Thursday 30th October 2008 (Allan's 33rd birthday) (Wendy)
Arrived safe and sound but had a little disaster at the airport. Printed off all the paperwork needed except the address of our accommodation in Delhi. Finally arrived at Sai Villa which is a fantastic small guest house having spent an hour and half with a taxi driver who insisted he knew not only where Sai Villa was, but any place in the whole of India. I think it has something to do with having to ask every second person on the street. After having an afternoon nap we headed to a very stylish restaurant called Punjabi By Nature. Stunning food and a great atmosphere, but pricey for India - INR 2,800= 35 pounds!!! Worth it though and it's Allan's birthday. On the way home our tuk tuk driver missed the turn off to our street, but instead of continuing and taking the next right, he thought it would be best to scare his passengers (us) by doing a U-turn and driving straight back up a one way major highway into oncoming traffic. A little madness to end our first night (and possibly last night) in Delhi.
Friday 31st October 2008 (Wendy)
Late start to the day only to find the cricket had started early!! Headed to the stadium with the guest house owners Ashutosh and his wife along with 2 fellow Australians Maree and Bridgette who are staying at Sai Villa too.
Arrived at the stadium to be told NO BAGS, phones or cameras. The security on the gate told us to leave our bags (passports included) at a dodgy looking shack!! It was nothing official, but didn't have time to go back so we took a chance. Nonetheless it was all ok. The atmosphere at the ground was good, however the cricket itself was a little disappointing, but an experience nevertheless. Headed back and had dinner at Sagar Ratna (south Indian veg restaurant) - very tasty and dirt cheap. 930 rupees = 11 pound for 5 people. That's more like it.
Arrived safe and sound but had a little disaster at the airport. Printed off all the paperwork needed except the address of our accommodation in Delhi. Finally arrived at Sai Villa which is a fantastic small guest house having spent an hour and half with a taxi driver who insisted he knew not only where Sai Villa was, but any place in the whole of India. I think it has something to do with having to ask every second person on the street. After having an afternoon nap we headed to a very stylish restaurant called Punjabi By Nature. Stunning food and a great atmosphere, but pricey for India - INR 2,800= 35 pounds!!! Worth it though and it's Allan's birthday. On the way home our tuk tuk driver missed the turn off to our street, but instead of continuing and taking the next right, he thought it would be best to scare his passengers (us) by doing a U-turn and driving straight back up a one way major highway into oncoming traffic. A little madness to end our first night (and possibly last night) in Delhi.
Friday 31st October 2008 (Wendy)
Late start to the day only to find the cricket had started early!! Headed to the stadium with the guest house owners Ashutosh and his wife along with 2 fellow Australians Maree and Bridgette who are staying at Sai Villa too.
Arrived at the stadium to be told NO BAGS, phones or cameras. The security on the gate told us to leave our bags (passports included) at a dodgy looking shack!! It was nothing official, but didn't have time to go back so we took a chance. Nonetheless it was all ok. The atmosphere at the ground was good, however the cricket itself was a little disappointing, but an experience nevertheless. Headed back and had dinner at Sagar Ratna (south Indian veg restaurant) - very tasty and dirt cheap. 930 rupees = 11 pound for 5 people. That's more like it.
Saturday, 1st November 2008 (Al)
Only day 3 and Wendy has fallen ill. It seems as though she has the bug that I had before we left London. It was not the food as the rest of us who ate at the same restaurant and shared the same food all feel fine. A bit of rest in our guesthouse and she should be ok for tomorrow. I went out in the afternoon by myself to visit the Lotus temple (looks a lot like the opera house), India Gate and Khan markets before getting stuck in another Delhi traffic jam on the way back. Struck a funny conversion with the turban wearing tuk tuk driver who asked if I wanted to go to the Ghandi museum. I said I would like to go but will wait for my girlfriend to go tomorrow as she is sick. He moved away quickly and gave me a funny look saying 'You are sick?' . I promptly replied no, not me, my girlfriend is sick. He responded 'I am sick', which had me moving back from him as I didn't want what he had. He gave me another funny look and then asked if my girlfriend was Indian. The light bulb finally came on and I realised what was lost amongst our accents. He obviously thought I said my girlfriend was 'Sikh' ...like him. His bemused look at me when he asked if I was sikh made sense.....a white Aussie wearing a red cap rather than a turban would have confused him a little if I was in fact 'sikh'.
Upon arriving back Wend wanted to get out of the room so we headed to a local restaurant with rave reviews called 'Not Just Parathas'. Once again the food was fantastic, although this time it was only me who was eating as Wend's attempt to eat proved her undoing. Takeaway for Wend's portion and a quick trip back to the guesthouse so she could return to bed.
It seems the Aussies had a decent day 4 at the cricket so we may head back tomorrow for the last day. Cost of a ticket to the cricket at Lords - 75 pounds (A$180). Cost of a ticket to the cricket in Delhi - 3 pounds (A$8 -and its divided into sessions so that you can split the one ticket with your mates). To say the Indians are passionate about the game is an understatement. They are obsessed. They even have a 24 hr channel dedicated to the game. They don't mind giving us Aussies a little stick as well. As Ponting played and missed a couple of shots yesterday, Ashutosh leant over and said to me 'hey Allan....he can't even make contact with the ball', and then laughed his head off. Trash talk Indian style. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
Sunday, 2nd November 2008 (Al)
Slept in .....again. The KS bed at Sai Villa has to be the best bed I have ever slept on. I'm not mucking around with anything average when we hit Perth. Give me the deluxe model mattress. It may add a few more years to my life. As we were leaving Delhi to catch a train this afternoon, we decided to keep it simple and head to the National Museum. Not all that impressive to be honest. We headed back to the guesthouse and then out to Old Delhi railway station to catch our train to Jaisalmer. ..a 19 hr train journey.
Ok....so this whole time in New Delhi I'm thinking people were overstating the craziness of Delhi in general. Now I know Old Delhi is the crazy part of town. People, cows, goats, cars, bikes everywhere and no one would blink if someone was hit on the road. We came skiddingly (made that word up) close to taking out a couple of people who walked straight in front of the auto rickshaw and even with full horn blasting and our tuk tuk inches away, they didn't turn their head once. God must be on their side. The station can only be described as chaotic, disorganised and plain nuts! No one knows anything. Its a mass of confused and rushed people. The tracks are covered in rats and rubbish with people scrambling everywhere to get on board. Felt like we were in a movie.
Finally on board (class 2A) which had us in a bunk on the side, perpendicular to 2 other bunks and separated from the walkway by a curtain. Comfy enough. Surprisingly the train left on time
and after watching a movie on our netbook we set up bed and tried to doze off. The family in the adjacent bunks had hit the sack early at 6.30pm which seemed strange but I assumed they were either tired or they slept a lot. How wrong I was. What the early night meant was that, just as I was dozing off around midnight, they were getting off and anothyer family with voices backed by Yamaha amplifiers were taking their place. Not only did thay wake everyone with their arguments and indecision, but they had no problem in twice ripping my curtain across, taking a look at me lying with a blanket up to my face and then staring at the number of my bunk bed. Perhaps if there is a closed curtain and when you open it and discover a person sleeping, you would excuse yourself. Not Nanna Indira.....she didn't care who was behind the curtain or whether or not I was sleeping. She wanted to know what number bunk I was. This happened another 2 times during the night as different families got on and off. In a country of a billion people, the concept of privacy is completely foreign. It gave Wend and I a laugh in the morning. What didn't make me laugh was the sight of family after family sleeping between tracks and on cement at the stations as we passed through the night. It was something I expected to see but it is not something that is easy to accept. I'd seen poverty before but not at this level.
If you want to view our pics, log onto flickr.com and make sure you register with a yahoo account.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wendyandal/
Only day 3 and Wendy has fallen ill. It seems as though she has the bug that I had before we left London. It was not the food as the rest of us who ate at the same restaurant and shared the same food all feel fine. A bit of rest in our guesthouse and she should be ok for tomorrow. I went out in the afternoon by myself to visit the Lotus temple (looks a lot like the opera house), India Gate and Khan markets before getting stuck in another Delhi traffic jam on the way back. Struck a funny conversion with the turban wearing tuk tuk driver who asked if I wanted to go to the Ghandi museum. I said I would like to go but will wait for my girlfriend to go tomorrow as she is sick. He moved away quickly and gave me a funny look saying 'You are sick?' . I promptly replied no, not me, my girlfriend is sick. He responded 'I am sick', which had me moving back from him as I didn't want what he had. He gave me another funny look and then asked if my girlfriend was Indian. The light bulb finally came on and I realised what was lost amongst our accents. He obviously thought I said my girlfriend was 'Sikh' ...like him. His bemused look at me when he asked if I was sikh made sense.....a white Aussie wearing a red cap rather than a turban would have confused him a little if I was in fact 'sikh'.
Upon arriving back Wend wanted to get out of the room so we headed to a local restaurant with rave reviews called 'Not Just Parathas'. Once again the food was fantastic, although this time it was only me who was eating as Wend's attempt to eat proved her undoing. Takeaway for Wend's portion and a quick trip back to the guesthouse so she could return to bed.
It seems the Aussies had a decent day 4 at the cricket so we may head back tomorrow for the last day. Cost of a ticket to the cricket at Lords - 75 pounds (A$180). Cost of a ticket to the cricket in Delhi - 3 pounds (A$8 -and its divided into sessions so that you can split the one ticket with your mates). To say the Indians are passionate about the game is an understatement. They are obsessed. They even have a 24 hr channel dedicated to the game. They don't mind giving us Aussies a little stick as well. As Ponting played and missed a couple of shots yesterday, Ashutosh leant over and said to me 'hey Allan....he can't even make contact with the ball', and then laughed his head off. Trash talk Indian style. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
Sunday, 2nd November 2008 (Al)
Slept in .....again. The KS bed at Sai Villa has to be the best bed I have ever slept on. I'm not mucking around with anything average when we hit Perth. Give me the deluxe model mattress. It may add a few more years to my life. As we were leaving Delhi to catch a train this afternoon, we decided to keep it simple and head to the National Museum. Not all that impressive to be honest. We headed back to the guesthouse and then out to Old Delhi railway station to catch our train to Jaisalmer. ..a 19 hr train journey.
Ok....so this whole time in New Delhi I'm thinking people were overstating the craziness of Delhi in general. Now I know Old Delhi is the crazy part of town. People, cows, goats, cars, bikes everywhere and no one would blink if someone was hit on the road. We came skiddingly (made that word up) close to taking out a couple of people who walked straight in front of the auto rickshaw and even with full horn blasting and our tuk tuk inches away, they didn't turn their head once. God must be on their side. The station can only be described as chaotic, disorganised and plain nuts! No one knows anything. Its a mass of confused and rushed people. The tracks are covered in rats and rubbish with people scrambling everywhere to get on board. Felt like we were in a movie.
Finally on board (class 2A) which had us in a bunk on the side, perpendicular to 2 other bunks and separated from the walkway by a curtain. Comfy enough. Surprisingly the train left on time
and after watching a movie on our netbook we set up bed and tried to doze off. The family in the adjacent bunks had hit the sack early at 6.30pm which seemed strange but I assumed they were either tired or they slept a lot. How wrong I was. What the early night meant was that, just as I was dozing off around midnight, they were getting off and anothyer family with voices backed by Yamaha amplifiers were taking their place. Not only did thay wake everyone with their arguments and indecision, but they had no problem in twice ripping my curtain across, taking a look at me lying with a blanket up to my face and then staring at the number of my bunk bed. Perhaps if there is a closed curtain and when you open it and discover a person sleeping, you would excuse yourself. Not Nanna Indira.....she didn't care who was behind the curtain or whether or not I was sleeping. She wanted to know what number bunk I was. This happened another 2 times during the night as different families got on and off. In a country of a billion people, the concept of privacy is completely foreign. It gave Wend and I a laugh in the morning. What didn't make me laugh was the sight of family after family sleeping between tracks and on cement at the stations as we passed through the night. It was something I expected to see but it is not something that is easy to accept. I'd seen poverty before but not at this level.
If you want to view our pics, log onto flickr.com and make sure you register with a yahoo account.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wendyandal/
