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Published: August 16th 2010
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A break in the Traffic
This is a quiet spot... Day 33 Amritsar to Delhi (Thurs 5th Aug)
Well up for an 0800 departure today and breakfast was interesting. They had set up a table for us with piles of slightly over-ripe bananas and plates of toast with big clumps of butter. Well, at least we got fed...
So we left on time for a change, which was good because we were expecting a very long day - it was over 500km to Delhi and the roads in India are very bad. A lot of road works too, since they are re-doing the roads of the “golden triangle”.
So we did just randomly stop at a McDonalds for lunch. It was in the middle of nowhere! And of course we haven’t seen one since Europe, so it wasn’t a hardship. Of course, no beef here in India so it was all chicken and vegetarian burgers. Very odd - but at least we had clean toilets to use!!
And of course my team won the quiz again, so that made the time pass quicker too. I think these wins make up for the spectacular lack of wins we had at the pub quiz every week in Edinburgh...
And so we finally made it in to Delhi around 2000. Turns out to have been a 12-hour drive today and it did feel rather long. This coach is not very conducive to sleeping, even if it seems to be very comfortable at first glimpse.
And Delhi? Well what can I say about this city? Its big. Its crowded. Its abominably filthy. It has a lot of empty buildings and crowded streets. It is clearly a huge city with a large population but I can’t say it inspires any real positive feelings. Everywhere you look there are piles of rubbish and you also cant look anywhere without seeing someone pissing in the street, or along the rivers. Bodies lay in the road and you aren't sure if they are beggars sleeping, or victims of the chaotic driving - and you dont want to look too closely either way! There are still cows everywhere too, which I am getting used to and actually don’t mind, but the people! And yet somehow its all rater mesmerising on a very big scale. Some of the sites are a bit horrific and you aren't sure what your reaction should be.
Even walking the 20m from the coach to the hotel (a VERY nice hotel I must say) was difficult without tripping over the people in the way.
We decided to stay in tonight to eat at the restaurant, although a few planned on going out after. I found no appeal in the idea at all, so I simply joined the others for dinner. We ended up waiting for nearly 2 hours for our meals. Everything on the menu seemed spicy so all I ordered was bread. Since a whole lot of people came in and were served before us, even though we were there first, I can understand why a few of the group got really angry. Not really worth the fuss though, it’s not as if getting upset will make any difference, now, will it?
Day 34 Delhi
I didn’t do much today. I wasn’t feeling great still so I skipped breakfast for a chance to lay in a really comfortable bed and sleep in. I ended up going for a walk down the street but that didn’t last long. Every step you take there are beggars under your feet asking for money, people grabbing and pinching your arms and shirt trying to get your attention, people trying to sell you stuff or trying to get you into their shops. Truthfully I only managed to persevere for about a half hour before giving in to the need to go back to the hotel and have a long shower. It was hot, filthy and crowded. And I hate crowds.
As much as I want to travel (I do after all love seeing new things!) India was the country I was least looking forward to, and now I remember why...
Hopefully Agra will be more to my liking, I mean after all, who
doesnt want to see the Taj Mahal?
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