A work friend named Karan and I went into Delhi yesterday to do some shopping for souvenirs, and see the Lotus temple, which was our first stop. It was a pretty nice building, and I was impressed by the architecture and design – it stays cool in the summer months without any Air Conditioning or fans. Very beautiful building.

After the temple, we visited a very nice local arts and crafts market. I saw a number of different things for sale: Stone carving, wood carving, leather goods, Indian-style clothing, wooden toys, stone (camel) stuff, brass wire statues, metal items (vases, etc.), pashmina cloth, pearls, and probably a few other things I’m forgetting.

The language barrier, plus the fact that I’m obviously not Indian, resulted in my companion, Karan, doing most of the actual bartering. I’d let him know I was interested in it, and approximately what price I was willing to pay, and more often than not he was able to strike a deal. I messed up a couple of deals inadvertently, when the merchants were speaking directly to me, but the price difference ended up being only a couple of dollars or so.

I ended up buying some trinkets for the kids – dresses for the girls, a brass horn for Jacob, and a nice marble chess-set for everyone. I grabbed some tops and fans for them too. I was hopeful that I could pick up some perfume for Mary Lou, but no one was selling it, or incense, which I was surprised at. A nice elephant statue and a small camel-bone chest made their way into my bags, too.

We ended up having a snack of pork “momo’s” for lunch, which are just meat dumplings. Think Peking Ravioli’s and you’re close. They were very good, especially considering the price: R 30 or $.75.

After that, we went to another open market, but this one was a traditional street-market, and was very busy compared to the crafts market. I didn’t end up buying anything here, but it was pretty fun to see the stuff for sale, and to be hawked at by street vendors. Almost everything for sale was brand-name knock-off’s. “Designer Jeans” from a brand you’ve never heard of could be had for R 150 ($3.75), but actual electronics items were very expensive compared to the States.

I might try Old Delhi today. I decided to pass on Jaipur (it would have been a VERY long day for all of us), and instead got the best night of rest I’ve had in India: I slept from 6:30pm all the way through to 6am, and got up just in time to watch the Sox win.