Thursday April 19, 2012

Yesterday was very hot.  Sweat ran down your back as you stood in the shade.  We visited the Lotus Temple.  The Lotus Temple is a religious monument that was built in the late 1970’s for the Bahai Religion.  The temple is for prayer.  When entering the Temple you must remove your shoes and socks, and maintain complete silence while in the Temple.  We learned a lot about different religion in India and the many Gods they worship.  

While at the Lotus Temple, we had our first public restroom experience.  Although this restroom facility had modernized squat toilets, it did not have toilet paper or running water.  Good thing I packed my napkins and hand sanitizer that day!

I have witnessed a lot of Indian men peeing in public, all times of the day.. so after this experience with the restrooms, I asked Sushil about the public restrooms in India.  His response was this: “The public restrooms in India are you go anywhere and everywhere.  We don’t want our people to wait to go to the bathroom.”  This would explain why we see Indian men peeing in the streets. 

We visited the open markets today to look at traditional Indian wear for women.  Sushil told us we can try on and bargain.  We asked him what a good price to pay for traditional Indian wear.  He said 350 to 500 rupees, hand stitched will cost even more.  I had no idea how much more until I entered a shop that displayed gorgeous Indian dresses that were beaded, etc..

In this shop there were couches to sit on.  They ask you to sit and say “What do you like?”  They show you a variety of dresses in different colors and accents.  I picked a few to try on.  I asked “How much?”  The response: “6000 rupees or only like $120”.  Wow!  I thought I need to leave.  He says “You like. You buy.”

I did not buy.. would have loved too, but "no".