Get me out of here! (But it's not all bad)
Trip Start
Aug 10, 2008
1
40
59
Trip End
Ongoing
Delhi,
India
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Eventually my train arrived and I squeezed onto the small bunk with all my luggage - I'm glad I'm not taller because my feet were already dangling off the end! The journey was ok, with several cups of tea, a visit from the usual group of transvestites or 'third sex' people that begged on the train, and lots of guesswork as to where I was - no one speaks English, there are no announcements and no signs at the stations! I'd already booked in at a hotel by phone so at least when I did get off I had just a short rickshaw ride, and walk and then a warn welcome.
One of my first impressions was just how many Kashmiri people were here - they were always the first to speak to me - some helpful, others just trying to sell a tour
Mosque in the Muslim quarter
. I felt very much 'on guard' here, and there was lots of hassle but I met a couple of nice people with whom I chatted over chai or dinner, and who showed me around a bit. I went to a big mosque in one of the Muslim areas that was really beautiful, however it was a little intimidating being the only westerner outside a bookshop with a loudspeaker and books in the window about 'Islam against the west'. Many local people told me that I'd never get a visa for Pakistan and why did I want to go there anyway? With the recent trouble, I armed myself with information from other travelers that had been there, and the foreign office advice, and decided that as long as I was careful it shouldn't put me off. When I'd been working in London I'm sure other foreigners had been warned off the terrorist threat there so I didn't let it stop me.
I had to do a bit of running around but the process was fairly straightforward - on Monday I went to the office before it opened, got my forms, had them typed up by a man with a typewriter on the street, went to the British Embassy to get a letter of recommendation (£££s), went to the bank to pay in the fee, then rushed back to the Pakistan embassy before they shut at 11.30am! The next day I had an interview, where they asked if I was traveling with someone (erm...little white lie), my intentions, my occupation etc
Red Fort
. In normal circumstances I could have picked up my visa the next day but because of a two day holiday I waited until Friday to pick it up - much easier than I'd thought. On my first day at the Embassy I'd met a local guy - Ajay - who was really nice. We swapped numbers and meet a few times while I waited for my visa. We went to the old city and its fort, including a sound and light show that we translated for me from Hindi. He introduced me to some great food, including south Indian cuisine and he showed me 'Piccadelhi' a restaurant dedicated to everything English -inside it even had a bus stop, an English pub and the front part of a double decker bus!
I had a bit of an explore around New Delhi but it was hard work to move around just because of the constant hassle and traffic, there was also lots of beggars and I saw children with the most horrific injuries, their parents going through the cars and rickshaws for money. In the middle of the city was 'central park'. A seemly nice idea but set in the middle of a huge roundabout and because of previous bombings there the only entrance you could use was heavily policed and you had to pass through a metal detector to get in - somehow it didn't look like it was worth the trouble. For the first couple of days I just wanted to leave, but after a bit more patience and adjustment I got used to it, although it's still not one of my favourite places to be.
On my last day in Delhi I decided I'd like something peaceful to finish with so after I'd picked up my visa, I went to the Lotus Temple. This is an unusual place of worship that welcomes followers of all religions into the huge lotus flower shaped building in the middle of a park area. You remove your shoes and once inside you are not allowed to speak. Every hour they had prayers - one for each of the religions including Christianity. I went in and stayed for some time, just relaxing and enjoying some quiet time...maybe Delhi wasn't so bad after all...
