At dinner I was surrounded by Westerners, in what I referred to as a mini-UN. There were people from Denmark, France, Norway, Great Britain, Finland, and South Africa. Louise, Nic and I feasted on chili crab and garlic butter crab, much to Louise's dismay. But those of you at home know my love of crabs and my need to eat them whenever they appear on a menu. Fortunately, you always eat with your hands in India, so no one balked at the mess we made. And the crabs were incredibly tasty!
After dinner, we said our goodbyes to Thomas. He headed to the airport and we headed downstairs to the dance club. The usual 500 rupee cover charge was waived and off we went. Downstairs, the bar was crowded and filled with smoke and American music was blasting through the speakers. But it wasn't just American music. It was an assortment of 80s and 90s rock - U2, Dire Straits, Nirvana, Creed, Whitesnake and the likes. It was so strange to stand back and remember that it was 2006 and that I was in a club in Delhi. It easily could have been 1996 and I was standing in Chadwick's.
The contrast to my experience in Old Delhi was just amazing. Here were Indians paying the equivalent of $5 or more for a drink, while the night before there were rickshaw drivers haggling us over 10 rupees. In Old Delhi I witnessed hundreds of Indians living in shacks and on the streets, while the following night I was surrounded by the privileged. Never before had I seen such disparities between the poor and the rich and never before had the two faces of Delhi been so clearly illustrated for me.
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