Delhi 4-5^th July 2016

On arriving at the airport I felt a lot of anxiety, presumably given to me by horror stories which travellers who have been to India have shared with me. Part of me assumed, almost knew, that these stories were, no doubt, exaggerated beyond belief and weren’t going to be reflective of such a spiritual, peaceful country that’s about as big and diverse as they come.

Inside the airport was, therefore, seemingly and surprisingly calm. At that moment I questioned my preconceptions on this place.

Then I walked outside.

The stories weren’t exaggerated. I was an hour early for my driver and I’ve never been so hassled at an airport before with drivers in all my life. Forceful, in your face sales tactics which do nothing to quell your nervousness arriving at Delhi. At this point I try to go back into the arrival section. The armed guard stops me. “You’re kidding; I’ve got an hour to wait. Can you please let me in” – “nope”. Great. I’m stuck outside with this flurry of people for an hour. Thankfully, I’ve found out if I say that I am waiting for my family driver then they don’t all keep pushing. Just the few resilient ones. Sigh…..

Eventually my friendly driver from the hostel arrives and we’re on our way. It’s a 20 minute or so ride and the cost was around £11. The cheapest “rip-off” I’ve ever had.

The next morning, I meet Vivian, a fellow traveller who wants someone to go exploring with her. That someone becomes me.

Together, we did the mosque, the red fort and a few other touristy destinations. The trains were the most packed I’ve ever seen in my life. Much more so than Egypt. India does have 1.2 billion people after all!!

The funniest part of the day involved two tuk-tuks. The first of which was after I said “Namaste” to someone in the street, he goes on to tell us we need “permission” to get into the park and need to go to the tourist office. Within a flash, we’re put on a tuk tuk and arrive in a tourist office. Only we’re not too sure this is the actual tourist office. After half an hour or so of some chap talking about train fares and the like we’re back in the tuk tuk to go to the park without the need for any permission. We’re still not quite sure what happened. Most people, Vivian included, are quite adamant that it was an attempt at a scam. A pretty poor scam it seemed though.

Part two of our tuk tuk stories began when we took one to go the red fort. We agreed 80 rupees. Essentially nothing. When we confirm where we’re going he says “market?” We say no. Red fort. He says OK. This guy peddles both of us around but it doesn’t feel like it’s in the right direction. Maybe it’s one-way traffic or something. That doesn’t usually stop the drivers though. So when we arrive in a distinctly market looking area we start to wonder what’s happening. When I ask him where he’s taken the two of us he simply says “market”. Looks like the market wasn’t a choice. We tell him not to stop and take us to red fort, which seemingly is in the opposite direction. Our driver rides across the wrong side of the road, now without hesitation, before crossing over to the other side of the dual carriageway we find ourselves on.

We finally get our photo.

Then, to top it off, in stereotypical India fashion, the guy tries to rip us off. We agreed 80 rupees. When we get to the metro I give him 150 and say thank you. He’s pedalled us everywhere and is a small bloke with no energy left inside of him. He deserved a little extra. BANG. The energy reappears in him as if it never disappeared. “150 each, sir”. Excuse me? “150 each”. Woah, woah, woah. We agreed 80 for both of us, even if that was per person that’s only 160. This time, I find it entrepreneurial of the bloke and give him another 50 rupees and say “shuckrea”. My (admittedly butchered) hindi throws him off and a smile creeps on his face. He still pushes for 300 and I say no be happy with what you have and we just walk away.

When we return back to the hostel I find out that I had actually pre-booked a luxury tour of India six months ago. Not only that, it’s a nine-day tour and I’m only even in India for 7 days. Well done, James. Haphazardly, I’m ringing and emailing the agency trying to desperately sort something out. They react fast and get me on a bus within 12 hours to get on the golden triangle. I won’t be able to do everything but at least I can do the Taj in Agra and the pink city in Jaipur.

The evening begins with a lovely local Indian which is the best I’ve ever had. It’s half street food, half restaurant. The spices are incredible, the naan bread is so different and the company of the three others is brilliant. We order some thali and the chap says it’s only for breakfast. He hesitates and then says to me “you want thali? I’ll make you thali if you want thali”. I said that would be great if it’s no trouble. His face gives away the fact he wasn’t expecting me to accept the offer. He says ok, takes two steps towards the kitchen and stops. We’re still hungry so I wave him over and we ask about this thali. He looks down at his feet and admits it’s not possible. We say that’s fine and order another curry to save his embarrassment.

The evening finishes with a game of “mafia” on the rooftop of the hostel. Accompanied with a group of 20 somethings, who were here for their friend’s wedding, where everyone (aside from me) is smoking weed and laughing and joking along. It was a great night. I don’t know how long everyone stayed up or how much they drunk but having got a glimpse of some of them in the morning I’m glad I didn’t join in, let alone try to keep up. A few blurry eyes for sure!

When I arrive at the bus station the following morning, via my trusty Uber driver, it’s a complete dirt track. Barely a bus station. The only vehicles are with knocked out windows. Seats that are barely a metal frame and passengers who don’t look very savoury. I start to wonder what “luxury” actually means out here.

Then, as if on cue, the bus flies around the corner. It’s pretty standard by UK expectations but with the comparison between other buses such as it is, it’s a definite luxury. I happily jump on and make my way to Agra for my next Wonder of the World.