New Delhi!

 I arrived in New Delhi two days ago in the morning. I had organised a car to pick me up and take me around to find a hostel. I stayed at Youth Hostels International - where I stayed in a dorm (but was the only person there), it had a western toilet and shower; the room was bare, but clean and they have functioning wifi.

I then spent the day touring around Delhi - seeing some sites and markets and then organising my trip around the country. I have now finally booked my train tickets and have quite a hectic itinerary for the next month, allowing me to see a lot of the country. Night trains and I will become very good friends! 

My first impression of Delhi really is not as bad as it was sometimes portrayed. Yes it's dirty, but it's not noisier than any other city of this style. I haven't been hassled by anyone up until now (but that may be due to my complexion - so they think I'm Indian). The smells are a mixture of everything, but again not any different than a market place in the Middle East. There are temples and beautiful buildings and sights strewn across the city, making the entire city worthwhile seeing – every corner you turn there’s something new going on.

Yesterday was a special day for the Sikhs – once a year on this date they set-up stands from which they distribute water with milk and sugar to people for free; some stands also distribute food to the people. It was quite interesting to see, though I didn’t drink – I’m still too worried about the potential stomach problems.

On the way home, I saw two elephant just chilling in the middle of the city, next to a bridge. And this seemed to be something totally normal for everyone, nobody even took note! 

I spent the night at a friend’s house and had the pleasure of being taught how to cook Indian food (less spicy than they would normally eat). I started small with potato bread. Maybe today I will make something more complicated. The Indian food is divine, and there is so much vegetarian choice – which is just wonderful! I’m loving it!

Today I had my first experience of the metro. The system is very good and easy to use, the issues with public transport arise when you need to take a bus/mini-bus from the metro to your end destination – you need to know where you’re going, so they can drop you at the right place. Nevertheless, Delhi is a huge city and is quite daunting. I was glad to have a car to take me around for the first two days, just to get my bearings (though I’m sure one day would have been fine).

 I’ll upload photos once I have an internet connection that permits me to do so (note that it took about 4 hours to be able to post this..)!