Sick Chaos: Our first two nights in Dehli
Trip Start
May 25, 2005
1
Trip End
Jun 20, 2005
Dehli, India
Friday, October 21, 2005
We hired a taxi and asked him to take us to Connaught Place (an area recommended by our guide book). We were informed 15 minutes into our ride that Connaught was "under construction" and that it was better to stay in nearby Karol Bagh. We knew most of the drivers took tourists to hotels where they would get a commission for delivering business, but with my ill health I really didn't care, I just wanted a place to sleep and clean-up ASAP. Once we found our way to a decent hotel, I sat on the bed and it hit me.....I felt horrible, I had a fever. Cristian was good to encourage lots of water. I laid down while he navigated the dark, unknown streets to find a proper thermometer. That night I hardly slept...trying to cool myself with a cold shower, a fan, water, Tylenol, etc.
The next day I was feeling better. Cristian and I decided to walk around and see what was out there. The heat was unbearable. Neither of us had seen such a filthy, disgusting, smelly place. People, cows, cars and rickshaws packing the streets. The sight and scent of urine and feces all over the streets...men urinating in open air stalls on the side of the road, and horns blowing non-stop.
We found our way to a decent restaurant that specialized in vegetarian Thalis - one of our favorite plates. The clean, good service was greatly appreciated, and gave us energy to decide what to do next.
We were eager to get out of Dehli. After much investigation, we elected to hire a private car and driver ($35/day) for a ten day trip that would take us from Dehli to Agra (to see the Taj Mahal), and then west through Rajasthan (Jaipur, Pushkar, Udaipur). That evening (our last night in Dehli) the travel agency offered us a free car and driver to explore the city. I really wanted to stay in the room and continue recuperating but decided to go out for a couple of hours to see the city. Our driver drove us through the evening chaos...the traffic would send a road rager over the edge as there seems to be no order to it all. What appears to be a one way road is sometimes two-way as cars suddenly come head on and you must honk and dodge. Since the cows are revered as holy, they are allowed to walk and defecate anywhere and everywhere...you must yield to them even if they are in your lane! We went to a "sound and light show" at one of the palaces. Briefly, the show was not impressive, and the mosquitoes were feasting on us so we left early. As I walked down the unlit stairs I slipped and twisted my ankle pretty bad. This was only day two in India and here I was out of commission again. I couldn't help but be angry and frustrated....it seemed that everything was so backwards in this city...too many people...too much heat, pollution....and there should have been lights on those damn stairs at night! Nevertheless, the next morning we awoke early to meet our driver, pack the car with luggage and lots of water, and begin our journey west into the desert.
