Agra completely wiped us out. We didn’t wake up until 10 a.m. the next day. Since it was rather late for us, we quickly packed to meet the 12 p.m. check out time and get to the new hotel the school had reserved for us. I guess we are here for class after all. To think we thought school was over ?!?! Didn’t Krys, Hilary, and Becky just graduate? Whatever…
After checking into Hotel Singh Sahib we jumped in rickshaws to eat at the very well-know restaurant, The Original Karim’s Seehk Kebabs in Old Delhi. The food was absolutely delicious. The wait staff was super nice and attentive and even winked at a few of us. We ate it up.
The hijras were also entertaining. They were sitting behind us and asked if we were “Muslim or Christian.” Sherry said “Christian” and they seemed satisfied with her answer. That was the end of that conversation. They continued to watch us as we secretly stared at them.
After lunch, we decided to wander around Old Delhi. We bought some perfume, gold and plastic bangles, and pondered buying “real” gold. To ensure our trip here is full of nonstop excitement, Becky had a brilliant idea to take cycle-rickshaws back to the hotel. A cycle-rickshaw is built for 2 people. Apparently, one driver thought he could haul 3 of us. So, Becky, Krys, and Hillary shared a ride. Hilary initially rode on Becky’s lap which was particularly scary for us all. Then the driver had the brilliant idea of putting Hilary in back like a small child!
The first 10 minutes or so of the trip was fun. We were laughing, waving at strangers/new friends, and just chilling. It didn’t become sad and particularly heart wrenching until we traveled uphill. Krys, Mari, and I had to get off of the rickshaws and walk alongside the drivers during these repeated episodes. Just when we thought we were up our last hill, another one would arise out of a crowded corner of traffic. Poor Hilary was stuck in back and couldn’t get off. So, she looked like the queen of our rickshaw. She is our deity.
Unfortunately, our ride home was longer than expected. It took us 45+ minutes to reach the right neighborhood, Karol Bagh. The cyclists didn’t quite know where they were going nor did anyone else. We were “lost” in our neighborhood for a while. Oh well… when in India… So, we smiled at the locals and waved because we looked absolutely RIDICULOUS on rickshaws. Imagine two rickshaws of crazy foreigners trying to cross a large city… not such a good idea. We were quite a sight. I think we stopped the already slow traffic… oh well..
When we finally reached our destination, the price of our trip exploded. We had originally agreed upon giving the cyclists 50 rupees each ($2.50 U.S. Dollars) but once we saw how difficult the trip was, we decided double the fair or our payment ($5.00 U.S. Dollars per rupee). But once we reached our destination the head cyclist demanded we pay ten times our original price. He demanded 500 rupees. Hillary put a finger in his face and said something like.. Apre mughe thaga d’iya! (You have deceived me!) But, he would not back down. Out of our American guilt, we broke down and paid the man the entire 500 rupees, if anything we ensured positive karma for our ENTIRE trip and then some.
