Three Days in Delhi

I had a three day grace period after my flight from Leh to Delhi, so I decided it would be best to experience the city in full... I'm going to spare you from epic detail after that last novel I wrote you about my trek.

Every Ladakhi I befriended seemed unenthusiastic about my upcoming three days in Delhi, warning me of the congestion, unbearable heat and humidity, and corrupt tourism industry. But I also considered the fact that these were just rural peoples afraid of the dog-eat-dog world of big city life. So I made plans to take the brand new, state-of-the-art metro system from the airport into the heart of the city, transfer to a different metro line, and then take a "cycle rickshaw" to Majnu-ka-Tilla just on the outskirts of town, where the room rates are cheap and a good value. This "Tibetan Enclave" proved to be a wonderful escape after I spend the entire day in raw humanity. I must disappoint that I've avoided taking any pictures of the main city, for when I travel in a metro where my face is pressed up into the glass because of the commuting crowds, I don't want to have to worry about my camera getting stolen. It's not dangerous here - it's like any other city. But it's also a pickpocketer's paradise.

In the style of the last six and a half weeks, I desired to see the real Delhi. Not the Lonely Planet BS fellow tourists will force-feed you, but the places tourists don't like to go because they feel it's "too much." I've done half of my traveling on the metros, and the other half by walking. Sure, I look like I just went for a swim when I walk around 105 degree Delhi all day, but I get to crowd-cut with locals and experience the full feel of Old Delhi's markets, where you can buy 36 bangles for 50 cents. Still, I feel it's normal to both hate and love Delhi at the same time. When I'm trying to fall asleep and my thermometer reads 90 degrees in my non-AC room, yes I'm a little peeved. But when I'm sitting in the back of a cycle rickshaw, weaving through traffic, paying 30 cents for my private ride to the metro station, and noticing that my driver doesn't have any teeth, well, that's the real Delhi. And I'm having the time of my life experiencing it in full.