A day in Delhi ….

Wowwee!!

From the moment you walk out of the hotel compound, and it is a compound with security on the front gates and scanners to enter the building, you are accosted for anything and everything!

First day in a big city and thought a trip around the Hop on Hop off bus was the way to go. I suspect I would have found it a lot easier if I didn’t have to deal with a Cameron Ling like tagger named Faizan trying to get me to jump in his auto rickshaw. But he wasn’t even the first to hit me up, a taxi driver right out the front wanted to know what I was doing for the day and how long would I need him for!! Back to Faizan, he would have followed me about 1.5 kms and spoke to me about 10 times. Crazy and it wasn’t 9am yet.

Besides trying to shake Lingy, I had offers to clean my shoes and half a dozen other rickshaw rides.

But what was most startling was the myriad of people sleeping rough in this part of the city. Small encampments, washing hanging on traffic barriers and children as well doing it rough. Today is a school day and the number of school age children out working, selling anything from water to poppadoms was incredible.

I saw my first cow today, pulling a cart along the road, being given some gentle encouragement by a long stick held by a boy not much older than Matthew. It looked like it was ready for retirement.

But while I have only seen one bovine, I would have seen hundreds of dogs walking the city, sleeping on the footpaths, crossing roads and being in packs. They are everywhere, except the Rajghat, where the army officer on gate duty discourages their entrance into the park with a long stick. Better than his AK47!

(The Rajghat is the place where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated following his assassination in 1947. The place is sacred, and peaceful, and a no dogs rule holds up there.)

Wherever it is possible to see a tourist, you will see someone trying to flog you something. A rickshaw ride to Old Delhi, a bottle of water, some coconut and a shoe clean to name a few. Wander into other areas and you will be offered advice on which markets to shop at, head scratchers for purchase as well as one bloke who tried to offer me a chance to have my ears cleaned. I gave that a miss despite the gentleman’s persistence including getting me to read a passage written, in English, from his little black book by Tom English (whoever that is). I informed my new friend, and I have made many today, that this passage was not very nice and I had to go (things about body passages).

It’s fair to say that I am a magnet for anyone trying flog something. And I suspect it isn’t just because I am carrying a camera that is making me a target.

I have been fortunate enough to visit a number of large cities, London, Paris and Tokyo, but this one is insane. The pollution, the filth, the spitting, pissing and shitting wherever, the stench, the mass of people, the noise and the traffic. This city is quite literally crumbling under its enormous population; roads are pothole infested, walls are collapsing, footpaths are broken concrete and dirt and even buildings (homes) are falling around the ears of their inhabitants.

The place sounds horrid, but it is great!! All that I have written makes this an amazing place. One that makes your eyes and throat hurt at the end of a day sightseeing due to the pollution, but fills you with experiences that you will struggle to find any where in the western world.

But after a quite a few hours out and about, the hotel offers up as a sanctuary from Delhi, despite still being able to hear the tooting of horns from the poolside bar.

What can you do!!

Cheers