I’m behind because internet is so hit or miss—I apologize! We’re already in Bangalore and I’ve yet to finish writing about the Amazing Race in Dehli and the entire stay in the Himalayas.
So, let’s get started…
Our last day in Dehli, as I mentioned in the last post, we
did an Amazing Race with our groups from FIIB. The stipulations were: Use at
least three modes of transport, and get a picture at the India Gate, buy
something at Roopak Spices (a small spice store in Ajmal Khan Road), go inside
the Rail Museum, take a picture on Platform 2 of New Delhi Railway Station,
visit the National Museum, and end it all at the Cottage Emporium on Janpath.
As I said before, our group got 5th, but it was such a wonderful
experience. We took a auto rickshaw, the metro, and pulley-rickshaw. Pratika,
Humayun, and Neshant were incredible group mates—they really took care of us as
we romped ourselves around Dehli.
One of the best moments was when Pratika, myself, and Alexa
jumped out of our auto rickshaw and tried to pay the driver with a 100 rupee
note; he held it up to the light and shook his head. Pratika had a few words
with him in Hindi, and he held it up to the light again, pointing and shaking
his head. She took the note and held it up as well. She said something else to
him, and after all was said and done, he refused to accept that particular
note, and we paid him with another. I asked Patrika what had happened…she said,
“They’re like that sometimes.” We immediately ran over to the metro (trying to
make up for lost time) and used the same bill to pay for our metro tickets, no
problem. Vikas said that maybe he noticed a slight tear in the bill, because
sometimes people won’t accept torn money, because like with many things in
India, there are superstitious underpinnings.
Despite our sad ranking in the race, I was proud of our
group and I think it was one of the highlights of the trip thus far. After the
race, we were given time to do some shopping at the Cottage there, which is a
government store, and has anything and everything a tourist could want. A group
of us also went to Pizza Hut nearby and I had my first spicy paneer pizza…I’m
kind of into now, and I would be super excited if it caught on in the US. We
also strolled the streets, and this brings me to another highlight to the day.
Tyler, from the group, wanted to buy a shirt, so we all went and helped him
pick one out… it was a very Indian adventure, we shopped as a collective and
helped him make his purchase—it was gratifying and I get why it’s a way of
doing it here in India.
I have to run, but to tie up our time in Dehli, I want to
say, I’ll miss our FIIB friends, and I wish them all the best!
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