BUSY SATURDAY

This was a good day to see sights in "New Delhi" because there is much less traffic. We had a full day and saw much of the cities  government area. Along the way we learned of struggles and assasinations and all sorts of  turmoil for thousands of years to make India into the developing country it is today. Because most Indians speak English and other languages,they are easily sought out by "call centers" because of their willing to work for much less than in our own countries.  We talked alot about the call center phenomomen. We saw anchient Mogul  archtecture and saw how important the Muslim influence was in building this part of India. We had a delightful lunch at an outdoor garden resturant and started the afternoon with a tour of the National Museum of New Delhi. I always think that in a big city, even local museums are a good way to show the culture and get a sense of an area. This one did not disappoint, but it also had too much to see and absorb in an hour. I Concentrated on the "jewels" of past rulers...holy cow! Incredible pieces of jewelry dripping with gigantic jewels and gold.

Then I found the Buddhist Art where a group of monks and nuns had set up a chanting circle. It was kind of cool to walk around and see the old Buddhist artifacts while listening to live chanting.

The school kids in India tour their country's cultural exhibits as part  of their curriculum. But they do it on Saturday. This Saturday! There were literaly thousands of school kds in these areas. We tried to "beat their buses" but a few times our visits coincided with theirs. We were a great novelty in their day. We spent mush of our time saying "Hi"  "Namaste" AND posing for pictures. They just wanted to take pictures of US with their arms drapped around us. Mostly young giggling boys, with cell phone. They were persistant but extremely polite and always asked what country we were from. Our guide was having enough of all this, but we were having fun. I finally told them we were movie starts from America. That went over big! Because they know nothing. It was hectic, but it was also pretty fun!