Me and Pete knew we were in trouble in Delhi from the moment we stepped off of the plane.
A well meaning person decided to pull all the bags and cling-wrapped boxes from the luggage belt and place them in a line in front of it, making it impossible to reach the remaining bags. As I tried to establish a space in one of the gaps, people just pushed in front.
Our hotel driver was waiting for us, and managed to scam us out of an extortionate parking fee. The drive to our hotel gave us our first taste of the Indian traffic; 6 lanes of traffic battling on a road meant for two, with cows getting right of way and everyone's hands constantly on their horns. The traffic consists of cars, auto-rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, people, ox-drawn carts and stray dogs.
At our hotel, the staff were a bit strange, with their understanding of English coming and going; our details were written down in an enormous ledger. A porter showed us to our room before turning on every switch (about 20 in total), the TV and demonstrating how to work the air-conditioning unit. All in all this took about fifteen awkward minutes before Pete placed a hand on the man's back and said in a Stephen Fry-like fashion "Yes. That'll be all" causing me to giggle uncontrollably until the porter had left.
The room was beautiful and looked luxurious, but nothing worked in it. The plugs were all blown up or hanging out, and in the shower the hot and cold taps were the wrong way round.
Walking around the main bazaar in Paharganj, we got stared at... a lot. Some little kids waved hello to us. The housing consisted of very old venetian looking apartments, with laundry hanging between them out of the windows. Women sat on the street chewing. There's rubbish everywhere you look. Plastic is truly the scourge of India.
We learnt how to spot the touts in Connaught place by their odd behaviour. People who suddenly turn direction when we walk by, people who stop and loiter until we reach them. People who just want to chat and helpfully point out the travel agencies for you (where they will get commission).
After our first day we are physically and emotionally exhausted. Welcome to India!
A well meaning person decided to pull all the bags and cling-wrapped boxes from the luggage belt and place them in a line in front of it, making it impossible to reach the remaining bags. As I tried to establish a space in one of the gaps, people just pushed in front.
Our hotel driver was waiting for us, and managed to scam us out of an extortionate parking fee. The drive to our hotel gave us our first taste of the Indian traffic; 6 lanes of traffic battling on a road meant for two, with cows getting right of way and everyone's hands constantly on their horns. The traffic consists of cars, auto-rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, people, ox-drawn carts and stray dogs.
At our hotel, the staff were a bit strange, with their understanding of English coming and going; our details were written down in an enormous ledger. A porter showed us to our room before turning on every switch (about 20 in total), the TV and demonstrating how to work the air-conditioning unit. All in all this took about fifteen awkward minutes before Pete placed a hand on the man's back and said in a Stephen Fry-like fashion "Yes. That'll be all" causing me to giggle uncontrollably until the porter had left.
The room was beautiful and looked luxurious, but nothing worked in it. The plugs were all blown up or hanging out, and in the shower the hot and cold taps were the wrong way round.
Walking around the main bazaar in Paharganj, we got stared at... a lot. Some little kids waved hello to us. The housing consisted of very old venetian looking apartments, with laundry hanging between them out of the windows. Women sat on the street chewing. There's rubbish everywhere you look. Plastic is truly the scourge of India.
We learnt how to spot the touts in Connaught place by their odd behaviour. People who suddenly turn direction when we walk by, people who stop and loiter until we reach them. People who just want to chat and helpfully point out the travel agencies for you (where they will get commission).
After our first day we are physically and emotionally exhausted. Welcome to India!
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