New Delhi has been a whole different beast of a city. Here is what we saw!
New Delhi has been a whole different beast of a city. We arrived on a nice airplane and landed at a modern airport. We waited in a long line for our tourist visa stamp and approval. We walked through the airport to reach the connected metro station without leaving the comfort of indoors. Every person we encounter is nicely dressed in either western attire or Indian attire. A few men wear turbans and a few women have the forehead mark that symbolizes inner oneness. We have become masters of navigating local metro transportation. Google maps is invaluable in guiding us on which metro line to take and which stop to get off at. A few times we have not understood the local signs and ended up heading the wrong direction. We simply hop off at the next stop, cross the street or track and board the next metro headed in the right direction. New Delhi was no different than any other city.
When we reached our stop, we walked to the exit and finally stepped outside. I cannot explain what we were hit with. Walking through those doors for the first time, I wish someone would have been there to capture my expression. The street was full with every type of chaos, sound, smell, and sight you can imagine. The multiple horns of cars continually blaring, the people rushing about in no specific order, the homeless dogs passing beneath your feet, the smell of sidewalk cooked food fighting with the smell of urine and human feces. The smog caught me by surprise, I had been warned but I was not prepared. It is a low dark cloud that smells of dirt and something burning. We just stood there and looked at each other and said, what planet did we land on?
Our hostel was a 12-minute walk away once we learned the direction. The first day however it took us t 30 minutes as we made wrong turns, dead ends, ran into tuk tuks, cabs, bike cabs, pull carts, dogs, and a stray cow. People are in a frantic state trying to sell you a sim card, food, tuk tuk ride or a visit to their friend who has a “tourist information center.” Everyone was nice and I’d put them on a scale of 7 for pushiness. Nothing will ever beat Egypt’s full 10 level of pushy vendors who follow you for blocks. The streets and sidewalks are filled with potholes, dirt and trash that I couldn’t even imagine what it began as. We are an odd sight as people gaze at the two fair skinned foreigners who wheel their luggage down the bumpy street dodging cars and tuk tuks. When we were in Egypt we learned how to cross the road fogger style. You just walk through the moving traffic and it weaves around you as you make your way to the next few safe steps. Cross walks, street lines and traffic lightss might have been around but I didn’t even notice because in New Delhi, it just doesn’t work that way.
Our first night was noisy as the window opened right onto the street. The sound of constant commotion lasted the night and never did seem to ease up. The second night our ear plugs worked wonderfully. New Delhi is a city of 18 million people. The housing is various and where we were staying was a mix of demolition ready buildings mixed with neon signs, mixed with cots on the road side, mixed with dark alleys and more. The roads are unmarked and it is hard to even tell if anyone has any type of an address. Some of the structures are shacks that have been erected in odd areas. Businesses can be anything from a decent restaurant to a cot along the wall with a table for ironing and a partition. No one seems to mind the chaos or at least they don’t show it. Beth
The following are the photos for the week in New Delhi India.
