The embassy compound is clean and green. It's sunny and despite an occasional honking, very quite with only the sound of birds.
We started the day off by digging up a bicycle for Julia. One of the families on the compound had an old bike that they pulled out of storage. The only issue with it was a flat tire. The simple pump up wouldn't do the trick; So Julia, Martie and Heather walked up to the bike wallah to get it fixed. The bike wallah had a small shop with all the tools that he needed to fix a bike. He also looked like he had two apprentices with him. He pulled out the tube, patched it and filled it up for 20Rs. Julia really needed the bike. It was a great way for her to burn off energy. She has an independent, explorer side to her. She has no problem jumping on a bike and taking off for a ride without anyone watching her. And neither did we. The compound is a safe place to let the kids out to play on their own. Someone described the compound as a 1950's suburb; and with the 50's styled Ambassadors, it did have the look. Few cars, no traffic and the only people allowed on the compound are the ones that have a purpose being there.After that, Mary had a couple things to get at the market and Heather and I had to tag along. Typically, Mary would have the groceries when she showed up to work. However, We wanted to see and.... smell.... the market ! So we jumped into a Tuk and headed out to the market. Now, getting a tuk to drive us out there wasn't easy, several drivers were not interested in giving us a ride. A crazed looking driver charged us 60Rs; And being a long ride away and right off of a very busy, major multi-lane road; It can sometimes a challenge to get to.
The INA market is a one story mass of grocery-type shops that looked like they were, simply, assembled in cubes - one next to the other. The very narrow walkways were the openings to the shops. Pooled water was all over the ground. You had to watch out for the larger puddles. To the side of the market, close to the food and chai vendors, was a large cesspit of filth and garbage.
There were individual sections to the market. Several spice market were next to each other selling packets of spices, spice mixes, beans and rice.
Toiletries and cleaning supplies were in one section, canned goods in another.
One section had some of the nicest, freshest looking fruits and veggies I have ever seen. They all looked perfect, fresh, bright. The mushrooms were a prefect shade of off-white, not a spot of brown. Not a speck of dirt on anything. Lettuce, of all verities, perfectly green and clean. I was tempted to grab grapes, apples and bananas, have a seat and watch the crowds go by... but not until they are cleaned.
In another section were the meat sellers. Lamb carcasses were hanging out in the open, butchers were chopping away at chicken and lambs. Chicken breasts and whole chicken - skinned and not - were out on shelves. Below were live chickens crammed into tight cages.
None of the raw food or meat was on ice or refrigerated. Remaining chicken "parts" were mixed with green chillies to make sausages - again in a dirty looking meat grinder. The meat section of the market was in the back. An occasional chicken would be pulled from a cage and "Taken out back" behind the market. Then returned in a less than lively state, minus the feathers. Lamb butchers are right next to the chicken butchers.... which were right next to the fish monger, with all of his crabs in buckets on the ground, with live fish and dead. At least the fish mongers used ice !
The butcher blocks were on the counters, right at the eye level of the buyers.
Once, I had to move Heather out of the way. The lamb butcher block is at the open end of the shop and the people walking by would get an occasional chunk of lamb on them.
Mary picked out a chicken with skin and payed 120Rs for it to be skinned. The seller, who is sitting on the table top with his bare feet next to the chicken (which isn't cold or on ic
e) passed the chicken to the next guy that skinned it on a long machete looking knife, tossed it into a bag and passed it back to us. Naturally, no one had a sink close by to wash up. They were all, basically, sitting in chicken parts and remains...Remember, all of the food is cleaned and cooked before eaten. And for the most part, it's "fresh". Meaning that it was probably butchered that morning before you showed up to buy it. No frozen then thawed meats like we have here in the states.
And of course, food wallahs were frying donuts and cakes, and others were making and
selling freshly fried chapati and samosas. Food coolies were walking around to help carry your groceries for you. They would follow you along and load all of your goods into a laundry basket. We didn't need that - we were Mary's coolies for the day.For tonights dinner, Mary is going to show us how to make samosas and chapatis. Now, I must have to have the appropriate tools for the job. So she lead us around to her favorite utensil seller to get us a chapati pan, rolling pin and chapati board - too cool !
Outside the market a woman was having her arms decorated with Mehndi - a temporary decoration of Henna applied for weddings and festivals. Mary said that the woman's decoration will take hours to apply. Then you have to keep your arms out for several hours while waiting for to dry. It will then last several weeks.
Julia had a peacock done on her arm, and it took an hour, and cost only 20Rs. It lasted over two weeks.
In the afternoon, Martie, Heather, Josh and I took a tuk to the India Gate monument. It's a large sandstone monument built as a WWI soldier memorial. Julia stayed behind to take a nap. There was a large crowd there. People were selling kids toys, postcards and henna. But, there's not much there other than people watching, so we walked up to the Cultural Emporium.
The emporium is a governmental shopping mall that has several floors of handicrafts, artwork and textiles from all of the Indian states. All of the prices are fixed, there's no one looking over your shoulder or offering help, and all of the products are genuine. Plus, everything was reasonably priced. Something to think about for our next trip.
Because... we tend to pick up souvenirs that are practical; and ways to remember the trip. Like the exact coffee mugs used at the hawker stall coffee shops in Singapore (used e
veryday, BTW, bought/not stolen), wine glasses from Santorini (we have only one left, so we gotta go back !) or the chapati pan and rolling pin. Yet, a souvenir I wish I had from all of our trips - a plastic 5L carboy of wine from the Valley of the Women in Egar, Hungary - from the sweetest wine caves in the world.... Martie knows what I'm talking about..... :) We almost lost the kids on that trip......ha, ha.