Delhi

The hustle in Pahar Ganj, Delhi's version of Khao San Road,is particularly frustrating. Dozens of Kashmiri men line the streets, their green eyes lining up their prey before they attack, or attempt to charm. I've heard all their lines before... all their tricks. Even been sucked in by a few. Here they are.

"Remember me?" they call, just so you stop and look. This one particularly works for those like me who have been to India many times and hate the fact that we may have walked unknowingly past an old friend. No need to worry: a) it's hard to make good friends out of Pahar Ganj shop owners and b) it's just a trick - they don't know who the hell you are, they're just pretending so that you stop.

"Hello Holland! Germany!" they call, guessing at your nationality... they are well skilled at this, and I often get the two afore-mentioned countries because of my hair colour. Anyone with curly hair would get 'Shalom!', or anyone that looked remotely Japanese or Korean would be followed by the cries of 'Konichiwha!' Sometimes they even recognise my pounamu and call 'Hey Kiwi!' and I have to give them credit for this. I remember years ago actually, I talked to someone about how they recognised countries and they said they looked at their shoes. Go the Birkenstocks - they're a dead giveaway, as well as practical AND stylish. Wow.

Their drawl is unmistakably Kashmiri, and I don't quite know why. Perhaps it's the schools they went to, but it's this accent that really grates me probably becaus of my past experiences. "Do you want to see my shawp? Some nice scarrrrves? Some precious stawns?"

If all else fails, they get angry when you don't turn around. "I only want to talk with you!" "Come back here!" "Why are you so angry?" Well buddy,do you really want me to tell you why? Just piss off and leave me alone! I want to scream, but grit my teeth and move further down the street. Grrrr....

I spend 24 hours only in Delhi, mostly recovering from my disastrous train journey that went from a proposed 12 to 26 hours in the heat! Urgh... thank goodness I'm not moving around much so I don't need to endure too many more of these... and maybe I'll splash out and go A/C next time too... my last two journeys I have been surrounded by rather unfriendly groups of men. I suppose this is better than over-eager boys and having to field off questions about my marriage status, so I should be content really.

One not-so-nice incident occurs as I'm leaving Delhi for my bus stand in old Delhi to get my Pushkar overnight bus. My rickshaw driver and I battle over a price and finally settle on 140 rupees, which is way down from his initial ridiculous opening price of 250, but well above the normal 100 rupee cost. Oh well, I sigh and settle into my seat... until I hear him muttering something under his breath as he accidentally enters a police zone and tries to change lanes at the same time as switching on his taxi meter (I must remember to insist they use these from now on...). They see him anyway, and one strides over to swiftly beat him across the face as I'm sitting in the back seat. I cry out just out of instinct and sympathy, as my driver is cowering in his seat like a child, but they ignore me and drag him away for questioning. I'm wondering what the hell to do, but within minutes he is back rubbing his jaw and we leave again without many words. It's a shame as we had actually been having a nice conversation and I was learning a few new Hindi words even, but what to do. When we stop, I wonder where we are and he points out my bus stop before I burst into a 'Is THIS all?? You said this was a long journey" etc etc. He responds "You don't pay anything, I am very bad man." to which I offer him 100 rupees instead of 140 but he shakes his head. Oh well, I think, and drag my pack and guitar out of the back before going to seek out a place to sit and wait. Five minutes later however, he is at my side with his hand outstretched, apparently changing his mind about the free ride. Funny. Maybe he decided he didn't have such bad karma after all... I roll my eyes and pay him 100 rupees, not even too surprised. There's no such thing as a free ride in this town...