Delhi, India - Part 1

November 22,

I wake up from the sleeper train as people all around me have woken up. There is some commotion on the train, as tourists are throwing their rucksacks upon their backs. After a surprisingly good night's sleep on the train, we have arrived in Delhi. We exit the train station and walk down the steps to find ourselves planted in this Nation's Capital.

You begin to feel the throng of over 10 million people when entering in Delhi. Samosa stands, rickshaws and 'tourist' agencies fill the streets. As many of you may know, Delhi is broken off into two main sections: Old Delhi and New Delhi. The old city is the original Delhi township, that may have been settled over 2500 years ago. After originally being one of the primary towns of worship for the Hindu religion, it was overtaken by the Muslims in the 12th century.

The Muslims ruled Delhi for almost 6 centuries until the Brittish empire rolled into town around the early 19th century. The Brittish moved the capital of India to Delhi in the early 20th century and decked out what is now New Delhi. New roads, stores and restaurants were installed. Today, you can still see evidence of these two distinct parts of town - Old Delhi and New Delhi.

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While the food and mystique of India cannot be beat, India is not by any means a place to receive consistent information. Nothing is what it seems. For example, you can forget about asking for directions in India. A friend that we met told us that she asked six different people where a certain establishment was located and received six different answers. In India, the response of "I don't know" is never uttered. In fact, asking for directions can easily get you into a wild goose chase, where you are leashed around the city for 20 minutes and are emphatically shown your location when you get there. In other words, if you don't have your act together, don't even bother setting foot outside your hotel or guesthouse. Just go back to bed and try again the following day.

We are staying at the Ajanta hotel nearby the train station. And at first glance, it's a fine hotel. Lisa and I were thuroughly drained from Varanassi that we needed a nice place to stay. At $30 per night, the Ajanta hotel seems like a 4-star hotel compared to our previous amenities.

We then begin to read between the lines. If you want to get a taxi, they may say to you: "Why do you need a taxi? Just step into our travel office." You may even get impressed the first time you see "Gov't approved" outside the window. You then realize that half of the travel agents have the same sign posted out in front of their offices. My head begins to spin again. Nothing is what it seems.

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We finally look back into our India Rough Guide and find the DTTDC - the Delhi Tourism and Transport Development coorporation. This is considered the official government agency. I ask the rickshaw to take me here and he obediently follows. He insists on staying parked right outside so that he can take me back. After a weak showing of resistance, I give in. I let the rickshaw driver stay as I walk inside the office.

I meet a gentleman named Naz. Right away, he seems much more subdued than the scores of other agents and touts I have met in my travels. I tell him that my girlfriend and I wish to take a Delhi tour tomorrow. Naz gives me the information and tells me to come back with Lisa. For the first time, here is someone that was not desperately trying to squeeze out every rupee from my wallet.

I take the rickshaw back and it's a harrowing experience. The driver takes me to an emporium (an Indian craft store) despite my sharp disagreements. I refuse to get out of the rickshaw. The driver caves in and takes me back to the hotel. He makes my skin crawl. As I get out of the rickshaw I try to go into the internet cafe next door. The driver follows me in trying to 'help' me. If he was back in the USA, he would be a Friday evening miniseries. In India, he is business as usual.

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I meet Lisa and go over what Naz from the DTTDC told me. She agrees that it sounds good, as we agree to go back right away. We decide to walk this time. The same rickshaw driver follows us for a block and then gives up. We get to the area of town where I think the DTTDC is located, and then we get lost. Located in Connaught Place, you have to navigate through a series of concentric semicircles. We try asking for directions, and it's a disaster for the reasons explained above. After an hour, we retrace our steps and we miraculously find the place. We are exhausted yet relieved, as Naz sees us and greets us at the door.

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Naz has us take a seat, as a few groups of westerners are working out their travel plans as well. By the looks of their faces, it seems that they had some of the similar experiences as us. I gulp down two cups of chai (Indian tea with milk). We finally get a chance to speak with Naz.

Paranoia has taken over both Lisa and me. How do we know these guys are not imposters. Nothing is what it seems. India now seems to me as one big Twilight Zone episode that never ends. Naz assures us that all is okay. Between his experience with westerners and his experience in the industry, both Lisa and I begin to relax. Lisa is on her 3rd cigarette this afternoon, and I don't mind one bit.

After realizing that the bus tour is full tomorrow, Naz convinces us to take a driver and make it a bigger tour. We decide to do it. It may seem posh to have a driver every day, but in India it makes all the sense of the world. No rickshaws, no haggling, no headache. Let me know where I sign the check.

So Lisa and I sign up for a 15 day tour that starts with a 1 day city tour of Delhi, a few day stint in Agra, followed by almost a 2 week stint in Rajasthan. We are so relieved. After taking dinner closeby, the DTTDC even has a driver drop us off at our hotel. We are instructed to be packed and ready at 8:30 in the morning to meet Mr. Singh - our driver for the next 15 days.