Hawkers - Ignore them and don't make eye contact! #HogsAbroad in India

We went to the Jaipur fort this morning. It’s so cool going to these forts and hearing about the history of them. Most of them have some really beautiful architectural designs inside their walls. This beauty and delicacy of design contrasts how fortified the fort was and all of the methods of protection and traps that they had set up for their enemies. It was interesting to see how many forts were in India, but then I thought back to the prep classes and how we learned about all of the invaders that had come to India to take over – especially in Delhi – and it made sense that old rulers would want and need means to protect themselves and their respective dwellings.

At this fort we had our first real encounter with hawkers. They were okay at first, but they progressively got worse and more persistent. Once someone in our group bought something from one hawker then they all took that as an invitation and the began to swarm us. It was like sharks being attracted to blood in the water. They didn’t take no for an answer. I am learning that the best way to deal with them is to ignore them and not make eye contact. Some people weren’t very good at this, but I found it getting easier to brush them off.

Later today we’re going to a jewelry store where they polish jewelry. I am excited for this part of the trip as well. It was really cool to see all of the jewels that they had at the shop. I bought a ring for myself and my mom – both of which will have to be resized. However, I don’t mind having to pay to get them resized because the prices of the rings were so much less than they would be in the US. We had to opportunity to see some jewelry donated to the shop by the royal family – I was astounded by the beauty and glamour of the pieces of jewelry that the family donated.

We went shopping at the Bapu Bazaar. This was a unique experience. The bazaar was very crowded and many of the shops had the exact same items. I’m assuming that they buy from the same wholesaler. It was a new experience to have to constantly tell people that I wasn’t interested in their product. That’s one thing that I don’t really like and I prefer the western way of only having salespeople come up to you once and when you first enter the store or when you ask for their help. I didn’t see many Indians inside the bazaar shops purchasing things. I’m assuming that this is because they already know what kinds of products that they want so they know where to go and have preferred places to shop or that these are items that most people can make themselves and they prefer to make it.

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