Istanbul - wow :-) a place very similar to India

Will write about the trip some other time but would like to share some of the non touristy sights with who ever is interested
have a look

The Flag

One sees the the Flag of Turkey fluttering in he wind at almost every corner.

Break the rules

 Just like in India, drivers in Istanbul break rules with nary a care in the world. The next cab which turned in fact crashed into a bike..no noone got hurt :-)

Graffittiiiii

 Yes...this is also rampant...seen in the oldest church also

Bliss

 This is one of the best passtimes..saw a lot of people laughing , reading and chatting their worries in the parks

Trinket Maker

 This lady was making trinkets with beautiful greek designs..lovely

Bhutta

 Corn seller..boiled or roasted..for a lira a delicious anytime snack

Hazelnuts

 This is something this place is famous for..by the end of three days..kinds got fed up of eating these nuts

Roadside Cafe'

 Seen across almost all streets..beware you Indians..beef is more of a staple diet here

Tea in a glass so beautiful

 Rest laster ;-)

some colors of India especially @ dilli haat

http://devilsownparadise.blogspot.com/2010/07/some-colors-of-india-especially-dilli.html

The weather was good...not very hot...but yes very humid...:-) so we guys decided to go to Dilli Haat. Well it was an impromptu visit...wanted to stay away from being the MallRats and away from the big screen today.

Dilli Haat was started a few years back..it was to be a hub set in a rustic ambience and showcasing the talents of the various artisans across India. For a couple of years THIS was the place apart from Janpath in Connaught Place and Sarojini Nagar Market to get good handicrafts and clothes and a lot of other knick knacks at very affordable prices...and then Dilli Haat became popular.

This was made on top of a nallah / drain

Popularity made this a tourist place and then the NGOs descended on Dilli Haat...and I guess that was the end of the bargains and good stuff.

Well..this is still a place to roam around and have some good food from the food kiosks within the premises.
Almost all the states of India have their kiosks there. For me this is the attraction :-)

Ssslllllllllllllllllllluuuuuuuuuurrrrrpppp!!! Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooooooooooooollllll!!! mmmmmmmmm food

From kashmiri food (wouldnt recommend this) where Tin Cocks are served..highly recommnded to the people with iron deficiency and to "Open Happiness" to Rajasthani thalis, daal bhati churma ..to the Bengali  fish & Mishti Dohi to the Maharashtrian Vada paavs...all available here. A decent meal for  two , where one would feel like a stuffed Turkey costs about INR 600 max.

Oh yes..momos and chowmien are the staple preference for most.

Dont forget to the Matka Kulfi too.

Today we went on one of those days, which is a change over day..the theme changes and the artisans and the shops change. Hence very less crowded.

I like these days as my money stays my money and doesnt become the artisans ;-)...I guess the married men out there would relate to this.

well you guys must be thinking where are the colors?

Clicked some photos of the colors there. Have a look. All taken from Nokia N97 :-) some pics are blurred so peer hard to see them ;-)

Post entering Dilli Haat. Crowdless and no noise pollution :-)

Bangles and bangles. Just need a BoJangle now

Elephants & Camels from Rajasthan A birds eye view

Bracelets & Rings

Curtain screens..Peta guys shouldn't see these hung animals :-)

Hang down your Tom Dooley...more Pachyderms

Sea Shell Earings to make all fairer sex look even more prettier :-)

More Seashell Earings;'.. no wonder the women all look so nice ;-)

The shopkeeper who took my money :-)

Ladels & Spoons...This is when I get Hungrrrrryyyyy!!!

The dog!

Sea Shell from which the pearls come out ;-)

Dilli Haat getting ready for the next theme

Bangles - yeah sea shells again 

I believe I can fly!!

Cobblestoned artea outside..good place to get Chai, Papad etc

Balloons

Little seen sights of India or are they

while driving around the roads and streets of India one sometimes sees a lot of stuff...which are not usually shown in the touristy sites. now that I have a nice phone camera, the other one is too heavy and big to lug around...i decided to click some of these awesome sights..awesome is just a state of the the person looking at the photos...for me all photos are gonna be awesome :-)

PS: the photographs will be taken by me after stopping the car if I am driving...

Have linked some of the words which would take you various third party sites on which I have no control ;-) if you need more information (general kind) on anything google or bing!.. anything related to what I have written get in touch with me...

wellzzz lemme start with some stuff

Elephant Safari in the concrete jungles

A very common sight in Delhi...you have the four legged pachyderms racing with you. The best part is...if you are looking for some lighter or destressing moments...you can actually go for a small Concrete Jungle Safari on these elephants. What you need to do is...yell out to the mahout (the caretaker of the elephant) to stop..you park your vehicle in a nice place...which does not disturb the flow of traffic and from where the cops dont tow away your vehicle..go near the elephant and go on a ride..INR 20 is all what it takes :-)

The long lonely road to everywhere

This is the road which leads you to Greater Noida fondly called Greater Nevada by moi ;-).

Gurgaon - DLF Cyber City

This is the most busiest part of Gurgaon...the complex has over 8 buildings high rises...and most of the offices are housed here..ESPN, Microsoft, Aircel, Yahoo...the list is a never ending list. best time to go here for peace and quiet would be late evenings on holidays ;-)

Also has some good restaurants...like Punjabi by Nature, etc

Traffic on Outer Ring Road - New Delhi

Its not always this bad...there was a flyover being constructed to ensure smooth flow of traffic to an fro ..and hence bad traffic...thing about delhi road sense is quite similar to the real estate guys around the world...find space so gobble it

Hang on guys!!! we are almost there

 This was on a road which we call NH 8 (National Highway 8) This connects New Delhi and Mumbai and passes through Haryana and Rajasthan etc. Please do not be fooled by these "hangers"..they are I guess just trying out what Airbus tried in their airplanes ..the Standing Seats - where  Passengers in the standing section would be propped against a padded backboard, held in place with a harness, according to experts who have seen a proposal. I guess Indian's are a lot more daredevilizzzz than they appear. :-)

However technologically India may have advanced, we would never do away with our heritage of Carts...you can see a varied variety of carts pulled by a variety of animals...elephants, Camels, Bullocks, Oxen, ...and yeah! sometimes humans too :-)

Dasara, derived from the Sanskrit Dasha-hara meaning "remover of bad fate", is among the most important festivals celebrated in India...This was taken from the the road (yes after I parked the car away from the eyes of delhi cops)..

 

During this festival..the effigies of Ravan and his two brothers is very common across all parks & open spaces in Delhi and north India..well yes..hard to believe eh!..we do have a apark in every residential locality :-)...and yes delhi is kinda spaced out...that is..there is space except when you want space for parking

 

the old lady of Jaipur

 Jauhari Bazar - Jaipur...busy street...only retail shops..you name it and you get it here...each street famous for a particular thing...clothes to handicrafts to jewelery to food to shoes to toys to this and to that...

When roaming on a hot october afternoon lugging my camera around...chanced to look up and saw this lady just sitting and looking at all the cacophony happening in the bazaar below...she painted a very pretty picture...been there done it types... another shot of the actual busy street

Look Ma! its a metal bird

On the way to Neemrana fort...we found this airplane parked...see I told you...we have a lot of space here ..on a closer look we figured out that this was one of the planes used to teach the budding pilots who enroll themselves in the School of Aeronatics

these are a few of my favorite things..on a menu :-)

being an internet junkie...i still do not know how to keep this blog upto date with all my silly musings :-)...i guess reading other peoples really informative blogs and articles really take up my time....this time i thought i will be serious about writing here..so what if I am the only person that reads these...but these are good memories for me...recently got gifted a N97...good camera it has and caught a few interesting things on the lens...well ..it was interesting for me...so there...if u dont think this is interesting check the other informative blogs ;-)

being a foodie...sometimes i do look at the menu also..usually call the waiter and ask for the famous stuff of that restaurant...or while walking to the table "stare" at what others are eating usually gets me the best food...but then oming back to the menus...interesting descriptions is what i see

its like a friend of mine who says"what will you expect if you give a camera to a 40 year old man??!!"...not that he is old...but ya he is getting there :-)

sorry sunil nair hehe

well here is one of the menus

A restaurant @ the famous dilli haat serving authentic kashmiri food.."TIN COCK" for the iron man and something hard for the ladies is available here , i say!

Coke guys! if you reading this please note

how about meeting a french beauty named cinderella, giving her an italian smooch on her beautiful lips and then "virgin marry". Now thats a story to be told. and they lived happily ever after..andaz e khusk i say!

lets not forget..both these "taxes are as applicable" for budget for that too.

in terms of the food..Wazwaan is no great shakes..however Park Balluchi is great...one of my favorites..set with Deer Park in south delhi (next to the hauz khas village)...a good place to really enjoy food and service..:-)

well bon apetite for now :-)
happy reading