Advertisement
Published: March 25th 2009
Edit Blog Post
It would take 36 hours to travel overland from Kathmandu to Delhi and since I have made this journey once already I decided to catch a flight with Jetlite for 70 pounds sterling. There was very strict security at Kathmandu airport but fortunately they let my backpack through, the smell that must be emanating from that bag by now:-)
You could tell wandering the streets that you were back in India there were little blobs of red juice on the streets were the locals had spit our their betel juice. They chew betel nuts as it is a mild stimulant but it leaves a unfortunate side effect of red lips, teeth and tongue - nice!!
I am staying in the backpacker ghetto of Paharganj which takes some getting used to, if this is the first place you arrive when entering India its bound to be a shock. I am staying at the Hare Rama guest house, the rooms are 300 Rs a night, half of the ceiling has collapsed into the sink, no hot water or windows and the odd cockroach - the norm - but I have got my first TV and it works. the manager is very
helpful though.
Although Paharganj has a great location like most of the other places in India the nightlife is pretty awful - I am so looking forward to getting drunk when I get back home it will be the first time for a month.
The next day I visited the Red fort at Delhi which is probably is the city's biggest draw which says everything really. Its not on patch on the other forts I have visited and there is only the main entrance left standing of the fort wall. More of a facade than a fort.
Met an Aussie lady at the fort who was telling me all about her stay in India, she had stayed in 5 star accommodation all the way, even stopped at the Imperial hotel in Delhi, which is one of their most expensive and took taxi's everywhere - all I could think of was my cockroach friend that I had to flush down the loo, hope he isn't reincarnated as cat or something.
I only have 2 nights here in Delhi and I think that is enough as I will get round the main sites, in hindsight if I was
stuck for time I would probably have left it out altogether.
The next day in Delhi was an eventful one, I realised that my bank (Barclays) must have blocked my card as I had recently made a withdrawal in Nepal even though I had told them that I would be there. So I had to call their so-called customer services (which are in India ironically) just as I had gone through all the security questions the credit on my moby ran out. So I then had to use my remaining money ringing from an internet shop. Unfortunately for me I still didn't get through and now had no money to pay for the hotel or food or more importantly for beer. So I had to go cap in hand to the British embassy, after a 2 hour walk in the midday heat of Delhi I finally reached the Embassy and they allowed me to ring my bank so that I could shout at them. I did ask for some money but they weren't too keen on that - had to ask though:-)
Thankfully they removed the block and I went straight for a beer.
So I'm now
off for more beers before the long flight home to UK and a hot shower:-)
India - a travelling wonderland but certainly not a holiday:-)
Advertisement
Tot: 0.115s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 12; qc: 27; dbt: 0.097s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb