Saturday afternoon, Allie and I hopped the metro out to Indira Gandhi International and scooped Simon at Terminal 3 following his 15 hr 30 min direct flight from San Francisco. The three of us hired an AC cab back to Hauz Khas and reached home in time for afternoon chai. Once he'd settled in a bit, we showed Si around the neighborhood on foot, pieced together a feast of Pushpa leftovers combined with Himalayan delivery, and capped off the evening with Gully Boy, a recent Bollywood classic depicting the improbable rise of a Mumbai rapper from slums to stardom.
(yes, we're wearing the same pants)
We've slowly expanded our radius since then, with today being the first of uninhibited Delhi tourism. Simon accompanied me down to Badarpur for a lesson and lunch with Mohan Sharma yesterday, and we had taken auto rickshaws to restaurants and shops in various parts of South Delhi beginning Sunday evening. That first outing took us to nearby Deer Park, where we saw a staggering number of giant bats preparing for their evening rounds (along with the resident gang of monkeys), followed by a fantastic dinner at Coast Cafe, a favorite for Kerala cuisine in Hauz Khas Village.
This morning we met my friend Rakesh (of the Agra and Himachal excursions) who facilitated a day of geographically dispersed sightseeing (see pics). We began at Qutub Minar, one of the oldest architectural sites in Delhi, followed by a stop at the Baha'i Lotus Temple. Then Rakesh insisted on a bit of clothing shopping (the Cush Bros resisted the temptation to get custom suits tailored, but everyone walked away with a little something). Following a minor traffic collision (everyone was fine), we all ate lunch together at Haldiram's before one final stop at Safdarjung's Tomb on the way back home. Now Allie is off at dance class while Si and I rest up and do some laundry before another big dinner out. It's quite hot here again (did the heat ever really stop?) and taking a few quiet hours in the AC every now and again is essential.
Tomorrow afternoon we plan to head up to Old Delhi by metro to visit Lal Qila and Jama Masjid, accompanied, of course, by the all-important stop at Karim's for Mughlai cuisine whenever hunger strikes. Thursday it's off to Amritsar on the early train, then up to Dharamshala Friday. More soon.
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