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Published: April 17th 2013
Greetings from Delhi! A little introduction to let you know we’ve arrived safely and that all is well. We've spent the past couple of days settling in, getting a feel for the place, finding our way around the – surprisingly - straight forward public transport system and making attempts to immerse ourselves into the culture… It certainly is a culture vastly different to our own... And considering we were the ONLY white people in/on the WHOLE of the metro (we have so far tried to avoid the majority of the touristy bits...) we really haven't been hassled too much ('stare's' aside) - infact, we've been incredibly impressed with the whole 'Deli' experience.
The first thing to hit initially was the temperature… we arrived early morning and it was already in the late 30’s. Many stray dogs greeted us in a friendly manner directly outside the airport – you quickly realise though, you can’t stop and feel for sorry for each one... there's just too many of them. The homestay we’re in is absolutely beautiful; everyone has been so incredibly helpful, attentive and kind. We were immediately upgraded and had a complimentary dinner on the first evening – the food is
incredible too… plenty of (‘proper!’) curries… and cottage cheese delights. We're both being honoury ‘veggies’ for the month and so far have not been disappointed... the food here really is incredible.
On the first day we decided to get a rickshaw (bicycle) into town, mainly to have a mooch around and get a feel for the place… The roads are completely MENTAL and yet the chaos (and evident lack of health and safety regulations) appear to be the complete 'norm' here. The horns continually blare from sunrise to sunset and there is absolutely NO lane discipline! So for example, there might be three ‘marked’ lanes but six ‘actual’ lanes: cars, rickshaws, people, tuk-tuks, buses, cows… all weave in and out of one another, beeping continuously as they do so. At one point our rickshaw driver suddenly pulled out onto oncoming traffic, so we ended up driving on the other side of the road – an experience to say the least. We did have to laugh (in between the “oh – my - god”'s and genuine fear for our lifes(!) of course) at the measly ‘tink-tink’ noise of the bicycle bell… compared to the overbearingly loud ‘HONK-HONKs’ of the cars.
Strangely enough, after just a couple of days you do settle into it and, like everyone else here, forget there’s a truck blaring it's way forwards towards you...
Honestly, Delhi has been a complete contradiction to what we initially had been expecting. Unlike Bangkok, we've not come across any nasty smells (and we’ve pretty much been everywhere today in between New and Old Delhi, through the markets, down the side streets, seeing the odd temple.. up to the India gate ) … other than the odd ‘whiff’, which was near a –very – public toilet anyway. Mostly, the smells are an incredible mix of joss sticks, Indian spices and cooked food… People in general are far less ‘pushy’ than in Bangkok. We walked down many markets this afternoon: much to our amazement you only need to say “no” once. We don’t feel hassled, or harassed, although of course there are many…. many… stares. My hair has been up the whole time, but there have been frequent (not-so-sneaky) camera shots of my mahoosive barnet.. and lots of 'ooo's' and 'ahhh's' from the children. We just laugh about it to ourselves really… especially when men ‘sneakily’ shuffle next to us… their
friends with mobiles will then ‘sneakily’ take a picture of us, before ‘sneakily’ shuffling away again. Seriously though, the attention hasn’t been any hassle at all, more a funny sort of hindrance I suppose.
The poverty is apparent (yet less so than we had intially anticipated); it’s difficult to ignore a walking skeleton (to put it bluntly), some carrying babies, tapping you on the shoulder and asking for food. We had a very skinny boy nervously come up to us yesterday, gesturing for something to eat. It’s hard, because you’re not supposed to encourage begging. But to completely ignore them and walk away is something we are finding very, very difficult. So far we have not succumbed though. Last night we chatted till 2 in the morning (partly jetlag… partly processing everything we’d witnessed so far) – mainly reflecting on how privileged we are and at our apparent guilt for being so. ….Yet still, in general, we were surpised at how little harrassment/begging we have got so far.
Also noticeable is the vast amounts of men compared to women, we’re unsure where the women actually are – at home perhaps? The gender divide is apparent, on the metro
there are separate carriages for women only. We actually like this though… it’s far less intimidating to have a carriage full of women stare at you, than it is to stand in a carriage full of men. On the metro note, it was quite interesting... we were literally THE only white people... hence the gawping. And yet we felt quite safe, before you go down to the metro you have to pass through security gates and put your bags through xray machines etc - similar to an airport. Security is tight, which is good thing.
But, aside from the stares – people have been so, so kind and helpful. We have absolutely no complaints at all. We were trying to think of a good word to describe how they appear to be/act towards us… it’s almost like putting a middle line between ‘intimidation’ and ‘respect’… 'somewhere in between the two of them' we concluded. People may nervously approach you and then hurriedly run away, head often bowed low, if you say ‘no’. Totally different experience to Bangkok. So we’ve felt very chilled and relaxed throughout… certainly have felt more than comfortable exploring the city by ourselves, after a morning
Crazy manic grins...
...for crazy, manic Tuk-Tuk journeys!!with a guide. Although we wouldn’t venture out at night alone – simple common sense really.
This afternoon we visited a Sikh temple and a Mosque, Old Delhi and New Delhi. The Sikh temple in particular was stunning, after covering our hair and taking off our shoes we were able to enter. A beautiful sound of singing (prayer) and drums greeted us as we went through the doors; the joss sticks and sheer abundance of colour completely overwhelming all the senses. We then went to the temple kitchens, to see vast quantities of potatoes being peeled and bread being made. The temple offers food for anyone who cannot afford to eat, whether Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or even Christian – the temple’s doors are open to anyone. It appears to be a very accepting faith... We were told that Sikhism doesn't recognise the caste system (explained below) nor do they believe in idol-worship, rituals, or superstitions.... It doesn't "accept the ideology of pessismism. It advocates optimism and hope."Sikhism also advocates equality and thus women are respected and permitted in all of the temples etc. We were both very impressed with Sikhism and their 'pure' (was the word we agreed on)
values, concepts and beliefs.
We also visited the market stalls, where wedding materials and invitations were being made. Weddings are HUGE in India. Not to be taken lightly, guests of thousands usually turn up. Arranged marriages are still the ‘norm’ apparently and the families must be from the same social class. The Caste System in India (a hierarchy of hereditary groups called castes or jatis) is fixed by birth and associated with a traditional occupation, such as weaving, or, barbering etc. Although officially the Caste System no longer exists (largely to do with Ghandi, who led major reform movements)… terms such as the ‘untouchables’ have since been banished - yet we were told that in more rural areas the stigma still, sadly, exists. We’re actually volunteering at The Mother Theresa Home in Jaipur (which is a home specifically for those “out casted” from society) on Sunday, so I’m sure we will learn more about this then.
On a positive note, the markets are a complete joy… bright colours and incredible jewellery glisten from every corner… incredible smells emerging from various different food stalls… the whole experience so far has been a complete joy - and a MASSIVE contradiction
to what we were expecting. Lovely people, lovely food … and as of yet, no ‘delhi-belly’ … let's hope I haven't spoken too soon!
Up at 5am tomorrow, travelling to Aggra to see the great Taj Mahal… will update tomorrow evening before we head onto Jaipur. Oh P.S we wanted to just say how incredibly CHEAP everything is here too... over an hour's taxi drive cost us less than a fiver. 50p for normal routes. Amazing! Love to you all x
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Paul Bate
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Re: greetings from Delhi
Thanks to you both for such a fascinating first blog from India. So glad you are having such a wonderful start to your great adventure. Lots & lots of love to you both Dods xxxx