Delhi Arrival

After spending a whole day enjoying Amman’s lovely airport, I arrived in Delhi at 5am local time. James was good enough to meet me, and his larger than life presence in the arrival hall was a reassuring sign. He had stayed up all night working in preparation for my arrival (dressing the elephants, and so forth). So logically, we spent the early morning wandering around the Safdejang enclave where he lives. It’s a little outside the main urban center of Delhi, but still within the metropolitan area.

The city is as mad as it has been described, with autorickshaws, motorbikes, Ambassador cabs, cows and pedestrians all jostling for space on the road. James reminded me of the effective rules for right of way, with cows at the top and pedestrians firmly on the bottom rung. One has to remember to look left, as traffic nominally flows the opposite direction. But in reality one must be aware at all times, as there is the constant danger of being run down, or at the very least stepping in shit.

After a brief nap, we ventured out to do the touristy things that James had yet to do. We went to India Gate, a memorial to the 70,000 WWI dead, and a seeming replica of the Arc de Triomph. We walked along the national mall to the Presidential palace, where we were denied entry by the very friendly security guards. Then we took the ultramodern subway to the Red Fort, which was built by Shah Jahan, the same Mughal emperor who built the Taj Mahal. Looking at these monuments, it’s easy to see how he bankrupted the empire with his extravagance.

Looking at a map, and discussing options with James’ tour guide roommate, we’ve tentatively decided to go to Agra to see the Taj this weekend, and then take next week to go up to the mountains to Dharamsala. Not a bad end to an extraordinary trip.