Delhi = awesome.

I had prepared myself for the absolute worse when I arrived in India and so far it's been nothing but awesome (I'm using the word awesome a lot today.. you'll just have to deal). I had prebooked a hotel (Surya Plaza) with airport pickup so when I arrived at 10pm Delhi time after travelling since 9am Bali time it was a big relief to not have to think. I arrived at the hotel to be treated to the most expensive and yet absolute worst room I have ever stayed in whilst backpacking. Services included complementary heap of shit on the toilet seat, air con that was set to 'ice age' with no remote control so there is no escape from frostbite, and promised but non-existant 24hr hot water. None of these things (bar the shitty toilet seat) usually matter to me, I haven't had aircon or hot water the entire trip, but when I pay for them I want them to be good damnit! Lol.

The saving grace of Surya Plaza was 'Bill' who seemingly worked there and was very friendly and helpful, and even though he knew I was checking out and staying elsewhere, he walked me through the maze of the main bazaar to the hotel where my friend Tal is staying!

I met up with Tal and the group of backpackers she's picked up along her way through India and we grabbed a couple of rickshaws out to the Swaminarayan Akshardham, a 'temple' complex set on 100 acres dedicated to the child-yogi, Neelkanth Varni. It was a bit odd. We went into an 'exhibition' that used animatronics to take us through the life of Neelkanth, then a 45min film that was pretty much the exact same thing again, and then a 'boat ride' (like one of those Dreamworld log rides inside a building with knee deep water) through "10,000 years of Indian history" in which they boast about various things like inventing democracy, the game chess, etc etc.
We caught the Metro home afterwards, and posed for some photos with locals at the train station. I decided to be a bit interesting and go for the 'cross-eyed fish pose' rather than a boring smile, which won many cheers and laughter from the kids hehe.
I think the one advantage of being a woman in India is the women only train cars that are MUCH less crowded and smelly! We had to change trains at one point and hopped into a normal carriage which was absolutely crammed full. You hear all these stories about being groped in crowds, that didn't happen to me, but I actually inadvertently forced someone to 'grope' me! I had my backside resting on what I thought was the pole of the train.. until it shifted under me and I realised I'd been resting my bum on someone's hand that was holding onto the pole.... and he was moving it away! lol.

I'm staying pretty much in the Main Bazaar of Pahar Ganj and the streets here are really fascinating. Whilst walking around I've seen a room full of horses and a couple of rooms full of garbage (seems to be the local garbage dump). All of the buildings along the main bazaar have had parts of their front facade (awnings, balconies) ripped off to widen the street for the Olympics. The shops here are amazing. I could really buy a LOT here but I remained disciplined and only bought some silver earrings and a shawl. The jewellery shop was a lot of fun, one of the girls I was with was buying up big because it was her last night, and so we got to sit in the air-conditioning perusing the jewellery and having chai bought for us!


The local Indian people I've interacted with have all been very friendly and accommodating. When I arrived at a potential hotel last night they told me that if I needed anything, just to ask. So I made them show me all the available rooms and picked the one with the cleanest bathroom. Then I asked them to change the stained bedsheet, and to my surprise, they actually did! Brilliant! There is nothing like a fresh bedsheet to help you sleep at night (although I haven't been sleeping very much because I keep waking up in the middle of the night and in the early morning and just wanting to go and see something!).

Off to the Red Fort today!
x