Namaste

So I mentioned earlier that our stay in “Little India” in Hong Kong was good preparation for India.  I’m guessing that anyone who’s ever been to India will tell you that nothing will ever prepare you! Lonely Planet describes it as “falling down the rabbit hole into Wonderland where everything is upside down”.  I think this is a good description.  This is a place where women cover their faces but their midrifts are visible; where tiny donkeys carry massive loads while fat bulls laze idly on street corners; where over 300 gods are idolised and there is a temple full of holy rats; and last but not least, over 30 languages are spoken, but not all can understand the official language and around 35% are illiterate.  It really is completely mad..

We had pre-booked our hotel, mainly because we were arriving at night and the last thing we wanted to do was try and find our way around Delhi in the dark.  Most hotels and hostels in Delhi offer airport pickup.  This is because there are no airport express trains or buses and taxi drivers are rip off merchants.  In fact, after we booked our hotel, they sent us an email to confirm that we would be picked up by a man waiting in the arrivals with a name card.  Also that we were not to trust anyone until we arrived in the hotel, as many touts copy other name cards at the airport and then you end up at a completely different hotel!  We found out later that the government has tried to curb this by enforcing a fee to enter the arrivals hall.  There are also warning signs everywhere at the airport, advising tourists to be sure of who they get into a car with – doesn’t make you feel all that secure!

Our guy found us, however, and took us outside to wait for the car – which turned out to be about the size of a Toyota Echo.  We looked at each other and tried to decide the best way we could jam 7 people and 9 bags into this tiny hatchback for the 1 hour drive to the hotel.  Our Indian adventure had begun!

The first thing we learned about Indian hotels was that they cannot keep up a consistent power supply.  Most have generators, because the local electricity goes off and on all the time.  The second thing is that women don’t work in hotels – all the staff from the porters to the restaurant workers, to the cleaners are all men. 

The third thing is that everyone wants a piece of you (ie your money!)  Carry a bag – they want a tip; open a door, serve breakfast, the driver, ask directions (or don’t ask – we had one guy who insisted on telling us all about how to get to a tomb and what was there but then demanded a fee!).  Then there are the beggars at every tourist attraction – we were told that some of them are professional.  They’ve been begging for generations and that’s all they know how to do.  Apparently they make good money and some live in very nice houses and even travel.  Hindus consider it bad karma to give money to a beggar who is not really in need. 

Then there’s the whole shoe thing.  Lots of places you have to take off your shoes and leave them outside.  Some places have a shoe keeper (typically you have to pay him a fee) and he will protect your shoes from being stolen – which apparently happens all the time.  One temple we went to had two shoe areas – one for Indians and another for foreigners.  A security guard kindly watched over the foreigners shoes for free – presumably Indian shoes aren’t worth stealing?

I guess the bottom line is – if you’re planning a trip to India, make sure you factor into your budget a whole stack more for the tipping.  We didn’t and it is a lot more than you think (particularly for Australians who aren’t used to tipping and by nature I don’t think we like doing it!)

Just to make our arrival into this crazy city even more exciting – the Aussie Government travel warning service sent us an email the day before we arrived.  Delhi was on high alert for an imminent terrorist attack and Australians should avoid all markets and market areas and crowded public places.  Ok – I’d like them to explain how exactly you do that?  Our hotel was in the middle of a market and I’m not sure where there is any place where it’s NOT crowded – this is the 2nd most crowded country on the planet – hello? 

The local news had red alerts and terror updates etc and the hotel warned us to stay away from the train station (a crowded place) and advised that maybe we’d be better off hiring a car and driver. 

They gave us a proposed itinerary of Rajasthan, quoted a price that was quite reasonable including all hotels and we were seduced.  No having to trawl through hot, dirty train stations lumbering heavy backpacks; no having to research new hotels every time – just drive in and you’re settled for the night..  Plus we had the added bonus of getting immediately out of Delhi where Al Kaeda were lurking behind every corner.

Naturally, eveything comes with a price and for us that price was losing a certain amount of freedom – particularly to rest.  It has taken our driver more than a few days to work out that we don’t want to stop and see every single temple, palace and fort in Rajasthan (I still think he is puzzled by this..) and also that we will not be buying any Kashmiri carpets; pashminas or a sari or 5 from any of the shops he would love us to stop at.  We’re together in the car for 23 days, so we’re trying to get to know each other..