Holy Cow!
Trip Start
Jan 20, 2007
1
71
102
Trip End
Dec 2007
Dehli,
India
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
We flew with Air India which was an experience in itself. It was hard to say goodbye to mom and then encounter a LONG check-in line filled with many people wearing many colourful outfits and turbans and beards. it was the most security we have EVER had to go through, (it actually took us 3 hours to go through security in Toronto) and interesting choices of entertainment ( bollywood to Monica's delight and elevator/synthesizer Eagles tunes with an Indian flair) and meals (veg or non-veg - and new Indian salty snacks). It was funny to watch the wheelchair brigade everytime we boarded or de-planed as most of the flight was seniors (at least 25 wheelchairs - they had to keep re-cycling the chairs - pardon the pun!) the other half of the flight was families and babies....oh joy oh bliss! There was a lot of yelling on the plane once most were liquored up. When you ask for an orange juice or pop, you get a small cup
rickshaw thru old delhi
. when you ask for a beer, wine or liquor, you get 2 bottles!!!! People don't worry too much about your space either, we had our hair pulled, shoulders hit, seats shaken, etc. but other than that, the flight was really okay. Our route also took us over Iran and Pakistan - gorgeous desert mountain views below.Anita was laughing once again when Monica was speaking with a POSH british accent in Birmingham!
We had a bit of a tippy landing in Amritsar ( maybe the pilots had 2 bottles). Our first view out the window was a bunch of guys with bicycles on the tarmac watching the planes landing. and a guy with a random shopping cart!
We shared a taxi ride in Dehli with 2 English girls who had been here several times and we got a few good tips from them. Driving past the slums was interesting and hard to see right away. We found accomodation at the Hotel Vivek in the Parganj backpacker area on the Main Bazaar. It is a REALLY busy stret with tons of shops, hotels, restaurants, stray dogs, tons of people and COWS! There are cows EVERYWHERE here! Anita almost was run down by them in her jetlagged saunter!
We found the New Dehli Train station and had a LOT of frustration trying to find the tourist ticket office. There are a lot of touts trying to direct you elsewhere and we were so close to being caught up with one. We stopped and tried again and eventuall found it upstairs. We were so tired and relieved to have found it... Monica almost burst into a flood of tears when she realizd that she had left her passport at the hotel! meaning we would have to do it all over again!!!!!! rookie mistake.
spent the rest of the evening eating our first meal of Indian food (so yum) and heading to bed for a much needed 12 hour sleep
the market streets of old delhi
. It was SO hard to get up at 9am - it was probably the most jet-lagged we have ever been. it felt like our brains were going to explode! took a cold shower and listened to the noises on the street - dogs barking, children learning English in school, car horns!Took a bicycle rickshaw to the Red Fort in Old Dehli. Thought it would only take about 10 minutes to get there but it took about 45! poor guy had to push the bike up the hill on the bridge. Was an interesting way to see Old Dehli. The streets were FILLED with traffic, people, dogs, cows, etc. There were men peeing everywhere and men getting a shave on the side of the road. there was every kind of store . so interesting!
The Red Fort was cool. we learned some history and took a lot of photos. We also enjoyed the quiet of no traffic for the first time. A few families asked to have their photos taken with us. Paparazzi again!!
took another Bicycle rickshaw to New Dehli to Connaught Place - a circular series of roads with shops and restaurants. Puma, Nike, Reebok... you name it! Walked into the McDonalds to see what sort of things we could buy there - McCurry! and no beef - Maharaja Big Mac chicken patties! It was interesting to see the contrast between the Old and New Dehli.
Had a yummy lunch before catching a motor taxi (like a tuk tuk) to the Old rail station. Got there with 10 minutes to spare and frantically tried to find which track we were leaving from. what a crazy sea of people in the station! it was overwhelming
Red Fort (outside)
. ran back and forth between the tracks and then between the cars, trying to find our spot. It was hot and sweaty and dark and overwhelming. There were bags everywhere and not too many people spoke english to help us out. Outside on the platform there were people selling food and lots of rats running along the tracks. we slept in the middle berths of a NON AC car. it was all men around us. and for about 2 hours our car was a commuter train and our little 8 berth area had at least 25 men crammed into it. Anita was brave enough to push through to get to the toilet by climbing over bags, people, etc and swinging over the seats. Everyone is also very curious about us and a lot of people just stare at us or grab at us. we know that it is necessary to develop a think skin. it is hard. We were VERY relieved once all got off and we were able to sleep for a few hours here and there. There was several times when people were yelling, horking or farting... In the morning we stopped in Jodhpur about 2 hours late and Meg and Cathy joined our ride through to Jaisalmer. Thank God because they are great people who gave us a lot of good tips and recommendations.
