The Delhi Metro

800px-delhi_metroThis modern transit system (Delhi Metro Wikipedia entry) is a hugely refreshing surprise. It’s also a bit humbling. I don’t know a single city in all the USA that has anything of this size and quality even under discussion . . . and Delhi’s system here is almost 90% complete. See the Delhi Metro web site.

And here’s a photo gallery that shows how modern, clean and comfortable the Metro system is in this “impoverished, third-world” country. 

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Henna Hands

For henna painting on your hands, world-class artists are sitting on the main street that runs through Delhi’s Paharganj district. Here’s a sample . . . Click on the image to enlarge.

karol_bargh
henna hands

This is done every year at this time for the festival of Karwa Chauth.

(http://www.karwachauth.com/the-legend-of-karwa-chauth.html)

Two artists work simultaneously. One works the left hand, and the other creates the exact mirror image design on the other. This took about 20 minutes.

I didn’t ask the price because there’s a basic marketplace rule around the world . . . if you are not serious about buying, don’t ask.

I Think I Saw This Marx Bros’ Movie

I had spent too much time shopping in the Karol Bargh Market and the other in Paharganj, followed by a final afternoon enjoying rest of the fantastic Delhi Metro system, that I  did not get back to the Megha Sheraton, to pick up my bags, until 5:10pm, almost 1/2 hour later than I had been advised.

That put everything at risk. I was to pay the price, literally, in sweat and rupees.

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