Monkey business

I had my first experience with Indian textiles. I bought a beautiful brocade bag from the Paragang market. Coreen warned me that it might not be colour fast but I stubbornly ignored her. My water bottle was in my bag and leaked a little and now there is a large and indelible red mark on my cream linen pants. The experience reminds me of a floral overdyed top I bought at Green Market Square in Cape Town about 10 years ago that dyed my skin blue everytime I wore it. Lesson learnt: No matter where you are in the world, market merchandise is never colour fast.

We went to check out the monkey dance at India Gate yesterday afternoon. Two monkeys act out an entire play in full costume. Unfortunately they were nowhere to be found. Apparently they have been banned because the monkeys (!) were pick pocketing the audience.

We went from there into Old Delhi to the Jama Masjid mosque which is the biggest mosque in India and can hold up to 25 000 people. We arrived there just before evening prayers so we weren't allowed in. Undeterred, we sat on the stairs to soak up the atmosphere and almost jumped out of our skins when the cannon sounded announcing sunset - typical paranoid tourists. It was an awesome experience to be surrounded by people praying and the voice of the muezzin booming over the loudspeaker. We watched as all around us people broke their fast. I don't know how Muslims cope in India in the month of Ramadan. It is so hot and humid during the day (which is why my running training is going so incredibly badly) and nothing is allowed to pass their lips, not even a sip of water. RESPECT. I can't even go half an hour without drinking about a litre of water.