So today I checked out from the hotel, then Rahul and I picked up Sid who is staying at a hotel called Svelt (try getting an Indian to pronounce it right hahaha) then we went to pick up Shweta. On the way from Svelt to Gurgaon, we passed the Qutb Minar. It was amazing to see a huge thousand year old statue in testament to the Islamic empire which ruled this part of the world for a period of time, still standing in decent condition. I will have to visit this place once I get my apartment situation settled. Attempted to lock down an apartment for the duration of my stay. It's proving to be more difficult than it would seem. Of course, having three extra people inputting their different opinions and trying to negotiate on your behalf has added more than it's fair share of frustration. We found that there are “To-Let” signs everywhere in every neighborhood. Just call the number and you'll get the agent who is listing the house and they'll let you see the place. In the end, I found a quite and quaint 1 room furnished studio apartment in the heart of Delhi. It was a little high but the landlord went out of his way to speak in English so I could understand the conversation. None of the other landlords or real estate agents had even attempted so the extra price felt like it'd be worth it to have someone who I could seek advice from if I needed help on anything. Regardless of how well I liked the room, it wouldn't be available until the 1st. So that left me with a problem: where do I stay until the 1st?
Shweta had suggested staying with her in the PG in Gurgaon, called her 'aunty' and got permission for me to spend a few days. Now a PG (Paid Guest) is a lot like a hostel. There's a main communal room and big rooms with tons of beds. These houses usually are girls only or boys only and this PG is no exception. When we finally got to the room I was speechless. I had overheard them talk about this place. There are 10 or so girls staying in this place and each is paying around 6500 rupees a month. That's a huge chunk of change. Yet, it's an absolute shit hole! I was told to stay in the downstairs room since the place where I'd be staying upstairs wasn't ready yet. There are a million mosquitoes in the room. The walls are falling apart from bad plumbing. Rahul, Shweta, and Sid all helped me to my room and the guys were suggesting I spray myself down really well with my mosquito repellent and sleep with long sleeves/pants and keep the fans going. The problem is, I've been here less than an hour and even with the repellent, I've got bites all over my arms, legs, and face. The best part is, the bathroom has no water, the toilet doesn't work and there's literally shit in it which smells absolutely awful! I do not think I'd be staying here until the 1st. I'd rather spend more living in a hotel room which at least has a useable toilet. The hotel in which I was staying wasn't a Comfort Inn by any means...heck it didn't even have a shower curtain, but it was in better condition.
I was doing spectacularly well at adjusting to this place and all of it's pitfalls but I refuse to stay in a crap house like this. Rahul picked up on my uneasiness and asked if I'd prefer renting a hotel room tonight but I told him that it would only anger Shweta. Rahul told me to call him if there were any problems so here I'm stuck.
This crappy place (PG, not India) is also making me feel homesick for my bed and bathroom and cable internet. It's funny too because earlier we were wandering through a market trying to find myself a tunic-style shirt so I could fit in better with the surroundings and I absolutely loved it! I was thinking to myself, “Besides the fact that there's garbage everywhere and it is dusty right now, I love Delhi. I don't understand why people hate this place so much.” I definitely don't hate it because of my temporary situation, but it's making it hard for me to want to stay longer. Not that I would but it was starting to feel like home if I had a home to call my own even if temporary.
I've pulled out my camera and started clicking away! These pictures are of the market area in Noida. I didn't like it too much just because it looked poor and I heard that Noida was actually supposed to be posh. Just because it had a few super-sized malls, does NOT make it posh. Actually, some of the houses I looked at in Gurgaon were in nicer areas although we decided it would make no sense to stay in Gurgaon as it's too far away from Delhi and the metro from D to G isn't completed yet. Gurgaon also comes complete with your side-show, garbage eating moo-moos.
Sid is convinced I shouldn't rent the apartment in GK because it's too small and not everyone can get together there. I'm not sure when my new apartment would become the center of their lives...but Rahul brought up a good point about the price. It would be 12k/mo*2 + 6k real estate commission + security (which would be refunded in the end). I asked Rahul to contact the real estate agent tomorrow and offer to give him the 6k commission in exchange for working a lower price since the place is on the smaller side. We'll see what happens. So then, in the mean time, our center of attention in finding apartments came back to Noida and Delhi while the one in the GK district was definitely the pick of the litter. South Delhi like the Defense Colony has nice areas too. But, no matter how nice, there's always garbage. I watch people just toss stuff out their car windows like the Earth is their public dumping ground.
In all the driving around, I finally realized why there are tons of bricks laying all over the side of the road. I was told that they were cheap to make but the dirt is the same color as red bricks...duhhh. It's not cheap labor but it's cheap material. Just start digging in your land and you got the stuff for bricks. I also have come to understand why this country has been able to soften the blow of the world recession. Everything in this country is "out-sourced" to someone else in this country. In the US, you do your own laundry, cleaning, cooking, wall painting, etc. In India, you hire someone else to do it. Because the culture is as such, the hired labor isn't as expensive as it could be. They rely on their own country to get what they need done. If only the US would adopt the same approach, it wouldn't be in the mess it's in.
No comments:
Post a Comment