Well...this is different!!

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IIt quickly became obvious that India was going to provide so many different sights, sounds, 'smells' and randomness, that I'd need to get it down on a daily basis, else I'd forget it. It may not last long, but the first entry is certainly a break from how i have been writing recently!

Day 1 - 30th January 2011

We landed at Delhi International airport at about 09:40 local time. I looked at Bear and he had a grin on his face that I felt was replicated on mine. We had both had enough of SE Asia and were both looking forward to a new challenge, positive that India would provide that. Bear just about made it through immigration, convincing staff that the picture in his passport and on his driving licence was actually the same bloke, picked up our bags and hopped into a black and yellow pre-paid taxi. This vehicle was little more than a tin can with 4 wheels and an engine. The seats were upholstered with brown towels that I suspect were not pulled fresh from the tumble dryer that morning and bits of masking tape held certain other parts of the tin can together. If we had been in a collision with anything more substantial than a man on roller-skates, we would have been well and truly embedded within the interior, however this did not stop the little Indian fella up front trying to squeeze through non-existent gaps, pull out without indication and apply the breaks later than the last minute. Welcome to India!

We had made a booking at the New King Hotel in Pahar Ganj and the taxi driver dropped us as close to there as he was allowed. The Main Bazaar, off of which we are staying, is pedestrianised and meant we had to find the place on our own. We knew the name of the alley we needed to head down, however the alleys have no names on them…handy!

The room was fine and would certainly do for the next few days. The bed was comfy - or should I say more comfy than the one I had in Bangkok - and we were promised hot water. We decided to give it a try and could always check out the following day. After a cup of chai (sweet Indian tea) and a rest we took a lift with the hotel’s ‘driver’ to the ’official tourist information office’ which we quickly established wasn’t very official at all. Not only was it in a completely different part of town to what we had been told, but the map they provided (and we desperately needed) was an old A4 photocopy. Very official! So much for tourist brochures! We humoured the bloke for 5 minutes and said we’d be back to book something in a couple of days!

In fairness, it was good we ended up where we did, because just around the corner was a café style restaurant that would provide us our first meal in India. We walked in knowing we would be the only tourists in there, tried to make sense of the menu and then ordered 2 Delux Vegetable Thali’s, which are big metal trays with a number of compartments that get filled with different curries, vegetables, rice etc. A bit like tapas, without the sharing! To say we were happy with our meal would have been an understatement. The tray contained a portion of daal makhani (like a lentil and bean soup), raita (yoghurt with onion and cucumber), paneer (cheese) masala, rice, bread to mop it up with and a (very) sweet desert. It didn’t take long for both of us to polish the lot and we looked at each other with grins of both pleasure and discomfort. That had just cost about £2 and was delicious. I had eyed up India as the place to shed weight or maintain where I was at the end of SE Asia. At this rate I’m going to go home a damn sight heavier and my ‘chiselled stomach’ is in great danger of becoming a doughy lump!

We decided to head towards Connaught Place which we had read was pretty central, easy to navigate and a good landmark to try and orientate ourselves. After following a couple of dodgy instructions, we were soon heading in the right direction. Connaught Place is supposed to be a more affluent area with excellent shopping opportunities. It is basically a big octagonal onion, with 3 layers surrounding an attractive park core; a place where people come to relax, enjoy themselves and waste away the day. We walked around the park, sat down and worked out a plan of attack for the next few days. We instantaneously felt numerous pairs of eyes on us. It wasn’t intimidating, just a bit weird, knowing that people are looking and talking about you, yet not knowing what is being said. Something I guess we will have to get used to! The park was busy and acted as a sanctuary for a range of people; families with small children, couples on dates, groups of adolescents and some homeless people catching up on some sleep. It was a real mix!

We walked back to the area we were staying and walked around for a while; down alleyways and along streets that all seemed to have something going on in them. Although it was supposed to be a more touristy area, it was evident that nothing occurring was for the benefit of the relatively few tourists who were around. This excited me the most, not having to see a white face every time we turned a corner; it really feels as though you are in a unique part of the world and actually ‘travelling‘! One alley seemed to be dedicated to fruit and veg, with numerous traders selling exactly the same thing. The produce looked fresh and was certainly in abundance - I just couldn’t work out who exactly was going to buy it all that day! We quickly realised that alongside the fresh produce, the lane was shared by a number of free roaming cows, who ate the scraps thrown their way, and hungry dogs who had taken pride of place outside the butchers and fish mongers. We were constantly avoiding scooters tearing down the narrow lane, men pushing carts and the odd auto rickshaw (tuk tuk in Asia). We had a cup of chai at the other end of the passageway and laughed at how surreal it all was. I have seen some things in the year that I have been away, but already within the first 6 hours of being in Delhi, my head was a scrambled mess!

Day 2 - 31/01/11

After a great sleep I woke to the worry of whether the water would be hot or not. We had been promised a hot shower and I was certainly keen to wash yesterdays dust off of my body! Thankfully Bear opted to go first and emerged 10 minutes later, accompanied by a cloud of steam that put my mind at rest! I showered, changed and went out…into an alleyway where I was faced with a dirty looking kid and his mother. Not 30 minutes before had I been worried about having warm water to clean myself, then these 2 unfortunate people who had probably not even had a roof over their heads on what was a pretty chilly night, present themselves in front of me. You can imagine how I felt and rammed home pretty quickly just exactly where I was! It was a sharp and significant wake up!

We walked back to Connaught Place to find the actual ‘official tourist office’ in order to grab some brochures, maps and start to make a rough plan for the next 3 weeks. The lady in the tourist office was as helpful as she could have been, although the only thing she provided that we didn’t already have, was a detailed map of Delhi. We then went to the train station to try to understand how the system works, how tickets are bought and how far in advance we need to buy them. We bought a country wide timetable and a more detailed map of India and went back to the room to try and work out an itinerary. We then checked prices of the trains online and realised it was going to be a cheap way of getting around the country, with the only problem being squeezing everything we want to do into the timeframe we have during the next 21 days or so.

Dinner that night was a tale of 2 stories. The first restaurant we went to was recommended in the Lonely Planet and it looked busy the previous night when we walked past. I don’t usually like eating in places recommended by the LP; not only are there an abundance of other restaurants available, but invariably those recommended become complacent and standards drop. This was definitely the case with Malhotra Restaurant! We were planning on seeing a show at 20:00 and got into the restaurant at 18:30. Our food still hadn’t arrived by 19:20 and we had to leave. The timeframe may not have been so bad had there been more than 6 customers and the order more complicated than a curry, a vegetable dish and 4 breads! We left the show for another night and went to an open fronted restaurant, sat down and had a plate of food in front of us within 10 minutes! Traditional and tasty…and with a cow parked right outside!

It hadn’t been an eventful day, but it was certainly productive. We had a much better idea of the places we wanted to see, the distances entailed and how long they would take. All that was left to do was run them by Mikey, my mate from NZ who was turning up on the Wednesday!

Day 3 - 01/02/11

I woke up to the sounds of Bear in the toilet! It was not the most pleasant way to start my day and after a quick enquiry into the state of play from within the confines of our small bathroom, confirmation was made that the first attack of Delhi belly had occurred! It was bound to happen at some stage, although day 3 may have been a bit premature! Anyhow, the big man emerged - a few kilos lighter - and we had a bit of a laugh about it. I couldn’t take the piss too much and had to show some sympathy, as I know that the roles will be reversed at some point and I will require sympathy! I am literally shitting myself about my first attack!

We went for breakfast and I ordered daal and naan bread whilst Bear opted for porridge and toast. His came first, was devoured and then he had to return to the guest house, rather quickly! I enjoyed my breakfast and watched the mad world that is this area carry on its usual self. Bear returned as I finished and we headed for the metro station, laughing at the sight of a blind man ask directions, only for the bloke to point them out to him. The irony! We just about worked out where we needed to go and how we were going to get there, bought the token and squeezed ourselves inside the packed carriage of the train. As we are getting used to, all eyes were firmly focused on the 2 white lads and we tried to be as inconspicuous as possible - a tough ask when we’re both 6 foot plus! We had to change at the first station and catch a connecting train to Quatab Minar, where we were to visit a 72 metre stone tower that goes by the same name. Quatab Minar is the tallest stone structure in the world and has 5 distinct storeys, each with its own balcony. At its base is the first mosque to be built in India and the whole area is set in what looks like an archaeological dig.

From there we caught the train back to Connaught Place and walked to the Laxmi Naryan Temple, where the main shrine has images of Lord Vishnu and his consort Laxmi. The religious aspect of these places is of little interest to me and I only really visit them to observe the architecture of the buildings, which are always stunning, and the other people there praying. It was a relaxing place to walk around and the colours made for some good photos. I was also approached by a family to take their picture. I was happy to do so - naturally - until I realised they didn’t actually have a camera, and they wanted me to take it on my camera. They didn’t ask me to email it to them or go directly to get it printed off, they just wanted me to take it so they could see what they looked like on screen. No worries!

Next was India Gate, a war memorial arch, built in honour of 90,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives in World War I. It was a good hours walk from the Temple but well worth it. The arch is an impressive sight and we were lucky enough to get there as a small military procession was happening. A few soldiers did a bit of marching and the Last Salute was played.

Day 4 - 02/02/11

I was looking forward to today because my mate Mikey, from New Zealand was due to arrive in the morning. I met him in Brazil in February last year and had managed to see him a couple of times since, in Argentina and in NZ. Just before midday, in walked Mikey - it was great to see him - complete with a wig more ridiculous than mine!

Being a kiwi he needed to extend his visa, as the 30 day one issued to him on arrival, would not be enough for our planned trip. The afternoon was spent trying to find the NZ consulate and find out what his situation would be. Long story short, they wont extend it and he will have to leave the country and re-enter once his 30 days are up - a bit of a bugger, requires a bit of planning, and a return ticket to Sri Lanka..

We got back to Connaught Place to show him the area, but we were all a bit over walking around by this point and went in search of a beer. Bars are few and far between in Delhi, or so they seem and we ended up paying London prices in a swanky hotel - a bit poncy, but we hadn’t seen each other for a while. We walked back to where we were staying, grabbed some street food and then went to a rooftop restaurant in the hope of another drink. They didn’t…so we had a cup of tea and left! The view was pretty cool though and was nice to escape the noise and craziness at street level. We eventually found a bar and wasted the rest of the afternoon catching up on each others lives, moving only across the street to another rooftop bar that we had somehow not seen previously. Understandably Mikey had had enough by 21:00 and decided to go back to the room and get some sleep. Bear and I went for a curry…as you do after a few beers!

Day 5 - 03/03/11

We were up surprisingly early, due mostly to the fact that Mikey doesn’t need much sleep…and when he’s up, so are we! We had planned on doing some sightseeing, but needed to purchase train tickets for the next few weeks. We had planned to cram in as many places as possible - Jodhpur, Jaiphur, Agra, Varanasi and Kolkata - before needing to be in Nagpur on the 22nd Feb for England’s first game of the World Cup. Buying the tickets was straight forward enough, but I don’t like the inflexibility of the system, meaning that if we like a place, we can only stay as long as the departure time on the next ticket allows. Far too regimented for me, although given the timeframe we are constrained to, it maybe a good idea! After breakfast, we walked to the Red Fort, which began construction in 1638 and took 10 years to complete. The walk itself took about an hour and none of us knew exactly where we were heading, just hoping it was roughly the right direction. The walk was a massive highlight in itself; the sights, smells, noises…it really is a sensory overload and I couldn’t get the smile off of my face. It’s really hard to fully describe the things we have been seeing, but there really is no shortage of entertainment or photo opportunities! There are just so many people here, all vying for the same bit of space, whether that is on the footpath or on the road (although more often than not the two are one and the same anyway. I almost got knocked over by a guy on a motorbike, who was riding on the pavement to save some time!).

The fort itself was fairly impressive, although after an hour (if that) of walking around the grounds inside, we had all had enough and were keen to get back. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy seeing things like that, but once you have seen it, there is only so much looking at it you can do! I am by no means a history or architectural buff, so these sights lose their appeal fairly quickly. Plus it was bloody hot, was also my birthday and I could think of more enjoyable things to be doing, than traipse around a tourist attraction. We were back in the pub by 16:30 - Happy 28th Birthday! To be honest, I never get too fussed by birthdays, they’re just another day, but I was glad to have two great mates with me, celebrating in the rather novel environment of Delhi!

We went for some dinner in what can only be described as a grotty little hovel, across the road from the bar. It was always packed full of people so we decided it to give it a try. The food was awesome; really tasty and full of flavour. They kept bringing us roti’s (Indian style flat bread) to mop up the curry with…and was definitely the best meal of the week! It also cost next to nothing…170 rupees…or just under £1 each!

Day 6 - 04/02/11

Today was all about killing time, until our train to Jodhpur at 21:00 that evening. We all had a few bits to be getting on with and after breakfast Bear and I got some supplies for the train, whilst Mikey bought a new bag. I caught up on a few emails, thanking people for their birthday wishes, before going to the same bar for a beer, although it was the appeal of their western style toilet, that really persuaded us!


My first few days in India had been and gone and I was genuinely enjoying myself. Everything we know to be wrong or improper in western society, seems to be normal every day occurrences here. I love how random the place is and have quickly ascertained that India will be an interesting place to visit, however living here would be a different story entirely.

Delhi to me is a dusty, dirty, polluted mess, full of the worst poverty I have witnessed and the dirtiest looking people. There is shit everywhere and each footstep has to be checked and double checked. The sound of the car horn resonates through every single daily act; the sound of men hocking up phlegm is everywhere and almost everybody spits, women included! The sight of limbless people is so common it becomes normal; the choice of eatery is established by the least chance of catching disease and no matter how careful we will be, I know illness is just around the corner. The place is fucking nuts…but I was honestly loving it!

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Photos

Man in Hole...
...clearing shit