February 1, 2019 -
“India can be a mentally exhausting country to visit. Prepare to be bombarded daily...” - Tala Katner.
Today was a tougher excursion. We wanted to visit Lal Kot (See below). It is about 7 miles south of us so I thought I would hire a car. For around 12 dollars you can hire a driver for half a day who will take you wherever you would like to go and wait for you.
We started into Delhi traffic, which was described to me as ‘normal’. What a stressful drive! We had so many near misses that it was tempting to get out and walk. You don’t really drive anywhere it is more like a huge snake that writhes and lurches towards its destination. There are 3 lanes of road into which 6 lanes cars, buses, rickshaws , motorbikes, bicycles, and wandering cows all try to squeeze in. No one stays in a lane. You are passed on the left and right by millimeters all the while honking to ‘let the guy know you are coming’. It is like a massive game of ‘chicken’ where you make your move daring the other guy not to hit you.
We also encountered our first sustained look at poverty here. You will see encampments on traffic medians of desperate people. When, you are stopped, which is frequently, the lanes are swarmed with terribly young, very dirty, and vulnerable children who will tap on your window begging for food. It is hard to take and your heart breaks for them. There is little you can do. There are simply to many of them and if you roll down your window to give some change to one, you are swarmed like ravenous pigeons with too little seed on the ground. You try not to develop a callous disposition which is what the locals do, and look for opportunities to help when you are able. Be grateful for what you have.
On to a brighter note, above is Qutab Minar at Lol Kat. It is the location where Delhi began in the 10th century. It was here that Persian armies (modern day Afghanistan) invaded and began the reign of the Mughal empire. The Mughals built many of the palaces here in Rajasthan such as The Red Fort mentioned earlier. The tower in the picture is Islamic and over 5 stories tall! The place is an UNESCO world heritage site.
The haze you see is from the air pollution here in Delhi.
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