We're Moving!

7 months of living in India and we are getting ready to move for the fourth time. The first two were in the same building, the third was to a new apartment after getting kicked out of the first one and now we are moving to a studio apartment. We literally fell into the place after stopping by a different brand new place down the street. The manager didn't have what we were looking for in that place, but he has a friend. That is how things work around here, "oh this isn't what you are looking for...Well let me call my cousin's uncle's dad who knows a guy." It can be comical at times or down right frustrating. Either way the details are worked out and we have all made the decision that the move will take place at the end of the month. This gives the manager of the new place time to make a few changes in the apartment and allows for us to go away on vacation and not having to worry about moving this week. The below link has pictures of our new apartment and the 8 apartment building itself. It may take a minute for the photo's to load, but then you will see the beautiful kitchen that I will soon have. Can you say 2 burner stove top? YEAH!

http://www.aasrahomes.com/photo.html
or
Click on title to be taken to the webpage.

Nehru Place

India is known for being able to copy things. Dress shirts, suits, skirts, and dresses are no exception. A common expat hobby is buying cheap ($1/meter) fabric and taking your favorite dress to a tailor to copy. Nehru Place is where the most popular fabric stores are located and Saturday Ben got his first glimpse into the fabric world. HP Singh is three levels of amazing fabric with everything from silk to plaid cotton to heavy curtain material. A real quilters paradise!

Old Delhi-No Place for Retirement

Saturday we tried to find the spice market in Old Delhi. Let's just say we never made it out of the car. Old Delhi is close to downtown Delhi and is known for it's crowded streets and markets. Driving through the Sadar Bazaar area of Old Delhi proved to be quite the challenge as we had to go around cow's pulling carts, horses pulling carts, men pulling carts, auto rickshaws, and bike rickshaws. The only place in the world where they use a rope as a traffic light. The police officer pulls the rope across the road to stop traffic from one direction while the other direction tries to move somewhere. It was so cramped and crowded that we couldn't get out because there was no where to park the car. Pictures include: trash dump, meeting with the mayor, and typical street traffic. The 2nd picture consisted of a bunch of men standing around a man hole doing nothing. I thought it looked like a town hall meeting with the mayor. Another "Incredible India" day!

Side Note: Sadar Bazaar is the suburb that was recently on the front page news as 300 hutments burnt down. Not apartments, but hutments. These would be shacks constructed of bamboo poles or bricks with a piece of tin or psalm leaves as a roof. You drive by this area when you take the train into the New Delhi train station from the north. It is not a pretty area!