Monday 23 January 2012

I'm in Delhi - culture shock doesn't really cover it

I'm in Delhi.  The flights were great. Lots of complimentary drinks and meals.  and tv and radio.  I got to watch most of Another Earth again and got to listen to the Bombay Bicycle Club.

It took me ages to find my bike at the airport.  It had come out of a different conveyor belt and I couldn't find it, but I did in the end, parked on a trolley in the middle of the airport.  Then I couldn't find my taxi ride, but eventually a friendly man called Guruvinder found me and got me a taxi to the hotel.

Since then it's been a culture shock.  The driving is chaotic and only the slowness of it seems to stop there being more accidents.  Sometimes when you're in 4 lanes of queuing traffic small children and women with babies come up to the car window and beg for food.  And there's rubble everywhere.  Although, everyone seems to be doing some building work.  Whole families are just at the side of the road, mixing mortar and moving rocks.  It all seems to have some purpose that I don't understand. 

I didn't get to the hotel till nearly 3 (I thought I'd be here by 12) and now I can't find Dean and Elsa, so I went online, because that I can understand.  I did go for a walk but a tuk tuk driver kept following me round and offering me lifts and telling me I wasn't in a safe area, and he wanted to take me to the government buildings where I could get a proper map.  I just went back to the hotel.  I need to get some local knowledge from Elsa and maybe go around with Dean.

One of my initial thoughts is, how am I going to last 2 weeks here?  It's like nowhere I've ever been.  I don't feel like riding a bike yet, and I'm thinking already I'd like to get out of the city, and onto more rural roads.  But hopefully things will improve when I see some friendly faces.

I am pretty tired.  I barely slept on the plane.  I need friends and some rest I think.

The room is pretty basic and I can't figure out how to flush the toilet, but I'm sure I'll learn.

I bought a camera, but I don't know how to work it yet.

Whose Idea was this again?

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