Blogs from Delhi, National Capital Territory, India, Asia - page 17

After 7 and a half hours and a sleepless plane journey through the night, we arrived at our first point of call - New Delhi, India. Lauren has family in Southern India, however neither of us had been to the country before, and we had both prepared ourselves for the undoubtedly large culture shock that was awaiting us. We were not naive and knew that we were throwing ourselves in the deep end by heading to India first. We had therefore pre-booked all of our accommodation and had arranged for hotel staff to pick us up from the airport. The drive from the airport back to our hotel in central New Delhi was an experience in itself. With no seat belts in the back of the car I can safely say it was the scariest car ... read more

Geo: 28.6137, 77.1834So I arrived in Delhi on Thursday 3 Nov 2011, the flight was great, no hassles, plus I managed to get a sleep after I'd had my dinner and watched a couple of movies. I had a window seat and thoroughly enjoyed the views. The first sights were in the morning of the mountains in Afghanistan near Kabul, on the way toward India. I could make out some towns or villages but from this height they almost looked like mere matchsticks laid out on the ground. On my way into Delhi I spotted the impressive Lotus Temple, oddly enough a golf course (which I didn't expect), the city and parks and the lower I got the chaos on the roads, which I was about to experience.I got through customs no bother and got chatting ... read more

K - 5.30am on Saturday October 16th saw Mark and I bleary eyed in at taxi heading for Dakshinkali, a shrine dedicated to the Hindu God Kali who many Nepalese Hindus worship through animal sacrifice. The ceremonies start at about 5am and when we arrived at about 6.15am there must have been over a thousand people queuing with their offerings – coconuts and marigold garlands in many cases but also a large number with chickens or goats. Although the atmosphere was thick with incense, in many ways the scene resembled a line at the supermarket rather than a temple. The 2 or 3 queues wound down a gorge to a tiled area with several small alters. There were 2 men there – one dealing with the coconuts and the other dispatching the chickens and goats. The ... read more

First class is certainly the way to travel. Last night we had our own compartment on the train to New Delhi, with a door that locked and an attendant available should we need anything. The bathroom was still down the hall. We would have enjoyed it more if we hadn't been so exhausted. At least we slept well! When we arrived at 5 am it was already hot. I don't typically sweat much in the Kentucky summer heat, but I was melting when we arrived in this city, and the sun wasn't even up yet. We found an auto-rickshaw to our hotel, Amax Inn, and although I took some photos it wasn't much to write home about. A decent room, air-conditioning and a fan, our own bathroom. Sleep! By the time we made it up we ... read more

Namaskar all! Well, I did it. I made it back to India just about a year and a half after I was last here. It feels deliciously comfortable and right, with just a touch of "Oh my gosh PINCH ME am I really here?" In true "Shannon Travels Abroad" tradition, I arrived fresh-faced and perky in Delhi at about 5:30 a.m., although without my luggage. Again. I am really curious to know what it feels like to arrive somewhere and have my clothes arrive at the same time as me - hell, I would actually even be ok with my things arriving AHEAD of me! But no, I spent the first 2 hours of my time here with Jet Airways personnel filing a lost luggage claim. I could use some possessions-finding good thoughts and vibes if ... read more