Beggars Belief!

Saturday and up fairly early for breakfast of omelette and toast though my body clock still thinks it's the middle of the night. Complimentary Indian newspaper which had me enthralled for a long time - some of the comments/customs would be looked upon with abject dismay in the UK. The oil strike which almost crippled the country is about over, the strikers capitulating under threat of arrest if they didn't! And the government have declared the weekend as normal working days for this industry to get supplies moving again. Any worker who refuses to go in will be instantly dismissed - just imagine companies trying that one in England - the unions would have a field day!
Then after coffee it was out into the sunshine - feels great to be in shirt sleeves after Englands zero temperatures. According to the TV and papers it should only be about 15 deg C, but it does feel much warmer than that.
The traffic here continues to amaze me - walking down what I thought was one half of a dual carriageway every so often something would emerge from the opposite direction - there doesn't seem to be any highway code here whatsoever. The locals were all walking on the road too - I soon found out why when I got off the main drag, pavements are nothing more than a sewer with concrete lintels spanning them to walk on.
The diversity here is even more amazing than it first appeared, most "shops" have a frontage of less than 10 feet and try to cram as much as possible on the path/sewer outside. This is another reason for using the road for walking. Little engineering premises appear along the way, with welding going on in the street. This all intermingles with the food stalls cooking samosas and nan bread. The aroma of these combined with raw excrement smells is something to behold and not recommended, I just hope it doesn't put me off entering UK curry houses!
My main problem was street beggars, I appeared to be the only westerner in the area and was like a magnet to them, they follow you for ages, tapping your arm and motioning eating to get you to part with some cash. No way was I going to get involved with this as the word would spread like wildfire. My half-deafness came in particularly useful for the first time here with my good ear to the road all I could hear were traffic noises. It's like a game of patience and poker rolled into one - testing my resolve and ability to keep an emotion-free expression. I didn't dare get aggressive or abusive or who knows what would have happened, me V's India wouldn't really be much of a fair fight.
All of this I have viewed on TV over time (and you all probably have too) but nothing prepares you for the real thing - the degradation, the heat and dust, the strange mix of smells, the noise and the amount of people and traffic. It really is indescribable and you have to experience it to know it.

My taxi to take me to the railway station tomorrow is booked, Chandigarh is next on the horizon as it's within a short ride of Amballa (Grand-dads birth-place) and the hotel is booked too.
Off for some dinner now - I think Indian. Ha ha!
Love to all.