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Nicole's
Travelogues and Budget Travel Tips..
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NEW DELHI, INDIA
With a population of 15.3 million people, Delhi is the seventh most populous metropolis in the world. Delhi derives its historic importance from its position in northern India between the Aravalli Hills to the southwest and the Yamuna River to the east. This enabled it to dominate the old trade routes from northwest India to the Gangetic Plains. As a result, it has long been an important cultural, political, and intellectual centre. Due to a high migration rate, Delhi registers as one of the fastest growing cities in Asia. As a consequence, it faces key issues like environmental degradation, air and water pollution, traffic congestion, and acute power and water shortages.
I was supposed to meet them at a bar called the Blues and I knew that was on the 2nd circle somewhere, so I headed there. Now Indians don't tell you they don't know (it's rude) so getting directions was quite a feat. You ask 5 people and will get 5 different answers. But luckily I finally found it (yeah you would think it would be easy to find on a circular street, but it was harder than it sounds!) and went in. I wasn't sure if they were going to be there, with all the terror alert issues at Old Delhi Old Delhi is inhabited by a predominantly Muslim population whose lives revolve around work and the local mosque, much as it was a century ago. I don't think the word congested is strong enough with how busy the narrow streets are! The best way to explore is take a tuktuk and then walk around for a few hours. The market alone with keep you busy for an hour!
The front of the fort was filled with police vehicles and I was certain I wouldn't find Frank or Sarah. But about 5 minutes later, I heard "NICOLE!" and Sarah was passing in a tuk tuk. We waited for Frank and then bargained for a tuk tuk for the entire day of sightseeing. We decided to go with a tuktuk driver named Barush. He gave us a good deal at 150 rupees per hour and took us to a bunch of sites in Old Delhi.
After looking around inside, we went back down to gather our shoes and saw women making chipatis for the poor. We then took our lives in our hands to run across the street to buy some water. It was getting hot again. |
Public transportation in Delhi is provided by auto rickshaws, buses, rapid transit system, taxis and suburban railways.
Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism led by Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru brought independence in 1947. The subcontinent was then divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh.
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At 3pm, I asked the hostel front desk the best way to get to Connaught Place and he said the metro. So I was off to try to find Sarah and Hiram. I walked a few blocks past hundreds of people, tuk tuks (auto rickshaws), carts, mopeds, bikes, a few cows, and made it to metro station. It was quite nice and had helpful charts to figure out which stop to get off - the best part was the AC! After buying my token, I got in line to get frisked and have bag checked. For women, they have a tent set up that you go into and have a female officer deal with you. It was quick and painless. I got off 3 stops later and picked an exit. 
Connaught Place (officially called Rajiv Chowk, but referred to as C.P. by Delhiites) is a central business district of New Delhi, India. It is instantly recognisable on any map of Delhi, being the big circle in the middle with radial roads spreading out in all directions, like spokes on a wheel. Rajiv Chowk station, located under Connaught Place, is the interchange for the Yellow and Blue lines of the Delhi Metro and one of the largest and busiest stations in the network.
Heathrow/cancelled flights but they were there with 2 other travelers a Brit and a Swede. So we took advantage of happy hour (2 for 1) and had a few beers! Kingfisher is the premium beer in India and it is cheap on tap. Well OK it is not cheap - it's about 120 rupees which is almost 3 dollars. But at 2 for 1 it was better and what else can you drink when it is sooooo hot??? Ha hahah We left after 2 hours and caught 2 tuktuks to Parah Gang (spelling?) - the backpacker area. Whew it was quite hectic as expected! Streets were crammed with people, westerners, tuk tuks, cycle rickshaws, etc... Smell was interesting and you did get a bit filthy after a few minutes. We, then went to another restaurant on the rooftop and watched the kite fights. They have basic black kites with jagged glass tied to the string and you try to cut another kites string. If you do, then you win the kite. It was coool and it looked like hundreds of bats were flying above us. About 9pm, Frank and I got a tuk tuk back to Karol Baugh for 60 rupees. Took a while to find my hostel as the tuk tuk driver didn't know where it was and he kept getting different directions from everyone! 
Frank and Sarah and I decided to meet at the Red Fort at 9:30am to tour Old Delhi. I found a tuk tuk for 70 rupees and went to Chandni Chowk to the Red Fort entrance. Unfortunately, due to Independence Day terror alert - it was closed, as were a bunch of other sites. Shooot! 
We went to a Sikh Temple, where we checked our shoes, washed our hands and feet, covered our heads, and went inside - careful not to point our feet towards any diety. 