Delhi
Travel Location: New-Delhi,India
Despite weeks of preparations and research, poring over guidebooks and travel forums and grilling seasoned travellers to the sub-continent, nothing could have truly prepared me for arriving in Delhi! I met David at Heathrow, a guy booked onto the same Intrepid trip as me, also on the same flight. Jet airways fed us delicious curried dips, raita and Indian icecream. The next morning at Delhi airport we found ourselves in the back of a beaten up ‘taxi’ after following David who was following the 3 guys that were carting our luggage away whilst I tried unsuccessfully to buy a coffee with English money! The pre-arranged airport transfer was a no-show and somehow this didn’t surprise me. I had a feeling that there was very little point in having a plan in Delhi.
The driver of the scrapheap with no suspension had agreed with D to take us to the hotel for 8 dollars and seemed to know where he was going – initially. Tearing along the fast road from the airport was both harrowing and adrenaline-fuelled. We dodged cars, rickshaws, cows, an elephant and many painfully thin lame dogs. The rule of the road seems to be hoot (constantly) and floor it. Bumpers are used, not as a precaution against scrapes, but to literally push other vehicles outta the way! We soon reached the centre but the driver inevitably turned out to be a taxi ‘wallah’ trying to make a few extra rupees. We were whisked off to an extremely unofficial tourist office where the rude man tried to make me hand over my hotel details so that he could pretend to phone and then regrettably inform me that I don’t have a reservation before plotting with the driver to take us instead to his brother’s establishment on the wrong side of town. I was already wise to this common scam thanks to the LP and stomped out, the driver following, insisting that we were quite safe and that he was merely stopping for directions! 30 minutes later we had driven around the Karol Bagh area of Delhi approx 50 times and were no closer to being dropped off at the right spot. This guy was no taxi driver but was at least now sincerely trying to find the hotel, stopping to ask at every fruit, chai and murti stall. But Indians will apparently never say ‘I don’t know’ but would rather direct you somewhere, anywhere as they think that is what you want to hear! One and a half hours after leaving Delhi airport we gave up and hastily abandoned the car in a crazy jam of buses, rickshaws mopeds and animals, arguing with the driver RE the 8 dollars as we marched off with our backpacks. Less than 5 minutes later we were safely checked in – Karol Bagh was much easier to navigate on foot!
don’t worry, chicken curry
We gingerley left the hotel an hour or so later. At least I was gingerley, David marched purposefully ahead and I was immediately swept up into the heart of a dusty, chaotic and very smelly bazaar. Besides us, there was not a single westerner to be seen, nor were there any other women. Our hotel was way off the tourist trail – Intrepid had truly booked us an adventure and looked set to live up to their name and reputation! We changed 20 quid in an unlikely shop doorway and set about trying to flag down a rickshaw. This involved navigating our safe pedestrian passage across the craziness but we soon realised that pedestrians in the road must but join in the game of dodgems and weave across. There are no lights and it is pointless trying to wait for a ‘quiet’ time to cross!
Off to Connaught Place where we encountered some other travellers and had a welcome bite to eat. One veg tikka and sweet, milky coffee later, we went to listen to a live classical concert in the park at Ragiv Chowk. A few hundred people had gathered on the grass after work, the moon was full and India was making me smile – albeit nervously!
As we listened, we chatted to a journalist working for the Times of India. When there was singing, he translated the Urdu lyrics for me and he talked of his fears for a modernising Delhi, more eager to westernise and commercialise than to educate its people.
Delhi is extremely overcrowded and polluted. A population of almost 13 million squashed into less then 1500 square kms. Today it feels like I have been approached by the 13 million! ‘Maam you buy? you like? Rickshaw for you? Shive statue? Fake watch perhaps?’ ‘Don’t worry, chicken curry!’ ‘lovely jubbly!’ ’99% discount for you!’
On the first full day, after a breakfast of curried paneer and delicious butter naan that tasted like thick batter pancakes, we ventured out using the metro. We purchased funny little plastic discs which turned out to be far more sophisticated than they looked. After watching others, we realised that you scanned the plastic token like an oyster card to gain access to the platform! The brand new metro is most impressive – an efficient (and clean) version of the London Underground, except the signs were in Hindi. Announcements were made in English, asking passegers to give up their seats for the physically challenged and for women (which noone did!)
As recommended by LP, the main bazaar at Paharganj is a great place to shop. Colouful stalls line the main drag and there are endless un-named side alleys to explore. Glum looking cows stand on the roadside, some eating the rubbish – paper, plastic and rotting food that lines the streets. We inadvertently wandered into Old Delhi whilst hunting a metro station and found ourselves in a grotty, slumlike area where men used the roadside as a toilet and monkeys scampered across shanty town rooftops. Judging by the stares I received and the fact that there was not another woman to be seen, wandering around old Delhi is not the done thing for a Western female! Old Delhi is raw and very poor. A gentle aclimatisation to India it is not! However, it is a fascinating area to ramble around, taking in all the sights and smells. Locals seem to be fascinated by us and will openly stare, even though I have kitted myself out with Kalwar Sameez, the traditional dresslike tunic and trouser combination, in an attempt to blend in. I think the backpack and digital SLR are a bit of a giveaway though!
We caught the metro to Chandi Chowk for the red fort which dominates the centre of Old Delhi. Built in 1648 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, the vast grounds once housed grand halls, royal baths, the emperor’s private palace and a marble mosque – still standing. We walked a mile or so south of the fort and away from the crowds to the beautiful and tranquil Shanti Varna – a parkland known as the Forest of Peace. It was here at Raj Ghat that Ghandi was cremated and there is a marble plaque engraved with some of his teachings. Nehru was also cremated here after his assassination in 1984. His monument is manned by armed police and we had to remove our shoes to walk around it. Shanti Varna is truly a haven within a headspinning district.
Back in the heart of Old Delhi, we visited a Jain temple which houses a ‘bird hospital’. The Jains beleive in the preservation of all life and here they were nursing a wide variety of birds from pigeons to birds of prey. Some had splints on their wings and legs and all were stuffed inside tiny cages, even a massive kite who had no room to manouvere, his wing trapped under the cage door. I sincerely hope that he will be set free just as soon as he is perceived to be ‘healed’. We were unable to negotiate a rickshaw ride back to the hotel – it was too far. We made it back, again on the metro, with minutes to spare before our first Intrepid group meeting.
So we are a gang of ten – 2 Aussies, 1 Spanish, 1 American, 1 Canadian, 4 Brits and our guide Monty, Indian and from a Rajasthani family who follow Jainism. We got to know each other over a meal and drinks and then wandered around the local bazaar in search of chocolate and nuts! Off to the desert tomorrow on a 20 hour train ride so we needed to stock up on snacks!
On my final night in Delhi I was having sweet dreams about piles of rubbish and filth when I was woken suddenly at 4AM because my bed was shaking! I jumped up and looked under the bed thinking that someone was playing a trick and then there was a second tremor – an earthquake! Only a very small one, the hotel staff told us the next day – 4.5 on the richter scale. Still, all part of the culture shock!
Before leaving Delhi, we visited a beautiful mosque -Jama Masjid. There was a 200RP camera charge which I instantly regretted not paying when I got inside the huge courtyard and saw how stunning Jama Masjid is, with its high minarets and white marble architecture. We also visited a Sikh temple which was elaborately decorated with tinsel and christmas decorations. The women were busy kneading dough and making soup in huge vats, providing free food for all in the temple’s dining hall. So much to see here and so little time – I have a feeling this will be a recurring theme over the next 6 weeks!
