Bargaining

Location: Delhi, India
Local Time: Tuesday, Oct 11, 2005 - 10:00am

Before I came to India, many people warned me to bargain. I heard the same thing before I went to Mexico. I've been told that I should be able to get many things for half the initial asking price.

I just find it very difficult to bargain when the initial asking price is a dollar. I'm suppose to argue with a street vendor over some pocket change? Oh, well, give me time. I'll probably figure it out.

Irma showed me the Delhi trainstation yesterday. She had to buy a ticket, so we shared an autorickshaw and she showed me where to buy the tourist tickets. The trains in India have a quota of tickets set aside for purchase by tourists. After that we parted ways. She was going to stand in line for a ticket to Rajasthan and I went walking in Paharganj. Think of an Canadian alley, a couple kilometers long, about a lane and a half wide, crowded with street vendors, shops, pedestrians, rickshaws, autorickshaws, taxies, cars, motorcycles and cows.

There are way more tourists there than in my part of town.