Nice and easy in New Delhi.
Mary and I had 20 hours of flight time to mentally prepare for our landing in Delhi. We’d both been well warned of the immediate shock of India and so were ready for the crush of humanity, the assault of the foreign, and the sheer India-ness of it all as we walked through customs and into…nothing. Or rather, a sparsely tidy arrivals are where we quickly and easily changed money at a good rate with no fee, bought train tickets for the next day’s trip to Agra, and got pre-paid taxi tickets.
But where was the crazy? We figured it was probably outside, so readied ourselves to be attacked by touts as we stepped outside. They were there…and they couldn’t have been less interested in us. The most aggressive they got was to point out our taxi when asked. Mary, for whom this was her introduction to Asia, summed up our confusion during the ride, saying, “I’ve had a harder time leaving Heathrow.”
Stefan Kaye – our gracious host in New Delhi – was waiting for us when we arrived, ready with guava juice and spicy snacks. We all took a stroll around his neighborhood in the pleasant 75 degree afternoon, inspecting Moorish ruins and back alleys, before going out for dinner. My first meal was Mysore masala dosa which was disconcertingly similar to having dinner at Dosa on Valencia. A friend of Stefan’s met us for drinks after dinner and then drove us home, where we had showers, reconfirmed our flights to Cochin and ate tapas as a nightcap before falling asleep to the joyful sound of temple singing down the street.
I’m not sure if it’s because we’re far from the tourist ghettos, because we’re with a local host, or simply because we were prepared for the worst, but whatever the reason, Delhi has been a pleasant surprise.
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Mary adds: there’s a street snack here called Nacho Corn and I’ve seen four monkeys.
Tags: Delhi
sandyo
I give you one or two more days until you find a 7-11 and eat nothing but ham and cheese sandwiches from there.
There aren’t any 7-11’s here! Point for Thailand.
no craziness yet huh???? give a couple days…….
Tinted windows and gated hotels are the touts/beggars’ greatest inspiration.
If going out to eat at Indian restaurants around here is representative of India in general, wonkiness will not evade you.