Arrival in Delhi
on Roundabouts in Delhi (India), 13/Dec/2010 03:00, 34 days ago
(AM)I arrived in Delhi in the early hours of this morning when most of the city was asleep, although I didn’t realise that at the time, so waking up this morning was a bit of a shock. I awoke to the gradually growing surround sound of car horns, motorcycles, cycle rickshaw bells, children shouting to each other in Hindi, air raid shelter sirens (this is what they sound like although I’ve yet to findout what they are for, hopefully not an air raid), dogs barking and birds chirruping with equal enthusiasm. This was at about 7am and it was as if someone had switched on a ‘sounds of Delhi’ soundtrack or taken their finger off the mute button as the noise seemed to go from 0 to 100 instantaneously with a new sound adding itself to the mix every few minutes. Several hours earlier, travelling in the vso car from the airport to my temporary accommodation, it had all felt a bit surreal and as though I could have been anywhere, at least anywhere that is where seeing a troupe of camels being rode by fully robed Bedouins and an elephant with a painted forehead being led down a duel carriageway is not an unusual sight.Lodi Garden Tombs(PM)I’ve been in Delhi for less than 24hrs and I’m feeling a little shell shocked. This place is intense, frenetic and ruthless. I started off the day feeling quite fresh and keen to explore and after getting lost a few times I found Lodi Gardens which are beautiful and a peaceful place to start theday. I sat on a bench and watched a family having a picnic and just listened to them chatting in Hindi to each other for a while then wandered around some of the tombs in the middle of the park. I think by the end of the day though, after experiencing our first rickshaw ride and the chaos of the Delhi traffic and honking horns then crossing the road on foot and physically having to put our hands out to stop the cars in order to get across, the noise and constant activity combined with jet lag slowly wore me down. It was a relief to get back to the Indian Social Institute where we staying and shut out the noise and bustle for a while. I look forward to what tomorrow brings but I think this city could take a bit of getting used to!