Delhi – our first stop in India

(Delhi, India, 1st of Sep 2016)

Coming to India was just as tumultuous and fascinating as we had imagined, and as Christel remembered that it was 28 years ago (1988) when was the last time she was visiting India . All the scents, colors, sounds come so close to you and it is so incredibly beautiful but dirty and messy at the same time. There are people, cows, rickshaws, garbage, cow dung, beautiful fabrics, turbans, colorful tunics and fruit stands in a terrible mess. And all the honking, all the time.

We stay at a hotel in Paharganj, a bazaar area just outside New Delhi railway station, a place where many backpackers stay. Our hotel has become a sanctuary where we can rest for a while from all the impressions before we go out into the buzz again.

It takes time to get used to India but we have plenty of that.

We have only eaten out once since we got to Delhi, all meals so far in a small, pretty dirty restaurant on a corner near our hotel. We stick to the vegetarian food and ordered two Thali, (a large tray with many small dishes, rice and bread.) It was really good but in our minds was the question of how long it will take before we actually get sick from the food. Not if – but when. In when looking back we can say that it was not this first day.