India!

We have arrived in Delhi! It is hot.

We’ve finally discovered the ideal amount of booze that Jay needs in order to comfortably get on a flight. This pic of plane terror was staged and he was actually fine, hurrah! Sadly we didn’t do our online check in early enough so we were stuck at the very back in the non-reclining seats. Not the best option for a 9 hour overnight flight.

Very impressed with the vegan meal options on BA, we had a really nice thai green curry for dinner and proper fry up for breakfast. The only downside was that ours were brought out first so I was woken up at 7:40 Delhi time (3:10 UK time) by a tray being put in front of me and was a bit startled.

We took the metro from the airport which was a joy, totally comfortable and great views over the city. Paid for with these brilliant little tokens that you scan on the entry gate then deposit in the exit gate.

We somehow then managed to make it to the hotel on foot, navigating genuinely terrifying roads. We were actually walked across the first 6-lane road by a taxi driver who took pity on us even as we were turning down his business proposition. We then got lost in New Delhi railway station, and had to fend off several people who were clearly sizing us up as clueless tourists! But we approached someone at a security desk who pointed us in the right direction. For the second time since leaving the airport we put all our bags through a scanner and then tediously loaded our cumbersome rucksacks back on. But about half an hour after leaving the metro we finally made it to the blissful air conditioned lobby of our hotel.

For some reason we then decided to eat lunch on the terrace so we could be subjected to 38 degree heat, smog and the constant sound of beeping horns from the bazaar below.

But the food was amazing! We used a handy vegan card to make sure the waiter understood what we were asking about the ingredients in the vegetarian options. There are 83 languages available; we’ve printed the ones we’re most likely to encounter during our travels. We then got a bit overexcited and tried to order three dishes but he gently suggested that might be too much food for the two of us! (and he was right of course)

Following lunch and another cool-down in our air conditioned room, we decided to go on a walk to a local park. We had a free map from tourist information and it was only 1.5km away on flat ground. We do a lot of walking so this would be easy right??

Quite apart from the terrifying traffic which is only loosely separated into lanes travelling in different directions, we were totally unprepared for the impact of the heat on how far and how fast we could walk. It took us far longer than we anticipated to reach the park and by the time we did we were both starting to fizzle, even in the shade.

We’d turned down loads of offers of rickshaw rides on the way there, but then when we tried to get one back we couldn’t find a free one anywhere! So we made it back again on foot, dodging traffic and advances from all sorts of entrepreneurs (both legal and otherwise). Cue jumping in a cold shower then lying under the air con where we’ve been ever since! We will be going down to see the hotel’s tour adviser in a bit and will definitely make use of local transport tomorrow.