Delhi Arrival Day 1-2

So after the very adventurous driving experience on our way to the hotel, we finally made it to Mystique Moments at 2am. The website says it is in the suburbs. I'm not sure what I expected for Indian suburbs... big white houses and green lawns? No, but I wasn't thinking a slum either. We were a bit skeeved out until we saw the hotel sign. Phew. We checked in, a long process in India listing a million facts - where have we come from? Where are we going? How many days are we staying? What is our home address? What is our visa number? Passport number? Number of hairs on our head? The list goes on and on. A very long time later, we were shown to our room and I promptly passed out. Alessa woke up early and we eventually headed upstairs for breakfast. It was great not to have to go searching for something to eat. Breakfast was simple - toast, eggs, tea - but enough for us. It was then time to go shopping. I wanted Indian clothes ASAP. I had only brought 2 outfits. One, I wore on the plane. The other I packed just in case. We stepped out of the hotel and the heat hit us first. Hot, hot, hot. The smell hit me next. It smelled like every Indian man in the neighbourhood had peed all over the front step. Being careful to only breathe through my mouth, we ventured out in the direction that the hotel owner said were shops. Even though it was almost 10am, very little places were open. We carefully picked our way through the poo/trash/dirt filled streets looking for a decent place to buy clothes. After ten minutes of no luck, we stumbled across a decent looking store with nice clothes in the window. We went in and were delighted to find beautiful clothes and helpful staff. An hour later I had two new brightly coloured outfits (featured in the rest of my pictures!)

We decided it was too hot to be outside, so we headed back to the hotel. There I chatted with a few of the other people staying in the hotel. I met the friend of one of the girls staying there, her name is Louisa. She agreed to take a whole group of us out for the day! She took us to the Red Fort and dinner, and was a good protector of us as gaggles of people tried to shake our hands and take pictures of us. At the end of the night, she even invited us to her home for Easter! The day ended late and we were exhausted, but it was definitely a good start :)

Red Fort!

 

 

Our lovely guide!

 

Day 2: We woke up in time for breakfast, and booked a small tour for the day. We planned to see the Ba'hai temple, Humayun's Tomb, the parliment and India Arch before being dropped at the train station. The day was rather easy and calm, being picked up and dropped off everywhere there was no stress

Ba'hai temple was perfectly quiet inside - an anomaly in India!

First Indian beer and great food!

The trashy side of Delhi.

Humayan's Tomb was also quite a calm, quiet, peaceful place. Note the red sandstone, which is used throughout India for forts and tombs. I got to spend some time drawing here and just taking in the place.

You must pay to turn left!

The India arch was roped off for some reason by the Delhi police, so we couldn't get any closer, but it reminded me of the Arch de Triumph. After seeing this, we headed straight to the train station for our first overnight train to Varanasi!

Trains in India

The train system in India is the largest employer in India. The gigantic rail system runs surprisingly smoothly based on the fact that, well, it's in India. The most comfortable, affordable class is AC Tier 2 (2A). There are 4 bunks in each berth, and two more across the aisle. AC 3 Tier (3A) is okay as well, just a bit more squished when you're sitting. Although one of our trains was two hours late, and another left the station over an hour late, the rest have been more or less on time. It's no Switzerland, but it's certainly not a bad way to get around. They sometimes serve food (for low prices), the beds are comfortable enough and they get you where you want to go. There are mice, so be careful of bringing smelly food. DO bring lots of water bottles as sometimes the sellers don't come in your car. I found that even though in the AC cars the windows were tinted and dirty, I could see out just fine. Overall, the train system gets a thumbs up from me!

Each train has a number written on it. This doesn't change, so check it before getting on to make sure you are in the right place!

You can see the passenger list behind Alessa on the train.

AC Tier 3 - 3 bed on each side.

The South African guys we shared our first berth with.

AC 2 Tier - excited for this train!

AC Executive Chair Class - Comes with newspapers...

And tea...

And breakfast!

Toy Train (narrow gage) to Shimla. Hot, bumpy, uncomfortable and NOT recommended for people who get motion sick.

Our train was an hour late!

But there were some cool tunnels and views at least.

India Traveler Tips
If you know you want to travel on trains, book them early! We met many people who came and thought they would figure it out as they went, but everything was booked. We booked over a month in advance, and it was difficult to get the trains we wanted on the class we wanted. We took train passes, which still needed reservations but they were free and booked by the agency. For us, we were taking enough overnight and long distance trains that it made sense. Be sure to know your berth and seat BEFORE you get to the train station. You can use the PNR number to check online for your information. Sometimes the charts on the trains that tell you where you are are missing or have falled off. If you book on the Tourist Quota, you will probably be sat with a bunch of other tourists. This is great because you can meet people going where you are, or get advice, or trade stories all night without being stared at continuously.


If you get to choose your bunk, the bottom is good because you can stay up sitting as late as you want and it's easy to make and get into. If you like to sleep in, the top bunk is best as it is the most private and no one will bother you. AC is above the top beds, so those can get quite cold. Luckily, in 2A and 3A you get sheets, pillow and blankets which are definitely warm enough. When waiting on a platform (if you are a woman), it might be a good idea to go into the ladies waiting room where men aren't aloud. It can be much more comfortable to wait there as you won't be constantly stared at.

Driving in India

The biggest shock upon arriving in India was not the people, or the smell, but the drive from the airport to our hotel. We arrived just after one in the morning to a prearranged pick up. The driver, after acknowledging we were the right people, barely spoke to us as we ran to catch up with him through the curving turns of the airport's passages. We arrived at the car and were promptly told that we didn't have seat belts. This would become a theme in India. It turns out that seat belts aren't required in the backseat and even drivers only put them on when they think the police may be nearby. Anyway, I digress. After locking ourselves into the death-mobile, we zoomed out of the parking lot, but not before our driver honked at every other vehicle within sight. Once on the streets, Indian driving rules took over. It didn't seem to matter which side of the street we were supposed to drive on, only which side was the most convenient for the driver (another theme). I can't even count the number of times a driver pulled into a roundabout without looking, or even worse, went the WRONG WAY around the roundabout because it was a bit quicker to get to their exit. Horns are used near constantly to warn drivers of your arrival behind them, passing, anger, annoyances, happiness, and possibly every other feeling known to man. Cows are quickly swerved around and people and bicycles narrowly avoided (I'm talking less than an inch from hitting everything, sometimes less). The biggest cars always win, and chicken is a never ending game. Yes, driving in India (or being a passenger) is an experience.

In a space that looks to fit 3 people, Indians often cram up to 8! Alessa and I squeezed in with a few friends.

View from the back of an auto

Streets in India.

Our friends in the other Rickshaw.

Our last driver - he kept trying to convince us to go to his store- Only look, no buy!

Tips for travelers in India:
Always find out about how much your trip should cost if you are going in an auto or tuk tuk. Negotiate the price first, and only pay that price. If the driver won't come down to your price, tell them you'll find another driver. There will ALWAYS be someone willing to take you, as long as the price you name is reasonable enough. We usually asked our hotels how much we should pay to get from point to point, then expected to pay double as tourists. Although it sounds quite scary to drive in India, they know what they are doing. I only saw one minor accident where two motorcycles bumped each other's tires, yelled for a minute, then moved on. Trust the driver - he's still alive and it's his car.

Here's a little video of our last taxi ride on our way to the airport!