A new fire truck for Nicasio? Runs! Sirens! Cheap…. in Trashigang, Bhutan (NO, that is not the name of a gang from a Bollywood movie!)
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Literally in the clouds. Crappy single lane gravel/dirt roads make Old Rancheria Road a bit like I-5 up the Central Valley.
Some of the dozens of fanciful warning signs on the road.
For perspective, find the huge blue construction truck on the shelf on the opposite switchback….. and the trails of tailings “stabilizing” the downslope.
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Delhi/New Delhi: “only” 22 million people. Surprising progress…. Fewer beggars, cleaner streets, fewer (visible) slums, manageable traffic (still bordering on a suicide mission). Hot (100), cold at night (50), dry, steeped in history. Dozens of eras, dynasties, kingdoms, royalties, the Britishers for about 200 years, have all come and gone. Today it is the world’s largest democracy. National elections in a few weeks; lots of hub-bub; lots of heavily armed security. Visited the Red Fort (circa 1630), a mosque built by the Emperor after the Fort (and the Taj Mahal in Agra), old Delhi, vast expanses of government buildings, unbelievable centuries-old mansions built on the backs of the poor. An amazing Sikh Temple. All Sikh temples serve free meals. This Temple serves about 50,000 free meals a week….. can we learn anything from all this? The grand mosque. Built in the 1600s by the Emperor. Served for the centuries as a religious shrine as well as a symbol of the Emperor’s power and associated religion. It has been going through a renovation for the last few years which is bringing back the striking original colors—primarily the red stone.
400 years ago the emperor sat on this white throne to address his minions who were not allowed to come any closer than the far side of the courtyard for security reasons.
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The Muslim side of the Mosque.
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Old Delhi surrounds the Mosque. Tiny streets filled with warrens of thousands of shops all competing for the business of the bustling crowds. Specialized chaos. Specialized because each area has its particular specialty: the paper section (for stationary, raw paper, etc.), jewelry gems and gold section, the books section (particularly crowded as school exams are about to commence), housewares (copper and brass, aluminum, etc., pots and pans), etc. All bristling with people, tuk-tuks, motorcycles, bicycles, carts, etc. Donkey and ox carts were banned recently because they interfered with traffic (!!!).
Government buildings: impressive monuments. Consciously designed to incorporate all of the core forms of the architecture from the Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and the Britishers. They sprawl for about 1 ½ miles including a boulevard of mansions built as part-time residences of the maharajas when politics or society called for their presence with the central government or the Britishers. Today they are all government-owned and serve as residences for electeds and senior government officials. Intense security as national elections approach. This was as close as we were allowed to approach.
A Sikh temple. Originally the personal residence of one of the cousins of one of the maharajas. Such wealth much of it accumulated by being a money lender to the farmers. Later it was donated to be the temple. 24 carat gold adorned…., sermons all through the daylight hours, the holy scripture under watchful eyes(?), staggering architecture for what was a personal residence including this pool (1/3 of which is in this photo), the front gate, throngs—part of the 50,000 free meals each week waiting for their free meal….
thebunguycord 