The End
Trip Start
Sep 03, 2004
1
43
44
Trip End
Dec 22, 2004
New Delhi, India
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
After our tour of Rajasthan, it was back to Delhi to book our tour to the Corbett Tiger Reserve. When we got there, we found out a few things about Corbett Tiger Reserve that we'd misunderstood and even having tried to book it, it turned out we'd have to do it all privately again because there were no other bookings. We himmed and haa-ed for ages, then decided to forget about it and live the experience of Delhi for 3 days - HELP!!!
Well, we were scared, but after being in India for 2 weeks, and already experienced the culture shock of Delhi, it was actually a really enjoyable stay. We found a really cheap hotel in the Karol Bagh area of Delhi, where we had stayed our first night. We found our feet around the area and swore we'd enjoy every last minute in what may turn out to be our favourite country, but where we could also eat our favourite food in abundance and authentic glory, mmm.
Shopping
We hit the shops of Connaught Place, bought quite a few more souvenirs, a few Christmas presents - proper cds for a fiver isn't bad at all! Delhi was so hectic, but we actually grew to love it, there was always something happening, and as long as you kept your wits about you and were careful as to who you could trust, all was well. Our most vivid memory of Delhi has to be the sounds. The autorickshaws brroming about, the lorries, all the different cars - they all beeped non-stop, just because. It was brilliant. Beep, beep, beeeep, beeeeeeeeeeeeeep! We laughed when we noticed "NO Beeping" signs which of course were totally ignored, then the holy cows wandering around the busy streets in the middle of it all, India is so enchanting.
At times, though we felt a bit guilty because of all the poverty and begging in Delhi, well it was all over India, but it seemed to be magnified in Delhi. You sort of become immune to it, though because it's an impossible task to give to everyone. It was the children who got to us, though. There was one night we came out of a restaurant and a family were begging. Andy gave them some money, and then the woman proceeded to show us her naked baby boy under a thin blanket. We were shocked, but rather than give more money, we found a shop that sold baby clothes and bought the wee boy some clothes and the parents some food from a stall. It was so sad, but that's the way most of the people in this world live. We'd also some beggars in Agra who'd had their legs broken and had to crawl with their knees turned backwards. Your heart really melts.
Sightseeing
With all the craziness, we thought we should maybe book an organised tour to see the sights of Delhi in one day rather than vicimise oursleves to the scamsters. The tour was a bit disorganised, but we got to see loads of Delhi's sights, like the Red Fort, built by Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal, Quwwat Al Islam, the oldest mosque in India which also has the highest minaret, many diffeent weird and wonderful temples and watch the world go by from the comfort of a bus. When we were on this tour, we'd just been saying how disappointed we were not to have seen a snake charmer - we thought there would have been loads in India. We'd seen camels, holy cows, the dancing bears (which we didn't agree with), parrots, killer bees, deer and monkeys etc etc etc but we were going to leave without seeing a snake charmer. Then, after leaving a temple, were so thrilled when we came spied a snake charmer on the street near our bus. It was brilliant. It wasn't actually as enthralling an experience as we'd first expected, but we were so happy to see one. the poor King Cobra, though looked a bit drugged up, but it didn't stop it going for the charmer - all on video as usual, folks!
The End
So, after seeing the sights, stuffed on the delicacies and having breathed (the stinky fumes and) essence of India, it was off to pack our bags before one last meal together to celebrate the amazing, wonderful trip around the world that we'd just undertook. We went to a gorgeous restaurant at Connaught Place where we tasted the best food yet and had a few cocktails. maybe we should explain that we hadn't drank a lot during our trip, and so we were pretty drunk! We had a right giggle and the best fun in the back of an autorickshaw, sticking our heads out the side of it and shouting beeping sounds at the streets of Delhi and reflecting on our fantastic experiences.
A&J x
