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Published: January 25th 2009
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The Beginning - Delhi
And so it begins ..... ! As the plane landed in Delhi, we began to brace ourselves for the inevitable mayhem and cultural shock that was about to greet us. We made it through customs fine, although very slowly after picking the worst queue to drag out the suspense! Our bags were there too so all seemed to be going well 😊 However as we entered the arrival hall, we easily found the sign greeting Emma and Christ ! ... and the walk through the airport doors and to the car park was amazingly hassle free, not atall what we had been expecting. There were no beggars, no dead bodies to jump over, all seemed very much like arriving in a normal city, just a very dusty one.
The journey from the airport to Majnu-ka-Tilla (the Tibetian Colony in Delhi) was somewhat more of a shock to the system. Although the roads are divided into lanes, this seems to have been a pointless job for someone, as noone uses them in the slightest. If there is even the smallest gap every car, rickshaw and moped will try to squeeze through it, warning people they
are there by honking ther horns incesantly. The noise is incredible, as are the fumes and dust. The first time we ground to a halt at the traffic lights, a womans arm came through the window begging for money, she banged on the door and pleaded with us until the lights changed and our car pulled away, leaving us a little shaken. We passed many strange and wonderful sights on our journey, we even saw an elephant loaded up with bananas in the fast lane on the motorway, which lightened the mood and made us chuckle! The small shacks, dusty, dirty roads and many other things we saw highlighted that poverty around Delhi is on a much larger scale than either of us had realised.
When the taxi finally pulled up on the edge of the main road, right next to a cow, we stepped out into the pungant, dusty, warm air and headed in the direction the taxi man was pointing. This took us down a narrow alley way packed with people and unfortunately did not lead staight to our hotel! We stood for a moment wondering which way to turn, surrounded by hustle and bustle, cows and
dust. We asked a few people who didnt seem to understand us, before finally finding someone who showed us the way to our hotel. The room was very basic but clean enough, and we quickly realised that it is the bathrooms that are going to take the most getting used to over here. Things really started to look up when we feasted for lunch in our hotel restaurant costing about 2 quid for the two of us. That afternoon and evening we decided to be kind to ourselves and just explore the tibetan colony.
Day two we headed out into the madness that is Delhi, to experience the beautiful Red Fort. Once a rickshaw journey was a hold on to your seat, fair ground ride, just with no sides to our vehicle to protect us !! We arrived in one piece and on entering the fort found a little oasis from the Chaos. It was our first real experience of the incredible architecture of India past, and it took our breath away. We spend hours looking around, sitting in the gardens enjoying the sun and generally starting to feel reassured that India is going to be a unique, testing
but wonderful experience.
Day three and our confidence was growing. We got an autorickshaw down to Gandhi Smriti (this is a poignant memorial is where Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead by a Hindu zealot). This was another beautiful peaceful Haven, and was a very moving and humbling experience. On the floor they have marked the footprints of the last steps Gandhi took and you are able to follow them directly to the place he was shot where a pagoda style memorial has been erected. The Lodi Colony area where this was located was also a very different side of Delhi, with the roads being much quieter and the whole vibe much less chaotic. We then got the subway up to Delhi's answer to Picadilly Circus, Connaught Place, to have lunch. This was probably the most western place in Delhi we have seen, but not much to write home about.
We next got the clean and hassle free subway up to a place called Chandni Bizarre, and from the moment we stepped out of the station it was absolute bedlam! We hopped in a cycle rickshaw, who said that as the traffic was so bad he was going to
take us on a sort cut to reach the Jama Masjid (the largest and most stunning mosque in India). It was absolute madness, there was not an inch of road that was clear, yet somehow the little man on his bike seemed to magically pull us through the sea of people, cows, cars and rickshaws. After 20 minutes or so of passing some of the weirdest markets like the spare car parts bizarre, we reached the Mosque. Again once inside the mosque the crowds subsided and we were able to enjoy the majesty of the collosal building. Much to our amusement we were approched many times by Indians asking if they could have their picture taken with us, and we began to feel a little like celebrates !!!
We will write more to you all soon, hope you are all well, sending lots of love and big hugs home to you all in the cold. Hopefully next time we will manage to attach more photos.
Em and Chris x x x
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AndyB
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Hey guys - glad you arrived safely and are having a fun and eye opening start to your trip. I'm loving the fact that you got the word 'queue' into the first paragraph - quintessentially English!