Masala Dosa with coconut chutney for breakfast. Fantastic. And last night was relatively cool and breezy. Actually slept under the sheet for a change.
Late afternoon Sunday, Cathy and I decided to go to Hauz Khas Village to hang out for a couple of hours and catch the sunset as the day cooled off. Right now, HK is just about my favorite place in Delhi and at only a 40 rupee (80 cent) auto rickshaw ride away, it's pretty convenient. Next time, Cathy and I are going to see if we can bargain down to 30 rupees. HK has one main road and a couple of small alleys off to the sides but it is pretty densely packed with shops, some galleries, bars and restaurants. Actually, as Delhi goes, its a pretty expensive area and definitely way more cosmopolitan than my ashram/office neighbourhood. Anyway the main road dead ends at the gates to some beautiful ruins that overlook a lake with a little bridge to the west and its all very picturesque (almost romantic in an English garden landscape sort of way). Best of all there is a nice strong breeze, which is a blessing in the heat and you can hang out on the edge of the ruins between the columns or on the little balconies and enjoy the view and the breeze. So Cathy and I hung out there and people-watched for an hour or two while we waited for the sun to set. The sunset itself turned out to be a disappointment possibly because there was too much smog and dust in the air. I thought smog was supposed to make a sunset more beautiful (hence Los Angeles) so go figure.
Back at the ashram afterwards, we discovered a newly arrived group of women in the dorm, which in itself is nothing new. The funny thing was that they had helped themselves to our sheets and towels. One of them had put my top sheet on her bed and had obviously napped on it. Another was using my pillow (my pillow that I brought from home - no wonder she wanted to use it, it's the best in the dorm) and someone else had used my towel. And pretty much the same thing went for Cathy's sheets and towels. So we had to go around reclaiming our stuff and trying not to glare too much. It didn't end there, though. Later, one of the women asked Cathy if she could have her water and my bed and the next morning, sure enough, my towel was gone again. I think they used it during morning prayer but unfortunately they left it up on this really grotty top shelf. So after breakfast it was laundry time, though I hadn't planned on that.
Cathy and I are still scratching our heads and laughing a bit over the whole sequence of events because it was so unlike the vast majority of the people who have passed through the dorm. There's probably some cultural explanation that I'm not sensitive enough to grasp yet.
Anyway, they moved out Monday morning and a very nice nurse on her way to work in a hospital in Libya moved in. So you just never know who you are going to meet here.
Okay everyone, help out with my membership drive and become a blog Follower so that I know I'm not just talking into the void ;)
Late afternoon Sunday, Cathy and I decided to go to Hauz Khas Village to hang out for a couple of hours and catch the sunset as the day cooled off. Right now, HK is just about my favorite place in Delhi and at only a 40 rupee (80 cent) auto rickshaw ride away, it's pretty convenient. Next time, Cathy and I are going to see if we can bargain down to 30 rupees. HK has one main road and a couple of small alleys off to the sides but it is pretty densely packed with shops, some galleries, bars and restaurants. Actually, as Delhi goes, its a pretty expensive area and definitely way more cosmopolitan than my ashram/office neighbourhood. Anyway the main road dead ends at the gates to some beautiful ruins that overlook a lake with a little bridge to the west and its all very picturesque (almost romantic in an English garden landscape sort of way). Best of all there is a nice strong breeze, which is a blessing in the heat and you can hang out on the edge of the ruins between the columns or on the little balconies and enjoy the view and the breeze. So Cathy and I hung out there and people-watched for an hour or two while we waited for the sun to set. The sunset itself turned out to be a disappointment possibly because there was too much smog and dust in the air. I thought smog was supposed to make a sunset more beautiful (hence Los Angeles) so go figure.
Back at the ashram afterwards, we discovered a newly arrived group of women in the dorm, which in itself is nothing new. The funny thing was that they had helped themselves to our sheets and towels. One of them had put my top sheet on her bed and had obviously napped on it. Another was using my pillow (my pillow that I brought from home - no wonder she wanted to use it, it's the best in the dorm) and someone else had used my towel. And pretty much the same thing went for Cathy's sheets and towels. So we had to go around reclaiming our stuff and trying not to glare too much. It didn't end there, though. Later, one of the women asked Cathy if she could have her water and my bed and the next morning, sure enough, my towel was gone again. I think they used it during morning prayer but unfortunately they left it up on this really grotty top shelf. So after breakfast it was laundry time, though I hadn't planned on that.
Cathy and I are still scratching our heads and laughing a bit over the whole sequence of events because it was so unlike the vast majority of the people who have passed through the dorm. There's probably some cultural explanation that I'm not sensitive enough to grasp yet.
Anyway, they moved out Monday morning and a very nice nurse on her way to work in a hospital in Libya moved in. So you just never know who you are going to meet here.
Okay everyone, help out with my membership drive and become a blog Follower so that I know I'm not just talking into the void ;)
4 comments:
Don't stop the journal entries. Reading your comments helps me envision what is there. Sharing a towel, with someone unknown.. hum and knowing another used it... yes laudry seemed the right thing to do next. Thank goodness you learned how to share.
Caught up on all your postings this morning and became a follower. A fantastic read! Looking forward to your next post.
Dosa...yum. Great blog! Please keep writing. I just caught up on all your entries. You definitely don't need to share towels and pillows! Maybe these folks thought that 'your' things belonged to the ashram. HK is certainly beautiful. Hope you are also planing a trip to Delhi Haat. It's been a very long time since I've been to either of these places.
Great blog posts Anne! Keep em coming! Pretty funny actually :)
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