Delhi

One the flight to Delhi I met a wonderful lady who told me all about her country. She gave me her business card and told me to call her if i ran into any trouble. What a wonderful first impression! I landed in Delhi late at night and this was a blessing in disguise because it was much less busy than usual. Immediately, I saw my name on the gap adventures sign and found my ride to the hotel. I had been told that the drive from the airport to the hotel would be a bit of a shock due to the traffic and the poverty. Actually, I didn't find it that bad at all! The hotel was in the Karol Bah ( not sure of spelling here!) section of the city which is a big market area. The hotel was clean enough but the air conditioning was on the fritz so I didn't sleep very well. The next morning, I went up for breakfast and shortly thereafter my Gap roommate Karen arrived. We decided our first order of business was to get in a rickshaw in search of an Indian Sim card. This was a pretty easy task and we spent the afternoon wandering around the area. At 5:00pm we met the others on our tour and we all went for dinner together! I am very happy to report that the food here is fabulous! Here is my first meal! Non idea what it was called but it was amazing. The bread was made of rice flower and white lentils.



On day two of the tour we went to old Delhi, an amazing mess of small alleyways. In one such tiny street we stopped for our first taste of Chai tea. The man who made it for us has been in the same place for many years and has a reputation for making an excellent tea!









We also visited the Jama Masjid, a huge Muslim mosque that has enough room to have 25 000 people pray at once. It was nice, but nothing like the mosques I saw last year in the middle east. After the mosque we went a Sikh gurdwara. Here we saw the temple area as well as the kitchens where they make the holy food. Three times a day, free meals are served here.










The traffic in Delhi is absolutely bonkers, there is really no other way to say it! Rickshaws, pedestrians, cars, trucks and cows all compete for space on the roads ( and sidewalks). There don't seem to be any rules except, Everyman for himself! Horns are constantly blowing and you're never sure how long it will take to cross the street!






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Location:India