Where We Be
| This young boy already has paint on his face and clothes in anticipation of the Holi festival |
| We spent our first three nights at Cottage Ganga Inn. We had to make it past half a dozen cows in this narrow lane when we first arrived at midnight! |
| The main street through the Paharganj area is called "Main Bazaar." We saw far more locals than tourists. |
| Fast food Delhi style. Everywhere you go, street vendors sell tempting treats. |
| Turbaned men chat in front of a shop |
| Looking down on the controlled chaos of the Main Bazaar from a rooftop restaurant |
| The narrow street just outside Cottage Ganga Inn was full of shops and street vendors and crazy traffic |
| Cows pretty much go where they please in India |
| In this one picture you can see the variability of traffic on Delhi streets: ox-drawn cart, car, motorcycle, pedestrian, and rickshaw |
| Robin awaits a fresh-squeezed glass of tangerine juice |
| Rickshaws are everywhere, offering ultra-cheap transport. The men peddling the carts don't always seem brawny enough to get the job done but they do. |
| We sat on a stoop on our second day and just watched the world go by. What a great place for people watching! |
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| Delhi, India |
We went for a walk through Delhi on our first
morning in India and it was quite the sensory
experience. Streets were narrow and roughly
paved. We navigated a zigzag course through
the streets past speeding motorcyclists, slow
pedestrians, slower cows, rickshaws, piles of
rubble, men pulling carts by hand, three-
wheeled auto-rickshaws, and even a few cars.
It was the variability of speeds that made for a
one-of-a-kind experience in mayhem. When one
car had to get turned around, horns blared and
everything came to a sudden loud stop until the
harassed driver managed to negotiate a tricky
five-point turn. Controlled chaos is what it was!
But the people we met were invariably friendly.
To be honest we had expected to be pestered
quite a lot, but other than some curious glances
most Indians gave us our space. They were
friendly when we addressed them but other-
wise left us alone. This was a pleasant surprise.
The other surprise was how few tourists there
were in general in the Paharganj area of Delhi.
Despite being in a backpacker enclave known
for its Main Bazaar thoroughfare, we walked the
whole morning and only saw a handful of
tourists. Otherwise it was all crowds of Indians
going about their business.
morning in India and it was quite the sensory
experience. Streets were narrow and roughly
paved. We navigated a zigzag course through
the streets past speeding motorcyclists, slow
pedestrians, slower cows, rickshaws, piles of
rubble, men pulling carts by hand, three-
wheeled auto-rickshaws, and even a few cars.
It was the variability of speeds that made for a
one-of-a-kind experience in mayhem. When one
car had to get turned around, horns blared and
everything came to a sudden loud stop until the
harassed driver managed to negotiate a tricky
five-point turn. Controlled chaos is what it was!
But the people we met were invariably friendly.
To be honest we had expected to be pestered
quite a lot, but other than some curious glances
most Indians gave us our space. They were
friendly when we addressed them but other-
wise left us alone. This was a pleasant surprise.
The other surprise was how few tourists there
were in general in the Paharganj area of Delhi.
Despite being in a backpacker enclave known
for its Main Bazaar thoroughfare, we walked the
whole morning and only saw a handful of
tourists. Otherwise it was all crowds of Indians
going about their business.
