I went out this morning at quarter past seven and made it home today at 11:05, which is right now. All I wanted was a bottle of water. The booths were half-closed, so I had to walk far. Last night many booths with water were close.
I got lost quickly but i did remember that I was near Meer Ghat. Some boys going to school walked me around and then put me on a rickshaw. I gave them Rs 30 which I knew at the time was a mistake – Rs 5 would have been better, plus the rickshaw driver – I then realized – would want more.
The rickshaw driver took me everywhere but Shiva Lodge. He did not try to have me buy things, but he did say if I want silk then I should buy from Muslims because they do not operate on a commission system. I was agitated at first because of the long ride but then quickly I started enjoying the sights and crazy traffic. He wanted Rs 300 but I gave him Rs 100 because he dropped me off in a quieter area were I could not get change. Later I would learn that Rs 20 would have been appropriate, even for a very long ride.
On my first day in India I also got ripped off in Delhi at an ISD shop. I do not know what those letters mean but the shops have phones to use. A ten-minute call should be about Rs 80 – my first time I paid Rs 370.
Some lady on the side of the road had a cobra and some other snake. I was told by a minder named Sadu that they were poisonous but had no teeth.
Sadu brought me to Rawi the tabla teacher at Baba school of Music. He played and is very good and at 1pm I will take a one-hour lesson from him at his place at Ganpati Guest House at Meer Ghat.
I met Sadu through Krishna who had me book Thurs Jan 11 at Sankatha Guest House. He did not let me see a room because they were full, but I still payed deskman Sanjay Rs 150 for a room on that night. A lot of Koreans stay there. I see a bit of Japanese writing but that place had the first Korean signs I saw.
Yesterday I went to the barber for a shave. He used a straight razor with disposable blade and did a good job for Rs 50.
I have seen these different classes of tourists: hippie types, student types usually with degrees, young student types about to enter or just entering university, and yuppie camera nerds. Still I cannot understand why more tourists are not here – this place is great.
I am about to go shower, eat, and then to music lessons. I want to find another guest house. Tonight at 7pm I meet Omar at Abiji’s Hindi lesson school Bhasha Bharati Language Institute near Chowk police station. I met the teacher yesterday – found through LP.