When I was younger, I never had any desire to travel to India. I imagined it was a largely poverty-stricken country full of scruffy looking Hippies sitting around trying to align their chakras. I didn’t think it was a place I would enjoy visiting or feel safe in. And I was convinced that if I did travel there, I would end up catching some terrible disease.
I was wrong.
In recent years, after watching movies such as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008), as well as various documentaries about India, I developed a curiosity for the country.
Last year I finally took a leap of faith and my husband AKA BBB (Big Bald Bugger), and I booked a tour of the Golden Triangle in Northern India. This is how it went.
Delhi, we like you already
We arrived in Delhi about 10pm and were met by a local guide who took us to our hotel. Driving in Delhi is certainly not for the faint-hearted. Drivers constantly blow their horns, and lane markings are largely ignored. It is fascinating how they manage to turn a 6-lane road into 15 lanes and not have an accident. Cars, motorcycles, tuk-tuks and trucks just merge and play chicken with one another, but surprisingly there is no road rage.
Just take my money
Our first full day was a designated “Shopping Day”, and trust me, I made the most of it! I have been researching for months. We had a really nice driver who took us on a bit of a tour before taking us to Khan Market where he simply waited in the car until we were finished… several hours later. He then drove us back to the hotel and the whole trip cost about A$30! I called him about an hour later for my second assault on the shops – this time to the Cottage Emporium which is a government-run shop with fixed prices but no tax and then back to Khan Market for another lap!
I had expected Delhi to be dirty and polluted but it is actually cleaner than many Asian cities that I have visited. Our hotel was situated in the area where all the diplomatic missions stood so probably a better part of town, but even so the streets were relatively clean and lined with nice gardens that were well looked after. I took precautions with safeguarding our possessions so that we wouldn’t get mugged and made my BBB wear the “man bag” that I bought him for Xmas. I had been inspired by a friend of ours who looked really cool with his leather cross body bag… but the nylon one that I bought? Not so much. The BBB said he thought that he looked like an absolute “Ponce”. That was the one and only time that we went out looking like tourists expecting to be mugged. After the “man bag” fiasco, we just dressed and acted normal and took the usual precautions of securing our money, without strapping it to our chests.
I loved our first day here. The city is vibrant, the people so incredibly polite and friendly, and the shops did not disappoint. Tonight we had booked to eat at the rooftop poolside restaurant, but it was a bit chilly up there, so we changed our plans – but not before I bought a warm pashmina from the shop in the hotel just in case!
Grand sights, unexpected company
Today we were taken past all the Government buildings, India Gate and other official and historic sites before going to the Gandhi Museum and the place where he died – well to be specific, was assassinated. It was a very interesting tour, and I found the museum itself very moving, and it brought me to tears.
I haven’t done a group tour since the early ‘80s so it is a bit of an adjustment moving as part of a “pack” but in India, at our age, I think it is essential. So far, I am loving India. Today for the first time I saw a couple of cows – standing in the middle of a 6-lane road blocking traffic. I also saw lots of monkeys. So, things are starting to get interesting. We are still in the “newer” part of Delhi and haven’t yet experienced the city chaos, but I think things are about to change. Can’t wait!
Old Delhi: Into the beautiful chaos
Today we saw the other side of Delhi which was vastly different to the area where our hotel is located. Old Delhi is chaotic, crowded, dirty, full of street hawkers, some beggars, many homeless and the rich melting pot of all aspects of Indian life. Today we learnt all about Mughals and Muslims and the history of Delhi. We visited Humayun’s Tomb and the Qutub Minar. Both were fascinating and I found learning about Indian history very interesting, and we are lucky to have a local guide who is very knowledgeable. There were lots of school groups on excursion at the Tomb and they loved saying hello and giving us High Fives.
The air quality is a lot better than I expected so the only time that I have worn a face mask was when I went to a public toilet, to act as a barrier from the overwhelming smell. For some reason my husband and I were approached not once, but twice, to have our photo taken with the locals: now I know what it feels like to be a celebrity.
We went to a great Mediterranean restaurant for lunch that was filled with extremely well-dressed locals, mostly women – it looked like a scene from “The Real Housewives of New Delhi”! Next to the restaurant was a boutique selling the most incredibly beautiful wedding attire that I have ever seen. In my next life, I want to come back as an Indian bride. Either that or ditch the BBB for a Maharaja in this life.
By now, Delhi was beginning to feel a little less bewildering – though I’m not sure I was any less clueless. And there was plenty more India waiting to test that.
Next in Diary of a Clueless Gori: Varanasi and Agra
Read more: One nation, many faiths
