Twenty third

We're now on the way back from the booze shop near the Dragon House in South Delhi. There are bottles of brandy there for 110 rs. its crazy. We bought three beers, brandy and rum (small bottles of spirits) and it cost less than 400rs (a fiver). Jesus.
We've been walking around Delhi all day again, we went to Chandni Chowk and Annu got a bit aggressively eve-teased. It was the first time I've been annoyed by Indian behavior. Disappointed really. It got a bit too much so we went

22nd

Annu arrived last night and we have been walking around Delhi all day. Its been wonderful. I finally got to see India gate up close, and walk down the Rajpath. And we went to Khan Market and took in Lodi gardens. We met this lovely man in the gardens and he was in to homeopathy and massage and gave Annu some aloe vera as a natural face mask. Then I took her to meet my colleagues at IHC who were lovely as always and gave me loads more advice for my housing situation. Preeti is another Indian force of nature, she said I should just tell the hotel "I'm gonna pay 300 a night, and I want breakfast and laundry too". If only she could just explain it to them.
Then we ate burgers and met a nice rickshaw driver called Rakesh who was also full of advice. I've never been given so much advice!

21st

This afternoon I've seen two rooms for ten thousand rupees a month. The first was horrible, if it hadn't been for the fact that it was on the roof I would have walked straight out and not asked questions. The location was okay, a little far out from IHC, but nice all the same. Very homely. I saw a vision of myself getting veg from the man wheeling it round in the street. However, it wasn't to bed.

The second was nearer to Alka, and better, but it was unfurnished and he wanted to charge me 2,000 more for just putting a bed in it. He told me it was a new apartment but it clearly wasn't. I will upload some photos later on in the week to prove the fact.

As a result of me mentioning the fact that I was looking for apartments to the Hotel, they have offered me a reduced rate if I pay in advance. And actually, after seeing the rooms today, I feel like I'm not really paying out too much there. The rooms are good and the ensuites are great. There're so many great restaurant around AND its so near the metro. I've realised that I mainly wanted to leave because it would be nice not to just be living the tourist life. But to all intents and purposes I am a tourist. Just a working, long staying one.

The cricket is on in Alka and Mandy's house, its great. I have a subject I can talk to almost every Indian about!

20th - photos and words

Today has been lovely.
I got up late and listened to a few chapters of Three Men in a Boat. I ate breakfast in bed and got some more Traveller's Cheques changed, at a relatively good rate, taken from and delivered to my door. I showered in relative warmth and watched some of the Republic Day celebrations on TV. It just looked like a show of India's military strength to me, and the woman that was commentating was really quite rude.
I left to get the metro at half ten and it was the quietest its been since I got here. Not many stops were open on my line but mine was (so lucky, I hadn't checked at all and might have had to have walked a very long way). I was bang on time to meet Alka at the IHC. We jumped in her car and went off to her house in South Ex. II. When we got there her 'boy' took me out to see a house, but the owner wasn't around, so I just ended up being in the sun for a while, which was nice. We went back to Alka's and worked on her curatorial text for the exhibition and got it done quite quickly. Then Alka's Latvian friend came over and we all ate a gorgeous North Indian meal. I was so stuffed. They then dropped me off on their way back in to town.
And I've just finished my work and have four days off to look at houses and settle Annu into the hectic metropolis that is New Delhi.

The urban giraffe

View from the metro

The metro car itself

Ramakrishna Ashram Marg

An odd view. Cycle rickshaw

IHC gate 3

Alka's lovely study (mit personal kettle and fridge)

Roof garden at Alka's. I'll be so happy if I get one

An eternal image of the student, Hopper

Nineteenth

Not much happened today but I have plenty to write about.
Yesterday night I went to Alka's directly after work and had my second Chole Bhature of the day. Its fast becoming my favourite food. I'll have to get a recipe and start making it at home. The bhature are two lovely puffy flat breads that are deep fried and are just so moreish. The chole is a chickpea curry that taste so good considering its visual similarity to poo. The trick is in the not thinking about it and eating it quick sharp.
Today has been made up of people sorting things for me. I have also done work, but luckily everyone else seems to see it as their personal job to get things sorted for me. Personal things, not work related things.
This morning I made an enquiry as to where my washing was (I'd given it to Ravi) on Tuesday and had miscalculated the amount of pants that that would leave me. Everyone got greatly animated and then when poor Ravi turned up he was pressed upon to find out how far along the process they were. His answer was considered wrong and he was told to get them for me today. The guy who was washing them must have travelled all the way from where ever he was to deliver them to me special. I got them back at 4pm today.
I mentioned two days ago that Saumya had said she would look for a place for me to live. She did and nothing came of it unfortunately. However, my talk of this to Alka and in the office has put everyone on to the job of finding places where I can stay. I have two house viewings in the next two days, neither are catered (I know, how unbelievable!) and both are less than 10,000 rs a month (about 110 pounds). I can't wait. It would be amazing if I could move in before Annu arrives but I find that unlikely. Alka is saving one viewing so that I can take her round.
I spoke to Alka this morning about going to Agra or Jaipur when Annu arrives for a weekend so that we can get out of Delhi. She said "Go to Agra, there's more to do. But you must go for three nights so you can see all that it has to offer." I certainly wasn't complaining. She then said she would introduce me to an artist who is exhibiting at the Open Palm Court (one of the three galleries at IHC) who lives in Agra and may recommend a guesthouse. When this introduction did take place the guy said "Sure, why doesn't he come down this weekend. Me and my friends are going down to jam!" I explained that I couldn't go until the weekend of the 7th and that I would be with my girlfriend and he said "Well you can stay at mine when you're there, of course." I do love this Indian assumed responsibility.
Further to this, out of nowhere Alka has given me a VIP card for the Indian Art Fair which is on while Annu is here. This includes entrance to the cocktail reception on the opening night. How dangerous.

18th - Photos

A quick photo dump from the past three days.

Over-exposed ghost bedroom photo

Lunchtime card sharks

Little pup I spotted on the way to work this morning

That's an electric wire just hanging into the road, not a branch

I think these massive arches are on the side of housing estates. Imagine the same in England

Road crossing hazards

Hindu statutory in Shobha's house

PLUS these are two photos that Saumya just sent me:

12th day

16th day

7teenf

This evening I went to Saumya's house after work and was fed lavishly. When I text at 4 to ask her if she'd started cooking she said yes. When I turned up though I realised that she too had a cook. This is getting ridiculous. I met her house mate and we all ate together and listened to music and played cards. There house is lovely.
They told me that I'm paying too much for accommodation (a fact I'd expected for a while) and said that they'd both look to see if they knew anyone who I could share with. This is what I've been waiting for. I was thinking that since the house they're living in is owned by the friend's dad and has two spares rooms they may have offered me a place there. The fact that they didn't makes me think it would probably be inappropriate. Mores the pity. The rent would be amazingly cheap.
Saumya said she had a lead so I must remind her tomorrow!

17th - Photos

So here is another of those photo highlight posts with pictures from after the last photo update to today.

Looks a bit sketchy to me actually. Ladies?

Namrita and Mandy both happy that the car had started working again. I reckoned the problem was Mandy's erratic driving but they both thought not.

Mandakini

An Islamic pancake with an egg for added power

The show

Gravitation towards the bar

Bright and early at Humayun's Tomb, East Delhi

Saumya in deep concentration

A sneak peak at the curation of the exhibition

Mandy displaying our boredom quite well

Stuck inside on the nicest day

Beautiful building up the street from my hotel in Paharganj

And another

Now, how's he gonna get the top ones down?

6 second exposure

Glare

Freshly bashed orange juice

The guard monkey

All tied up

Poor lad

Seven teen th

I'm about to go to work and do a photo blog. I am still having trouble with my stomach though so I'm not really enjoying traveling between places at the moment. I wish I had a driver like all the rich women here.

Sixteenth.

Today has felt very long.
I had to be at Alka's for ten but was late due to the metro, forgetting the photos and the bus to South ex always gets caught in traffic. However, when I got there I was able to remind all in involved that the meeting with Shobha was at 12 rather than 11 (1st time my memory has ever been better than anybody else's).
The meeting with Shobha was just as expected. Long and slow. BUT there was a monkey outside which I took a few pictures of and felt sorry for because he was tied up. The reason, I was told, was that because of his hierarchy in the monkey world he scares off other pesky monkeys in the area. You know, street monkeys. Obviously.
We had two separate meetings with Shobha punctuated by a long lunch break. I wandered down to the fast food place where we had chaat the other day and got mixed pakoras. There's so much food to try it boggles my mind.
My office feels quite lonely now that Keith's not there and there's no exhibition up. They did leave something quite welcome behind though. A set of portable speakers! Now I need to find an American to Indian adaptor and I am in business! It works at work but not in my room, which is where I need it most. Also, along that line of thought, if anyone has any audio books they can send me via email then that'd be swell! Thanks in advance.

Fifteenth

I have a good reason as to why I didn't do a post yesterday: I left my tablet in the office. It made being at the hotel far less entertaining. I had to watch football.

So I'll write this as if it IS yesterday.

Today a bird shat on me on the way in to work. It wasn't just that it shat on me on the way in to work. It was that it was the first time I'd put on a different pair of trousers since I'd been here (you'll recall I was so proud of my new purchase on Sunday) and because of these trousers I can now wear one of other shirts I brought with me (it would have clashed with the other trousers). So this shirt has been unworn since I got here and I've been looking forward to it. I was also having a brilliant morning and I'd had my bananas on the way and the sun was shining and I had my shades on and everything was going right. I also didn't realise at first and got on a packed metro car and almost changed on to another with everyone noticing and no one informing me. I only realised because I wondered why my shoulder was getting wet and put my hand on it and... I had to make my second trip to McDonalds as a result.
We had an okay meeting after this and I had more aloo tikki from the shop down the road. Saumya showed me how to use my camera in a more manual way, so expect my photos to finally get better. As a result of this I have been 'clicking' (as they call it here) like crazy and there may be a surge in photo posts. Just tell me if there's too many.
I ordered my first room service yesterday and felt like a king. I also took a photo of a house in Paharganj that I've been wanting to do since I got here.
Mandy took me to a nice market area near Defence Colony where I saw the first truly internationally stocked I've seen so far. Loads of stuff from every continent.

Fourteevening

Got a big night in planned, as you may be able to tell from the photo. I am caning through Terry Pratchett books at quite a rate due to a lack of spoken conversation. That being said, I have really enjoyed my first whole day off. It was really sunny and hot today so I've been up on the roof when I could - eating and reading. The setting sun made it cold instantly though.
I forgot to write earlier, the rickshaw I was in on the way back from the market had an accident with a car. No one drives in lanes here and someone pulled out from on our right to take a left turn. And regretted it when we put a big scratch down his side.
I just ordered rice pudding at dinner cos I had been told that fermented is good for a bit of rough and as it was in the savoury rice section I assumed it would be that. It was very much cold and sweet, unfortunately.

Fourteenth!

I am at Humayun's tomb after a three-hour guided walk here. I am on the outer ambulatory and it is incredibly peaceful. The sun is out, the birds are singing and I am at the same height as the leaves in the trees. I was late this morning as well, but I made it here in fantastic time as a result. I now have to prepare myself for a bracing shopping experience in one of Delhi's ridiculously busy markets.

I went and got some trousers for four pound fifty but couldn't handle buying fabric to make a custom pair. The market was too manic. I'll do that tomorrow!

13th

Today I went into work relatively late because of last night. I had a meeting with Saumya and Mandy (the we exhibition team) at 1 which took ages to happen as Mandy was still a little tippled from the night before. Me and Saumya made some progress with the order of other photos and an eagle landed on the windowsill to say hello. When Mandy arrived we all spoke for a while and then when we realized that nothing was going to be decided in her present state we called it a day and went to go and get some chaat. Chaat is the original Indian fast food and comes in various delicious cold and hot forms.
I worked for a while and then Saumya and I went to see a photography exhibition by one of the artists I had met at the house party last night. He was very nice about us being there, the good and drinks were abundant and I really liked the work. The title if the show was 'Sleepers' and each photo had people in it sleeping 'rough'. I am putting this in hyphenated parenthesis because some of the situations were outside and some were on chairs, beds etc. so I don't want to generalise and make it sound like the photos were about the homeless. Saumya used the opportunity to teach me some of the processes used to curate photography and we analysed the whole show. She's 22. But it wasn't condescending. The art atmosphere here seems to be based on very open discussion. For instance the current eminent photographers are easily accessible to talk to by the younger generation. E.g. Pablo Bartholomew.

Twelfth

The rickshaw wallahs must be must be making a killing from this rain whereas the shoe shine wallahs must be hating it. The chai-wallahs too. I really didn't expect weather like this but I suppose if you stay anywhere for a while you'll see a variety of different conditions. It rained so hard last night in the hotel and was so unexpected that when people heard the sound from the roof they came out of their rooms and assumed there was some terrible accident happening. Hopefully this rain will clear the fog that's been hanging over us for three days.
I met an Israeli-American guy at the restaurant last night who was doing a PhD in tax law. I couldn't think of anything worse but he said that there was a lot of variety in it and it didn't wear one out as much as the other types did. Sounded terribly boring to me. But he did make a good point about the freedom of advanced study and how it allows people to, say, take three weeks out to go to India.
Am eating bananas to make me well. This bunch (plus six more) cost me 66p.

Edit: tonight I went to an exhibition with Mandy and her friend Namrita. The art was okay but the sculptural pieces were far more successful than the works on the walls. Supposedly she is known for the wall work. It just looked like sperm stickers to me. After the show ended and we had been ejected by an arrogant american, we went to a house party. I was already a bit drunk from the free booze at the show (inc. spirits) and Mandy was pretty pissed. She was having trouble staying vertical. The guys at the party were all about forty and I must have been the youngest person there. All very friendly. Naturally I gravitated to the sound system and then ended up djing until the police arrived due to a neighbors complaint. I had to ride with Mandy back to her house afterwards to make sure she was safe and both of her parents were up waiting because the house party host had phoned her dad. It was half three at least. Then I got driven all the way to my hotel :)