June 7 Day 112
We slept through most of the night and were still groggy when the driver announced the last stop. This was supposed to be at Kashmiri Gate, a large bus terminal with a metro station. We were let off by an anonymous highway map. We asked a young couple about it and were told we were more than two kms from the nearest metro station. They also told us that 150 rupees was the Uber fare to Caunaught Place, so we knew the taxi driver asking for 400 was not on the level.
We got a tuktuk for 200 who dropped us off within a short walk of the hotel. It wasn't easy to find. We initially rang the bell at a very residential home that had the correct address. There was no answer and I went to see if there was another entrance. i saw the name of our hotel Ram's Inn around the corner. We had been ringing some unfortunate named Ram who was on the street where our hotel was on a lane.
When we got there we found a locked gate and an unanswered buzzer system at 6:30 am. We waited there and I went out and got us some tasty prantha and masala chai for breakfast. After we finished eating the security guard next door saw us and said he'd call the manager, but still no avail.
Someone finally came out about 15 minutes later and we got into reception at about 8:30. We chatted with a charming, older Australian woman who had been to Agra and was very travel savvy while we ate a light second breakfast. We then got into our room and rested up and made ourselves feel human again before Apurna met us at our hotel.
We met Apurna when she was staying at Ahimsa House while doing a train-the trainer session with the LHA staff. Meg and she bonded over having gotten a MSW so we met her for tea and agreed to meet up in Delhi.
She drove us around Delhi and told us much about the city. The first project she showed us was aimed at people in their 20s. They taught English, computers and life skills like getting along with people, grooming and interview skills. Two classroom are used during the day and a new group comes in the evening. Students are screened before getting in and all are offered a job placement after their 4 month program. Most of the participants were female, and there was much discussion of young Indian men not wanting to work as they would rather hang out and live off of their parents. On the way out we got Meg some burfi, which she had been craving for several days.
Next we went to an office shared by many NGOs and had lunch. We chatted with some of the people there, one who was in a program to repair cleft palates and another looking to fight malaria. Apurna's mentor was there who had helped with LHA and many other groups and has much experience in NGOs and the other side, being a former bureaucrat. There was much to talk about and the fact that the different groups in the office could share information and resources was a good setup.
We got caught in a traffic jam on the way to the children's program and Meg complimented Apurna on her driving as Delhi is a difficult place to get around in. She got us gifts, Meg a colourful silk bag and a keychain and me a wallet. It seemed a little much but I guess that's Indian hospitality, and the bag in particular was very nice.
We got to the children's program in an urban slum, where people were poor but had concrete buildings as opposed to a shantytown. It was aimed at kids whose parents had low paying day-today jobs where the kids might be left on their own of with neighbours. It gave them a safe place to learn and remedial work to help them improve their school performance. There were about 15 kids there, from 2 to 15 years old and mainly girls. They had an activity room and another room with laptops and a small library. They did a dance for us and recited some nursery rhymes before Meg led them in a rousing version of Old McDonald. Then pictures were taken and we headed out.`
Our next stop was at a nice cafe that Apurna does workshops at a few times a week, working with the employees. We had some nice sangria and grilled broccoli and the place had tons of busy staff as well as a cool ambiance. Apurna offered to take us to a sound and light show at a modern temple but we were pretty wiped so she dropped us off at our hotel and we had a nice rest.
We went out to look around and find dinner. Our hotel was close to Connaught Place, which is considered the heart of the city. Most shops were closed and a few beggars were setting out their place for the night. We found a restaurant recommended in the guidebook and had an uninspiring dinner, there's no excuse for mediocre food in a country like India.
We walked back and it was sill pretty warm. Back in the room Meg gished a giant cockroach in the bathroom, which didn't start the evening off well. Most of the rest of it was spent on Skype as Meg tried to solve a banking problem. They had cancelled her Visa password because she hadn't logged in for a awhile and would only send verification codes to our two cancelled Canadian phone numbers. The fifth person she got on the line was a manager and helped us set up an encrypted e-mail account for Meg that they could send a code to, so all was solved.
We slept through most of the night and were still groggy when the driver announced the last stop. This was supposed to be at Kashmiri Gate, a large bus terminal with a metro station. We were let off by an anonymous highway map. We asked a young couple about it and were told we were more than two kms from the nearest metro station. They also told us that 150 rupees was the Uber fare to Caunaught Place, so we knew the taxi driver asking for 400 was not on the level.
We got a tuktuk for 200 who dropped us off within a short walk of the hotel. It wasn't easy to find. We initially rang the bell at a very residential home that had the correct address. There was no answer and I went to see if there was another entrance. i saw the name of our hotel Ram's Inn around the corner. We had been ringing some unfortunate named Ram who was on the street where our hotel was on a lane.
When we got there we found a locked gate and an unanswered buzzer system at 6:30 am. We waited there and I went out and got us some tasty prantha and masala chai for breakfast. After we finished eating the security guard next door saw us and said he'd call the manager, but still no avail.
Someone finally came out about 15 minutes later and we got into reception at about 8:30. We chatted with a charming, older Australian woman who had been to Agra and was very travel savvy while we ate a light second breakfast. We then got into our room and rested up and made ourselves feel human again before Apurna met us at our hotel.
We met Apurna when she was staying at Ahimsa House while doing a train-the trainer session with the LHA staff. Meg and she bonded over having gotten a MSW so we met her for tea and agreed to meet up in Delhi.
She drove us around Delhi and told us much about the city. The first project she showed us was aimed at people in their 20s. They taught English, computers and life skills like getting along with people, grooming and interview skills. Two classroom are used during the day and a new group comes in the evening. Students are screened before getting in and all are offered a job placement after their 4 month program. Most of the participants were female, and there was much discussion of young Indian men not wanting to work as they would rather hang out and live off of their parents. On the way out we got Meg some burfi, which she had been craving for several days.
Next we went to an office shared by many NGOs and had lunch. We chatted with some of the people there, one who was in a program to repair cleft palates and another looking to fight malaria. Apurna's mentor was there who had helped with LHA and many other groups and has much experience in NGOs and the other side, being a former bureaucrat. There was much to talk about and the fact that the different groups in the office could share information and resources was a good setup.
We got caught in a traffic jam on the way to the children's program and Meg complimented Apurna on her driving as Delhi is a difficult place to get around in. She got us gifts, Meg a colourful silk bag and a keychain and me a wallet. It seemed a little much but I guess that's Indian hospitality, and the bag in particular was very nice.
We got to the children's program in an urban slum, where people were poor but had concrete buildings as opposed to a shantytown. It was aimed at kids whose parents had low paying day-today jobs where the kids might be left on their own of with neighbours. It gave them a safe place to learn and remedial work to help them improve their school performance. There were about 15 kids there, from 2 to 15 years old and mainly girls. They had an activity room and another room with laptops and a small library. They did a dance for us and recited some nursery rhymes before Meg led them in a rousing version of Old McDonald. Then pictures were taken and we headed out.`
Our next stop was at a nice cafe that Apurna does workshops at a few times a week, working with the employees. We had some nice sangria and grilled broccoli and the place had tons of busy staff as well as a cool ambiance. Apurna offered to take us to a sound and light show at a modern temple but we were pretty wiped so she dropped us off at our hotel and we had a nice rest.
We went out to look around and find dinner. Our hotel was close to Connaught Place, which is considered the heart of the city. Most shops were closed and a few beggars were setting out their place for the night. We found a restaurant recommended in the guidebook and had an uninspiring dinner, there's no excuse for mediocre food in a country like India.
We walked back and it was sill pretty warm. Back in the room Meg gished a giant cockroach in the bathroom, which didn't start the evening off well. Most of the rest of it was spent on Skype as Meg tried to solve a banking problem. They had cancelled her Visa password because she hadn't logged in for a awhile and would only send verification codes to our two cancelled Canadian phone numbers. The fifth person she got on the line was a manager and helped us set up an encrypted e-mail account for Meg that they could send a code to, so all was solved.
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| Meg and Apurna with precious burfi. |
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| Meg and Apurna with the children's group. |
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