Living in New Delhi

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I added more pictures of various friends we have made while in New Delhi and various events we have attended. Marine Ball 2007, Diwali 2007, Halloween 2007, New Years 2008, etc.
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Kim and I are both first world, city people, in the true sense. We both enjoy fine dinning, Starbucks, drycleaners, nightlife, hot showers, Sunday brunch, live entertainment, dancing, clubbing, socializing, and meeting interesting people. We love people watching and observing human behavior.

We feared that living in New Delhi would provide certain challenges and isolation from some of these activities. But that has not been the case.

There is fairly good food in New Delhi. The food in New Delhi is not as good as Portland, Oregon. But, the food in Portland is as good as, and often better than any other city in the world. So we have taken a step down in New Delhi as far as food goes, but we should be able to survive eating here in New Delhi for two years, despite being foodies. You can get great Indian food in New Delhi but it is a struggle to get other food consistently.

We received seven sets of vaccinations before leaving Portland, and two more upon arrival in India, so we are eating and living freely here. We are not taking any anti-malarials while in New Delhi, since our travel clinic in the US said the risk is low.

There is no Starbucks in New Delhi, but they have Coffee Day and Barista.

There is a nightlife in New Delhi which includes dancing and but very little live entertainment. The club music is a little heavy on Techno and House, and there is very little hip-hop. There is almost no old-school hip-hop or funk, which are our favorites. But the music has a beat so you can dance, but it won't be as fun as a good old American night club. Lets face it, techno is dead. The news just hasn't reached India.

We have not had any trouble making new friends. New Delhi is fascinated by westerners so our mere appearance opens many doors. We have even been invited to and attended a fashion show for one of India's most well known designers, and a picture of Kim and her new (Austrian) friend Kat have appeared in the largest newspaper in New Delhi. They were attending an art gallery showing when the press took the photo. And, Kim and I were interviewed on camera by local television leaving the fashion show, but that has not appeared anywhere as far as we know, but we don't watch TV (we watch videos).

The population of the middle class is low here. You are typically either rich or poor. It is not unusual to have three or four individuals approach your car when you are waiting at a red light. They beg for food or money. Often they have a baby on their hip or they are missing an arm or leg. Many are deformed significantly.

Cows, dogs, and monkeys wander about New Delhi freely, and there is trash along the streets in all but the best neighborhoods. Scroll down to view many of the pictures we have taken in and around Old and New Delhi.

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