Delhi shock
(This is being written in retrospect, 11 days later)
In Delhi the sun sets inbto a cloud of dust and pollution, several feet above the horizon line. That was one observation I had, sitting on a rooftop having masala chai, my first calm moment since I'd arrived in India.MY first two days, in Delhi, were all about shock, getting adjusted, shedding the expectations, realizing just what comforts I was not going to get.
I had arrived more or less on time into DEL, at 1:15 am, and after talking to a few women at the tourist counter, decided to stay at the airport until dawn before heading out to my hotel. Talked a little with a French woman who was also travelling alone, and we ended up sharing cab. Good thing too, because by 5 am i was starting to lose it, dozing off now and again. We made our way, both of us, feeling kinda vulnerable as we exited the airport and were immediately called at by several taxi services.
The taxi guy gave us the usual and expected drill: I have a better hotel I'll take you to, your hotel is booked, etc. No biggie though, when we simply insisted on the hotel I had booked at.
Shock sunk in big time as the dawn broke through, and the morning fog began to clear: I stepped outside and followed the taxi driver, whom I didn't trust already. Dirt roads, people everywhere, piss and dung, cows, dogs, litter. Totally expected, but still a shock at first. Went to the Shree Ram, where I had made my CONFIRMED online booking (I even had printed out the confirmation email I got). But I learned soon enough that bookings mean very little in India -- they said they had no rooms available, and then led me down another alley to a different hotel (only after i calmed down did I realize they were all owned by the same people). But suffice to say I was not happy when they told me that the rooms that I booked were not available and that I'd have to stay in a more expensive room. Damn, the constant fishing for more and more money is not a good way to start a relationship. After some argument, during which he kept insisting he was merely trying to help me, and that I shouldn't worry so much, they finally agreed to give me the room at the price I'd booked it at. Little power struggle more than anything else, I see now. It's not like the price was that much more in dollars, but once there, and on a budget, you do tend to start thinking in ternms of comparisons. By comparison, Delhi is much more expensive than other parts of India. They rip you off.
I got into my room and was further shocked. Oh yeah, I forgot about the toilets. Damn, and after a long flight and 15 hour layover, all you really want is a nice hot shower in a clean bathroom, and to fall into a bed with clean sheets. Heh. Yeah right, not at a budget hotel in Delhi.
So the first day I was there was totally trippy and brought up all sorts of control issues, which, I discovered, you have to QUICKLY get over to get by. I wanted so badly to talk to someone I trusted. Slept a few hours, talking myself through it. Don't get paralyzed, I thought, as I started wondering what the hell I was doing there. Just relax, rest, drink some bottled water. You're totally strung out. As soon as I got up, it was off to the internet.
The Chand Palace (they like to use descriptions like "palace" to be funny, I thought) supposedly had internet access. Kick in the pants again. You have to walk a block down, in another alley to their sister hotel, to use the internet. Clever, that way any one of those hotels could advertise internet access. Took me a minute to remember how things go in the 3rd world (it had been, what, 3 years since my trip to Vietnam), everything oriented towards the outside, and you do spend a lot more time outside than inside.
Anyway, by the next day, I'd felt less freaked out. Still, I was looking for some way of processing it all, getting grounded and familiar enough to get going. I was facing mad demons of my own. I really wanted real badly to get to know the place right away, I felt so alone and vulnerable and alien. Wanted, for some reason, to find other foreign tourists so I could ask questions, feel more at ease. (The hotel I was in was a bit off of the main bazaar, and had mostly Indian guests).
My body was still achy, and I was feeling really hot and dehydrated from the polluted air. Besides that, it was actually pretty warm in Delhi, and I had packed only winter clothes. I needed clothes. I walked in a random direction. That's when I met Madam.
In Delhi the sun sets inbto a cloud of dust and pollution, several feet above the horizon line. That was one observation I had, sitting on a rooftop having masala chai, my first calm moment since I'd arrived in India.MY first two days, in Delhi, were all about shock, getting adjusted, shedding the expectations, realizing just what comforts I was not going to get.
I had arrived more or less on time into DEL, at 1:15 am, and after talking to a few women at the tourist counter, decided to stay at the airport until dawn before heading out to my hotel. Talked a little with a French woman who was also travelling alone, and we ended up sharing cab. Good thing too, because by 5 am i was starting to lose it, dozing off now and again. We made our way, both of us, feeling kinda vulnerable as we exited the airport and were immediately called at by several taxi services.
The taxi guy gave us the usual and expected drill: I have a better hotel I'll take you to, your hotel is booked, etc. No biggie though, when we simply insisted on the hotel I had booked at.
Shock sunk in big time as the dawn broke through, and the morning fog began to clear: I stepped outside and followed the taxi driver, whom I didn't trust already. Dirt roads, people everywhere, piss and dung, cows, dogs, litter. Totally expected, but still a shock at first. Went to the Shree Ram, where I had made my CONFIRMED online booking (I even had printed out the confirmation email I got). But I learned soon enough that bookings mean very little in India -- they said they had no rooms available, and then led me down another alley to a different hotel (only after i calmed down did I realize they were all owned by the same people). But suffice to say I was not happy when they told me that the rooms that I booked were not available and that I'd have to stay in a more expensive room. Damn, the constant fishing for more and more money is not a good way to start a relationship. After some argument, during which he kept insisting he was merely trying to help me, and that I shouldn't worry so much, they finally agreed to give me the room at the price I'd booked it at. Little power struggle more than anything else, I see now. It's not like the price was that much more in dollars, but once there, and on a budget, you do tend to start thinking in ternms of comparisons. By comparison, Delhi is much more expensive than other parts of India. They rip you off.
I got into my room and was further shocked. Oh yeah, I forgot about the toilets. Damn, and after a long flight and 15 hour layover, all you really want is a nice hot shower in a clean bathroom, and to fall into a bed with clean sheets. Heh. Yeah right, not at a budget hotel in Delhi.
So the first day I was there was totally trippy and brought up all sorts of control issues, which, I discovered, you have to QUICKLY get over to get by. I wanted so badly to talk to someone I trusted. Slept a few hours, talking myself through it. Don't get paralyzed, I thought, as I started wondering what the hell I was doing there. Just relax, rest, drink some bottled water. You're totally strung out. As soon as I got up, it was off to the internet.
The Chand Palace (they like to use descriptions like "palace" to be funny, I thought) supposedly had internet access. Kick in the pants again. You have to walk a block down, in another alley to their sister hotel, to use the internet. Clever, that way any one of those hotels could advertise internet access. Took me a minute to remember how things go in the 3rd world (it had been, what, 3 years since my trip to Vietnam), everything oriented towards the outside, and you do spend a lot more time outside than inside.
Anyway, by the next day, I'd felt less freaked out. Still, I was looking for some way of processing it all, getting grounded and familiar enough to get going. I was facing mad demons of my own. I really wanted real badly to get to know the place right away, I felt so alone and vulnerable and alien. Wanted, for some reason, to find other foreign tourists so I could ask questions, feel more at ease. (The hotel I was in was a bit off of the main bazaar, and had mostly Indian guests).
My body was still achy, and I was feeling really hot and dehydrated from the polluted air. Besides that, it was actually pretty warm in Delhi, and I had packed only winter clothes. I needed clothes. I walked in a random direction. That's when I met Madam.
posted by sylviashines at 1:25 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home