Our first full day in Delhi, and I can completely understand all the warnings I had received before we left. Words like "busy", "chaotic" and "intense" that were thrown at me over and over again cannot even begin to describe the Delhi experience.
The first thing that I noticed is that everywhere in Delhi things seem to be in a constant state of construction or, conversely, deconstruction, making the heavy equipment, piles of bricks and rubble completely commonplace. The other constant is the noise - seriously - the noise! The honking, the yelling, the dog barking, the throat clearning, the persistant touts of "hello madam -where are you going" all blend into the din that makes up the background noise of almost every moment spent inside or out. Even at 6:30 this morning, as Bart and I went for a quick morning walk the normal quiet of that time of day was non-existant, life in Delhi, it seems, never finds silence.
And of course, there's the rain. Traveling to India during the monsoon, we knew it was likely, but were quite prepared to deal with wet weather; we've got quick drying clothes, trusty umbrellas, and (as you all know) sunny dispositions. However, when we boarded our autorickshaw this morning bound for Lal Qila, the Red Fort, we had no idea what laid in store. The fort itself was beautiful, quiet (as much as you can get) and peaceful, with far fewer crowds that we hand anticipated, in part thanks to the the steady stream of rain the overcast sky was releasing. We walked through the endless gardens and pavillions, gazing at the gorgeous Mughal architecture.
After the fort we headed over to Jama Masjid, an enormous mosque, built to hold over 25000 devotees. Being the people that we are, we had opted to walk to the mosque, stretching our legs, getting our bearings and severely disappointing and confusing the onslaught of rickshaw drivers who would be only too happy to take us to the mosque (WITH a one hour pre-tour, only 40 rupees). Turning people down is exhausting. Especially when you're turning them down for a dollar. ONE DOLLAR. But sadly, we've found that it's better to just keep going, game face on, and make your way to your destination. So we made it to the mosque and took a short look around - beautiful, amazing, and full of sleeping Muslims, most likely resting as part of their Ramadan fast.
Wanting to believe in our own self sufficiency, we opted to find the subway (let me just say signage, NOT a strong point in Delhi) and see if we could make our own way home from the metro and railway station to our hotel - a mere three or four blocks. By the time we emerged from the metro we were happy to see the rain had let up, but after 4 or 5 hours of rain, all the water had to go somewhere. We left the station grounds and rounded the corner towards our hotel to find the entire street completely flooded. At home this would call for detours, for police directing traffic, for warnings on the radio. In Delhi, this means, roll up your pant legs (high), hope your shoes stay on, and walk through dodging the still speeding auto and bicycle rickshaws, cabs and horse-drawn carts. When in Rome, as they say.....and so we had our first true monsoon experience!
After all that excitement we needed three things desperately - a hot shower with lots of soap, a hearty meal, and a restoring nap. I am happy to report we've been successful at all three.
The evening plans are now under way and I'll definitely find time to roll out my mat before we turn in for the night, but it'll be an early one for us...it's a 5 a.m. wakeup call to head back to the train station to make our way to Agra tomorrow morning. We're hoping they've pulled the plug on the street by then.
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