Oct 4 - New Delhi – yikes, what a farewell

We arrived next in Delhi feeling exhausted from the heat. The weather had been consistently unseasonable, at least 10 degrees more than the norm and much more humid. We had two days in Delhi and little idea of what to see. Our first day we headed out to explore the Metro, Delhi’s new, clean and efficient transit system. But first we had to take a rickshaw to get closer to the line. This is when the day began to go sideways. Our rickshaw drivers literally took us for a “ride” dropping us off at a travel agency where they hoped to make commission, and in the opposite direction from our metro station. Steaming mad, and it takes a lot to get Ron visibly angry, we found another guy who promised to drop us at the right location.

The Metro was easy and got us into Old Delhi without incident. Coming above ground, it was instantly apparent we had entered a whole new level of an Indian cultural experience. We fought our way through the teaming Saturday crowds and past a heaping garbage pile to find a bicycle rickshaw willing to take us to the Mosque. Riding was remotely better than walking but the traffic was grid locked so we eventually hopped off and walked the rest of the way. I laugh when I look back at my thoughts upon arriving to Mumbai, nothing was too “shocking” and I was feeling quite confident I would be able to handle all that India had to throw at me. Now in Old Delhi, the shouting, honking, pollution, poverty, garbage and stench seemed more intense than ever and was beating us all. We forged ahead. The Mosque was an interesting visit. Ron and Sadie decided to stay outside with our shoes; Sadie to take photos and Ron, to get his ears cleaned – yes, you read correctly. We came out to find Ron sitting on the Mosque steps with a little Indian man crouched beside him, elbow deep in his ears with a metal prong digging out…probably years (how many of us venture in that far?) of ear gunk. I’d like to say he listens to me more now, but the jury is still out.

Leaving the Mosque we decided travelling by foot back to the Metro would be quicker. It was a complete battle but we eventually found the Metro again only to find it a solid mass of people, outside of the token turnstiles. Now I took the Toronto Subway during rush hour every day to school and thought I had seen crowded underground trains, nothing compares to what we bumped into here. We did an about face and headed back out to find a taxi. After a 15 minute walk we climbed into a beater taxi after vicious haggling outside the nearby train station (the person you haggle with is never the actual driver and usually involves at least 15 men standing around you as you go through the process). By now, we were all starting to break, tears were welling up (I can’t believe the girls made it this far without cracking) and it was getting dark. Our hotel was so very far away and the traffic was even more dense. Everybody kept it together though and just as we were wondering if we should stick with the taxi and the solid traffic, the taxi broke down. Yes it did. So we paid part of our fare, hopped out and started walking again. We really had no idea where we were. Finally we found a bicycle rickshaw who took us to Connaught Place, a welcome refuge of nice shopping and restaurants, one of them being air conditioned serving ice cold coke and beer. We made it but still had to get “home”. By now we felt like locals (having explored just about every mode of transportation available) so we hopped on the Metro and then walked back to the hotel. It was, bar none, the toughest day we had had so far since leaving home. But we made it and like many tough experiences, it’s now just a good story and hopefully fodder for some good laughs.

We salvaged our impressions of Delhi the next day by hiring a car and driver to take us around to the sites. New Delhi is completely different than Old Delhi and offers some fabulous stops of interest, not to mention calm traffic and wider boulevards, a rarity in India! We saw the Ghandi Museum, the monument where Ghandi was assassinated and cremated, the India Gate, Nizam-ud-din’s Shrine, Humayun’s Tomb, found a fabulous restaurant for lunch in the Khan Market area and ended at the Dilli Haat Market where the girls finally got henna designs on their ankles. All the stops were interesting and full of history and the market left wishing we hadn’t already used up our shopping budget. The driving was easy and our driver was great at getting us from A to B and home without incident. Phew. We especially loved learning even more about Ghandi, his incredible life story and the huge impact he had on the history and people of India.

Good-bye Judy.
It was time to say good-bye to Judy. We were very sad. Our time together was so amazing. She was (and always is) such an amazing trooper; patient beyond belief, travelling with our family (granted it IS her family too) in such close proximity, living day to day with “group” decisions inevitably involving compromise and choices she most likely would not have made on her own. We can also now safely say she did not get sick and she is home safe. Phew. We love you Judy and are very thankful you were able to share this experience with us.