New Delhi - A Tale of Two Cities

The train ride from Jaisalmer to New Delhi, that I expecting to take 17 hours, took 19 instead.  Flying was not an option because there is no airport in this town.  Believe me when I say, I was a tired momma when I got off that puppy.

There was a communication snafu, and I was not met at the station, and had to get a taxi to the hotel. Then, the hotel didn't have a record of my reservation.  I was tired and my patience - short, but thankfully it all got sorted out pretty quickly.

After that incredibly long ride, the shower I took when I arrived at the hotel, was heavenly.  The hotel was booked for one day, an afternoon really, just long enough to shower and change.  This arrangement reminded me of hookers and the hotel rooms many use by the hour, or so I hear.  Of course, there was no "hooking up" or entertaining "johns" in my world.

I promise, you'll be the first to know if there ever is a "hook up" with my name on it, or is this considered "to much information?"

OK.

OK.

Moving on - 

Allow me to step back for a minute -

When I arrived in New Delhi by air, I saw the glitzy part of town.  Coming into the city via the train, I saw the real, extraordinary poverty that was portrayed in the movie, Slumdog Millionaire."

The difference was striking.

Shangri-La Hotel, was next door to the one where I stayed.
I couldn't find a picture of that one,
but this is a good representation of how swanky they are.

A view of the lobby.

The posh part of town looks like any other big city in the world.  There is a heavy British influence, with driving on the left and the presence of roundabouts, but go across town, and it's a totally different story.

What is fascinating is that the locals know what kind of accommodations the Western folks are used to, and it appears they strive to cater to this clientele.  The hotels catering to us, have all of the amenities you would expect.

At the swanky hotels that I visited, when we drove up, we were greeted by armed guards who scanned the cars for bombs.  I asked about why they felt the need to do this, but never got a straight answer.

Changing gears, again -

Getting though the airport took way more effort than it should have.  First, there are armed guards (again!) at every entrance and you have to present your ticket and passport or airport ID, before you were allowed entrance.

Then, it took forever an a day to be waited on at the ticket counter.  There were only four people ahead of me and they were traveling together, but their papers were checked, rechecked, and checked again.

I moved over to another counter and that helped.

I was handed name tags to put on my carry ons, although my things were already tagged.  When I asked why they needed these, I was told they were a part of the security check.

The metal detector I had to go through was for women only.  We went behind closed doors and we were padded down.  The guys weren't subjected to this, not sure why.

Side note - There was a guy waiting for the same flight as me, who reminded me of Pat Boone. If you don't know who Pat Boone is, stop reading now.  This means I really am old, and there really is such a thing as a "generation gap."  Anyway, my guy was dressed in a white shirt, with white slacks, and white shoes, and for good measure, he had on sunglasses trimmed - yep - in white, too.  He was a very brown Pat Boone lookalike.

Now, some more random thoughts -

Babies heads, both boys' and girls', are shaved when they are about a year old, and again when they are three.  It has something to do with cleansing them from the birth canal.  I think this practice is derived from the Hindu religion.

Another thing -

I have never seen so many brown teeth, as I have since moving here, and in all of my travels, since this move.  Dental care around the parts of the world that I've seen, is incredibly poor.  One of my guides this time stood out because his smile was white, and by contrast to all the others, beautiful.

Speaking of beautiful, India has some of the most attractive people I've encountered, bad teeth notwithstanding.

Overall, it was a wonderful trip.

Thanks for taking it with me.