First Impressions

After travelling for just short of twenty four hours I was really glad to arrive at Indira Gandhi International Airport at approximately midday. We got off the plane quiet quickly and the journey through passport control was very straightforward, I must admit after travelling to many third world countries I was expecting to be held up at this stage so I was pleased that my route to baggage reclaim was not impeded.

Baggage reclaim was another story all together. I didn't realise the amount of luggage that the people on the flight had taken with them. I wish now I had taken some pictures as I have never seen the like of this before! Huge great bales of possessions held together with string and plastic bags mainly. The baggage allowance on Saudia Airlines is a very generous 46KG but no one had kept to that except me! All the other passengers were carrying bags that they could barely move! However I was in no mood to take photos I just wanted to get off the plane and head for the shower. It took about an hour and a half for my bags to finally arrive and for me to get through the green lane to the outside world.

Tyrone, the Indian office manager, had sent his driver to pick me up and he was patiently waiting for me outside the terminal building - so far so good. The weather is fantastic a lovely summers day (UK style) not too hot but certainly warm enough. Jassie, the driver, took me for a 30 minute drive to the hotel I would be staying in for the initial part of my time in India. The roads can best be described as chaotic. The first thing you notice in that everyone is blasting their car horn I don't know why as no one is really losing their temper, no one pays attention and it doesn't seem to serve any purpose but they all do it anyway. I will do a separate post about the roads as they deserve it and this post is about my first impressions.I was taken to the The Palms Town and Country Club a hotel in Gurgaon and it is superb.



Service, location and facilities are all great a very pleasant surprise after travelling all this way.  The hotel was even far enough from the roads to mute the incessant car horns - a good thing when I needed serious sleep.

Now it would be easy to focus on the negative aspects of Delhi but if that's what you're interested in then move on, I will mention all aspects but I won't dwell on the negative side of things.  Delhi is dirty, smelly, polluted, noisy and overpopulated but there is an energy here that is very appealing, it feels positive and vibrant, somehow I feel like I've come home.  I suppose because of my experience with Saudi Arabia then Delhi feels very similar.  Many Indian people fulfilled the working roles in Saudi and therefore I think the day to day living is so very similar.

A lot of people here, especially the young people, are very intelligent, very well qualified and very motivated.  Most people work very long hours and KNOW they have to earn their own rewards.  They know they can't rely on the state so they look after themselves and their families.

There is a lot of poverty here and some people are living in awful conditions but there are other people who live a very western-type lifestyle.  They are becoming upwardly mobile and consumer driven.  There are western style shopping malls popping up all over and the TV is pushing consumer goods like there's no tomorrow.


 We travel around in various forms of transport:

This is my favorite over here its called an Auto short for Auto Rickshaw.  They are everywhere they buzz around powered by motorcycle engines but they are very cheap, typically £1 will take you 20 minutes travel time.  The drivers can be a bit of a nightmare trying to bump up the fare especially if you are a westerner however they do still try and rip off native customers as well.  Also make sure you have small notes as they don't tend to have any change, especially in the morning.

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If you want to travel any distance at all in Delhi I would suggest using the Metro system.  The roads are such a stressful experience and the Metro gets you there much more quickly.  The trains are clean and air-conditioned and they arrive every three or four minutes.  A word of caution however they get very crowded and the concept of personal space is not important here.  Hold onto your possessions I have already had my phone stolen on the Metro and it was in my front trouser pocket!  Some of the stations get very crowded and I think pickpockets will target people so just be aware.  The price of the Metro is the most appealing thing I take the Metro two or three times a day and it costs me less than £3 per week!

If you need to go somewhere off the beaten track or if you need to travel late you will need a cab.  You can get all sort of charging systems with these but I liked Meru cabs as they go by meter and they will wait for hours for you for very little cost

These are bicycle rickshaws.  I wouldn't recommend them as they are slow and aren't much cheaper than the Autos.  You do have to try them at least once just to say you've been on them.