We had a long drive day to Delhi, so some of the group chose to get an overnight bus with luxuries like air con. For the rest of us it was a 15 hour drive in the heat, serenaded by the sound of constant horns blaring but having the opportunity to see more of India in transit. As we drove into the night, Delhi started to emerge from within the smog. Streetlights like capillaries into and out of the city, fueling it with its life blood. And as we get closer, we see crowds of people, emaciated and threadbare, sprawled across every spare patch of dry earth. From under bridges to the central reservation to street kerbs, people lie in desolation and helplessness. There must be millions of homeless in Delhi alone. People walking on deformities that would be reduced and surgically fixed in the UK at birth, and the aftermath of injuries that had no medical input. People using crutches banned from western society as they were deemed unsafe years ago.
Through the suburbs; the locals accommodation looks like shacks, stuck on top of one another; multistorey slums. Many of these without walls or roofs and none with obviously more than a few blankets on the floor.
Into the centre a shards of wealth cast shadows over the poor; world famous hotels, tourist attractions and western shopping centres with Starbucks, electrical shops and even an M&S.
If Lahore was a metropolis, Delhi is a megatropolis.
But it really makes you think; why are we so fortunate? How are they not? What can we do? It was another clear reminder of how God had blessed us, that we had been given so much, a lot of which we take for granted. It does leave you to think, 'What can we do to help?'
After a couple of standard detours (as we were following a tuktuk, who promised he knew where he was going, but had to stop a couple of times and initially took us to the wrong place) we arrived at the YWCA, home for a few nights.
The next morning we headed on a tuktuk tour of some of the sights of Delhi. First stop was Humayun's Tomb, this was a very grand mosaleum and the surrounding grounds had previously enclosed an entire village. This is thought to have been a predecessor and partial inspiration to the Taj Mahal.
After getting a lolly we headed to destination number 2, Qutub Minar, which was a fair drive out of the city. This was one of the Islamic sights, a lot of the ground was in ruins but its main attraction was a 5 storeys high minerat, which was detailed ornately.
Confusion started after this point, as our tour which have 5 tuktuks in convoy decided to head different directions! We wanted to see a bit more of the city so headed on with a few others. We were taken to another Hindu temple, 'Shree Lakshmi Narayan Mandir'. More statues and tinsel lined the walls, it also had a room full of mirrors for one of their multi headed gods. People had left offerings of food and money on their altars and the sound of chanting rose into the incense filled air. After being let out of the foreigners room with our shoes and belongings and the security guard asked for a tip, under the sign that said 'Do not tip staff', we headed into the street to find that our tuktuk driver was no longer there....ah. It transpired that our tuktuk had had a problem so we had a new driver. We asked to be taken to a bazaar, apparently this translated as Government tourist shop that sells expensive souvenirs (run by your cousin), not what we'd asked for. We reluctantly got out and had a brief look round, so that we didn't have to endured another carpet demonstration, and headed back to the tuktuk. After getting separated from the other tuktuk, a lot of shouting in Hindi, international sign language, stopping to ask 'brothers' for help and Alex getting scrapped by a beggar we found the other guys and ended the 'tour' promptly.
We had been taken to the main tourist area of Delhi, Connaught square, one of the areas built in the Raj. We found a very western place to have some drinks-it even had cowboy hats and saddles to accompany your drink.
After quenching our thirst we set out to meet the rest of the group for dinner and drinks for one of the guys birthdays. It was a very un-indian night and we could have been anywhere in the world, but the break from curried food and fantastic live music was great fully received.
The next day was at a more leisurely pace. We headed into the main square to have a wander around the bazaar's and shops. Also to make sure that Alex had a milkshake from a parlour he'd spotted the day before. For 50 rupees (about 50p) you can get a pint of a variety of milkshakes, served in an old milk bottle (cleaned we hoped!) just lovely! So nice that we had to head back for a second one later!
We made several attempts in the morning to get to the red fort but it proved difficult to get a driver to take, without completely ripping us off. We thought we'd found one who offered us a decent rate. He dropped us off at the Government Tourist information centre and promised he'd wait outside for us. After 20 minutes inside, a cup of chai and listening to a bloke tell us how terrible India was we were told we could buy our tickets at the fort. Weird! It was even stranger when we came out to find our tuktuk but our driver was nowhere to be seen. We looked for him for a while and no one seemed to know where he'd gone- so we moved swiftly on.
In the afternoon we did make it to the fort, from the outside it is very grand from the outside with its large sandstone walls. Inside it is full of shells of marble and sandstone buildings, with beautiful gardens with dragonflies dancing through them. This meant more wandering for us whilst having our photo taken by Indians as we went.
When you come out of the fort you enter the chaos that is Old Delhi. It was like nothing else we've even seen before and it made a 10 mile traffic jam on the M25 look like a mild inconvenience. The streets were rammed with cars, tuktuks, rickshaws, bicycles, motorbikes, cows, goats and people. The shops and stalls we're overspilling onto the road along with more rubbish and mud. There wasn't an inch to move and tuktuks were trying to head the wrong way up the road and everyone felt the need to demonstrate that their horn was the loudest. We only managed to wander down a bit of the road and then we decided to hop into a tuktuk with another couple. Despite seeing tuktuk after tuktuk crammed with Indians, the man was reluctant about taking the four of us. Having said that most Indians are not the Alex's size which tends to make it a bit of a squeeze! We negotiated our way through the traffic and squeezed through ridiculously tiny spots. For reasons best known to himself whilst we were shoehorned into the tuktuk driver stopped and fed the birds! As a result of this we only made it to the square as Alex's legs were numb and I'd lost sensation in the right side of my body, so we got out and walked.
After a bizarre day we went to a haven of quiet and deliciousness- Barbeque Nation. This all you can eat buffet was a mixture of western and Indian food. We had a barbeque in the middle of table which was piled high with skewers for us to glaze and finish off at our leisure. Following a day of fending people off left, right and centre the only hassling we had was the wait or asking us if we wanted more food. Our kind of place. It was a really nice way to finish our time in India's capital.
Onwards to Jaipur......
Through the suburbs; the locals accommodation looks like shacks, stuck on top of one another; multistorey slums. Many of these without walls or roofs and none with obviously more than a few blankets on the floor.
Into the centre a shards of wealth cast shadows over the poor; world famous hotels, tourist attractions and western shopping centres with Starbucks, electrical shops and even an M&S.
If Lahore was a metropolis, Delhi is a megatropolis.
But it really makes you think; why are we so fortunate? How are they not? What can we do? It was another clear reminder of how God had blessed us, that we had been given so much, a lot of which we take for granted. It does leave you to think, 'What can we do to help?'
After a couple of standard detours (as we were following a tuktuk, who promised he knew where he was going, but had to stop a couple of times and initially took us to the wrong place) we arrived at the YWCA, home for a few nights.
The next morning we headed on a tuktuk tour of some of the sights of Delhi. First stop was Humayun's Tomb, this was a very grand mosaleum and the surrounding grounds had previously enclosed an entire village. This is thought to have been a predecessor and partial inspiration to the Taj Mahal.
After getting a lolly we headed to destination number 2, Qutub Minar, which was a fair drive out of the city. This was one of the Islamic sights, a lot of the ground was in ruins but its main attraction was a 5 storeys high minerat, which was detailed ornately.
Confusion started after this point, as our tour which have 5 tuktuks in convoy decided to head different directions! We wanted to see a bit more of the city so headed on with a few others. We were taken to another Hindu temple, 'Shree Lakshmi Narayan Mandir'. More statues and tinsel lined the walls, it also had a room full of mirrors for one of their multi headed gods. People had left offerings of food and money on their altars and the sound of chanting rose into the incense filled air. After being let out of the foreigners room with our shoes and belongings and the security guard asked for a tip, under the sign that said 'Do not tip staff', we headed into the street to find that our tuktuk driver was no longer there....ah. It transpired that our tuktuk had had a problem so we had a new driver. We asked to be taken to a bazaar, apparently this translated as Government tourist shop that sells expensive souvenirs (run by your cousin), not what we'd asked for. We reluctantly got out and had a brief look round, so that we didn't have to endured another carpet demonstration, and headed back to the tuktuk. After getting separated from the other tuktuk, a lot of shouting in Hindi, international sign language, stopping to ask 'brothers' for help and Alex getting scrapped by a beggar we found the other guys and ended the 'tour' promptly.
We had been taken to the main tourist area of Delhi, Connaught square, one of the areas built in the Raj. We found a very western place to have some drinks-it even had cowboy hats and saddles to accompany your drink.
After quenching our thirst we set out to meet the rest of the group for dinner and drinks for one of the guys birthdays. It was a very un-indian night and we could have been anywhere in the world, but the break from curried food and fantastic live music was great fully received.
The next day was at a more leisurely pace. We headed into the main square to have a wander around the bazaar's and shops. Also to make sure that Alex had a milkshake from a parlour he'd spotted the day before. For 50 rupees (about 50p) you can get a pint of a variety of milkshakes, served in an old milk bottle (cleaned we hoped!) just lovely! So nice that we had to head back for a second one later!
We made several attempts in the morning to get to the red fort but it proved difficult to get a driver to take, without completely ripping us off. We thought we'd found one who offered us a decent rate. He dropped us off at the Government Tourist information centre and promised he'd wait outside for us. After 20 minutes inside, a cup of chai and listening to a bloke tell us how terrible India was we were told we could buy our tickets at the fort. Weird! It was even stranger when we came out to find our tuktuk but our driver was nowhere to be seen. We looked for him for a while and no one seemed to know where he'd gone- so we moved swiftly on.
In the afternoon we did make it to the fort, from the outside it is very grand from the outside with its large sandstone walls. Inside it is full of shells of marble and sandstone buildings, with beautiful gardens with dragonflies dancing through them. This meant more wandering for us whilst having our photo taken by Indians as we went.
When you come out of the fort you enter the chaos that is Old Delhi. It was like nothing else we've even seen before and it made a 10 mile traffic jam on the M25 look like a mild inconvenience. The streets were rammed with cars, tuktuks, rickshaws, bicycles, motorbikes, cows, goats and people. The shops and stalls we're overspilling onto the road along with more rubbish and mud. There wasn't an inch to move and tuktuks were trying to head the wrong way up the road and everyone felt the need to demonstrate that their horn was the loudest. We only managed to wander down a bit of the road and then we decided to hop into a tuktuk with another couple. Despite seeing tuktuk after tuktuk crammed with Indians, the man was reluctant about taking the four of us. Having said that most Indians are not the Alex's size which tends to make it a bit of a squeeze! We negotiated our way through the traffic and squeezed through ridiculously tiny spots. For reasons best known to himself whilst we were shoehorned into the tuktuk driver stopped and fed the birds! As a result of this we only made it to the square as Alex's legs were numb and I'd lost sensation in the right side of my body, so we got out and walked.
After a bizarre day we went to a haven of quiet and deliciousness- Barbeque Nation. This all you can eat buffet was a mixture of western and Indian food. We had a barbeque in the middle of table which was piled high with skewers for us to glaze and finish off at our leisure. Following a day of fending people off left, right and centre the only hassling we had was the wait or asking us if we wanted more food. Our kind of place. It was a really nice way to finish our time in India's capital.
Onwards to Jaipur......
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