Pahr Ganj otherwise know as The Main Bazar.
Every traveller in India worth his or her salt has to spent at least one night in Pahr Ganj. I managed to procure a room in Hare Ram guest house for 250 rupees, about $5, which is a bargain. The bathroom has no hot water but the toilet does flush, the white sheets are clean but a lovely shade of grey, mind you I am scared to lift them to see the state of the mattress. The floor was washed maybe in the last decade but I found a broom so gave it a good sweep. There is also a window which is a bonus and of course the standard flourensent tube lighting makes me look more to tired and worn than I feel, or could that just be the Delhi pollution and dust which feel caked on to my skin? The hotel staff are very helpfull and pleasant and the roof top restaurant clean and cute with potted flowers and a Bodhi tree for some shade and three stray cats that scrounge for food.
Having been here before this time I came equipped to survive the attack of the senses with earplugs and a sleeping blindfold and had a surprisingly good nights sleep. This small street is NOISY, packed with shops selling all kinds of stuff and buyers haggling for the best price. Many travellers pay for their trip to India by buying Indian chatchkies and dodads and selling them back home. Everything from hippy cloths and smoking paraphernalia, leather bags, shoes, belts, jewellery, watches and accessories, bindis, perfume and makeup, sweater, backpacks and hiking gear for those going to Nepal, cheap electronics and the list goes on. Indian merchants too come from all over to stock up on goods to sell in their shops back home. The best thing about shopping in India is that you can get brand name products for a portion of the real price.Today, in between dodging the rickshaws, cows,ox and carts, bikes and high hippies, I purchased some nice Calven Klien undies and a nice purple Amercromby sweatshirt. Ok it is the India version but at a quick glance it could be the real Macoy.
This street is really quite fun though, just hanging out in the cafes is an anthropological study and it is quite funny how many of the travellers, I am sorry to say do fit the stereotype's. The Americans do talk louder than most, but I am glad to see so many young Americans travelling; the Israeli's love to argue about the bill, feeling that they are being somehow cheated; the British are in the bars and the Italian's and French are defiantly the most stylish. I have also noticed and have enjoyed seeing that the cool traveller hairdo is a through back to the 80's which was a bad hair decade, i.e. shaved on the sides, mullets and mohawks with the odd dreadlock, feather or bead, not forgetting the distinctive bad home dye job with crazy colour. Well been there done that and I am quite happy with my unstylist and unnoticeable shoulder length straight brown hair.
The clothes too have been fun to see. Ali baba pants are in in all kinds of sizes, cloths, colours and designs, scarfs are a must have, but here are no tie dye only lots of T shirts with political statements, Indian deities and of course Bob, John, Jimmy and Gandhi faces never go out of style, I am even seeing HH Dali Lama on T shirts. Here again I must appear not quite with it or cool and trendy in my jeans and plain Tshirt but hey I am comfy and again happy to go unnoticed. Today though I did have a fashion extravaganza and spent 10 rupees on a packet of silver bindis. Wahoo !!!