You aint seen nuthin yet- Delhi

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February 29th 2008

Published: March 17th 2008

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goldentravelers

shoe polishers

We gave them 5 rupees for their photo

"First time to India? Good luck!" "India, oooh that's tough." "It's a lot to handle."
The words of India-Experienced travellers, and they were right. As soon as we stepped off the plane from Bangkok in Delhi, we realized India was going to be like nothing we had ever seen before. For those who dont know, India is now the second country to reach the population of a billion, and stepping off that plane and into Arrivals, its obvious that there are over a billion people in this country. Faces, faces, everywhere you look, faces. So many people everywhere all the time. Not a single quiet street, not a single second of silence. People, cars, scooters, taxis, cows, buses, horses, you name it. Thanks to our lovely parents, they booked us a hotel for the first night as a Christmas gift at the Suncity Hotel, which made things a lot easier for us, since we arrived late at night. The cab ride to the Hotel was eventful to say the least. Driving in India is incredibly dangerous but exciting and a 'must-do'. No drivers use their side-views, they rarely even have them, but everyone EVERYONE uses their horn. That is how you

evan and bank security

guns everywhere

drive in India, your horn. Coming to an intersection, making a lane change, left turn, right turn, merging, it's all in the horn. Honking constantly so that all the other drivers on the road know where exactly where you are at all times. There was one moment, just a few minutes into the cab ride, when we saw a young boy taking off down the highway on a horse. It was then that we realized we were going to see some very different things while in India. We passed out immediately after checking into our room.
The next morning, we awoke early to get a chance to explore Delhi. We checked out of the Suncity, and into a cheaper hotel, the Ivory Palace. After searching for an ATM for hours, we had a tour of Delhi; The India Gate, Indira Gandhi Museum, The President's House, The Lotus Temple, Laxmi Narayan Birla, Mandir, and Qutab Minar. We stopped for lunch and made friends with the waitor. "Here's my mobile, if you ever need anything, ever! Call me." This line became very popular with us, I think we were given maybe 7 mobile numbers as the day progressed. We met many Indians

huge jam. no one is going anywhere.

at all the sights, and we learned two things right away. 1) they all LOVE digital cameras and having their picture taken. and 2) they love to meet tourists, whether or not they want your money, you'll always find yourself talking to someone. At the India Gate, we spotted a group of children playing in a pool of water. They were more than happy to have their photos taken, posing and flexing. And at the Lotus Temple, we were surrounded by a large group of high school boys who all wanted to shake our hands and have a picture taken.
After the tour, we had dinner (where we made some friends), picked up our train tickets that we had bought through an agency (there we made even more friends), and then bought some whisky from a bar and had a party with two other guys who worked at an Incredible India Tourism Centre. The party was held in the office. We even got a chance to drive a TukTuk, the owner let us have a go, but it was very difficult. We brought the guitar over and played music, ordered food, talked about home, about Canada, about India, and drank

if you want something done right...

Kingfisher Beer. We ended the night very late, not falling asleep until around five in the morning and then waking up two hours later for a very long train ride.

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