction simultaneously. A
guy on a scooter crashed into our rickshaw. Nobody was hurt.
The two drivers yelled at each other for 20 seconds and then it
was over. My rickshaw driver (who I spent about 3 hours with
today racing around Delhi) soared the wrong way down one-way
streets at approaching busses, and raced around like a teenager
playing on the bumper cars at an amusement park. But he's not
alone. That's the way they do it. This is the Delhi ride at
Disneyland's new India theme park. Only it's for real and
people are dyin'!
People are constantly honking, and just as often avoiding
potentially dangerous accidents by inches. Animals are
everywhere: skinny, wandering dogs... cows and bulls laying by
the side of the road. At one point, as we raced through
traffic, there was an elephant walking down the middle of the
street. Scooters charged in front of her, rickshaws tailed her
giant feet, honking. She roamed unphased. These are no little
country roads, but pothole-ridden, paved streets, lined with
broken-down shops and littered with trash. I saw a family of 5
on a single scooter. Dad drove, little boy was on his lap, two
girls sat behind, one on mom's lap. I don't know how they all
fit, but they were doing it. Zipping through madness!
Teetering on the brink!
I've seen some really seedy parts of this city in the
less-than-36 hours since I've been here. One could get
swallowed up for good in this seething sea of humanity. It's
hot, muggy, and there are people who appear to be wandering
hungry in every corner... I don't feel comfortable eating here,
so I'm living off purified water, bottled juice, spirulina
powder, and some power/energy bars/snacks that I brought with
me.
Tomorrow my rickshaw driver will meet me and take me to his
favorite Hindu temple, a Sikh temple, and some other special
sites that he knows about. His name is Shog-Vedi and he is 54
years old and says his son is about my age. I'm glad I found
him, he drove me around this town searching for a place to stay.
Some of the conditions of the hotels are so bad one would be
better off wandering the streets or staying up all night. But
I'm tucked away in some little room that's pretty decent. I've
seen some Indian business-looking men in and out of here, but I
haven't seen one tourist. Not that I expect to, but I guess
they all go to 5 star hotels and stay away from most of the
intensity that Delhi is full of. Maybe they're smart.
So after some temple visits tomorrow, Shog is taking me to the
bus station and I'm outta here. I'm going north to Dharamsala
by overnight bus which takes about 14 hours. It's a Tibetan
Buddhist colony in the mountains loaded with temples and
monasteries and stunning views of distant Himalayan peaks (so
they say). It'll be nice to see a completely different part of
India... and to continue on with my journey.
Toto, we're not in Bali anymore.
I'm survivin' - that's my goal!
Peace... from the edge of the world.....
Thanks for reading,
Ari