Earlier in the day we tried to walk down to the Republic Day Parade but got there a little late, 11:30AM or so and just sort of missed it. I guess you have to get there really early in the morning to be let into the parade area because the police wouldn’t let us pass through the barricades even though the parade was in full action a few blocks away. Who knew? Everything worked out though because we got to see military choppers, bombers, and a bunch of jets doing flyovers. We also lucked out as we were hanging out with the parade stragglers at The Gate because we caught a convoy of tanks and missile launcher things heading back to wherever their staging areas were. That was cool because while we have air shows in the US and stuff like that, we never parade tanks and missiles down main streets Korean or Russian style. Quick note, yes The India Gate has a similar name to The Gateway of India in Bombay but is different as they are obviously in different cities and 900 miles apart. The India Gate in Delhi was built as a memorial to fallen Indian soldiers and looks similar to The Arc De Triumph in Paris which its design was based on.
So Delhi is another dirty city. Garbage is strewn over the broken and irregular sidewalks. Hoards of people are everywhere. The homeless sleep in rows right on the main thoroughfares. I had an interesting experience in the Indian version of a port-a-potty which was just a little stand made up of a few sheet metal cubicles and nothing more, set up on the side of a main boulevard. Everything just goes directly onto the dirt. It’s a crazy way of life. Kevin and I are enjoying our time here, though sort of proud that we have made it toward the end of our trip and can consider ourselves true backpacking vets. We have succeeded at India and can now add another continent to the list.
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