Contiki Eternal India: Delhi

Delhi was amazing. I had no idea what to expect, but it was a fantastic way to kick off what I know will truly be a life changing trip.

After arriving in the airport, I hopped off the plane and headed for customs. I had noone in front of me in line, but it still took about 10 minutes because there is a paper form that you are supposed to fill out that they didn't give us on the plane or have readily available at customs, so you had to fill it out at the agent's desk. The funny thing is it had all the same information on it that was on the e visa. After I got stamped (yes, a real passport stamp!) into India, it was time to get my bag and go to my hotel. Logistically, it couldn't have been easier. When you go to the Uber pick up point, instead of ordering a specific uber you get a pin code that you give to the next Uber in line. It was similar to the taxi line at JFK where an agent gives you a paper to tell the driver where you're going, but more streamlined and in an app. I honestly have no idea why Uber doesn't do this in the US, but it could not have been more efficient.

Traffic wasn't too bad despite a few people saying it was, maybe I have a different perspective as a New Yorker. The most interesting thing of the drive was the heavy honking of horns. We learned later on that it is not because people are mad at each other, but is an unwritten language the drivers use instead of signals where each variation of a honk (2 beeps, long beeps, etc.) means something. The traffic itself reminds me a bit of Vietnam in that it is very much like anything goes and the lanes don't mean anything. The entire 40 minute ride came to about $7 US - this exchange rate is fantastic for Americans.

Our hotel was in New Delhi (the part that the British built up) and, while it was far from a modern metropolitan area, it was perfect for what we needed. My roommate is also from the metro New York area and was actually on the same flight from NYC so he got in about 5 minutes after me. I dropped my bag off in the room and decided to venture outside to take cash out about a 5 minute walk from the hotel. It was pretty similar to other less developed areas I've been to - some holes in the sidewalk, cars parked all over (sometimes blocking the sidewalk), but as long as you do some maneuvering and are aware of your surroundings you will get there. I found the ATMs, got cash out (it had a 10,000 rupee limit which is essentially $110 USD) and headed back to the hotel. I briefly caught up with some people that were on my Cape to Delta safari last June that I booked the trip with and then decided to get something to eat. I didn't have much time, so I went to the restaurant in the hotel to get a gulab jamin and lassi. The lassi was very sweet, the gulab jamin was one of the more unique desserts I've had and I scarfed it down.

After eating, I went down to my hotel room to unpack a bit before we went to our kickstart meeting. It was so amazing to catch up with some of the people I traveled with just 8 months ago. We all were excited to see each other and it was like no time had passed between when we saw each other last. In total, I know 6 people on the trip including Yuj, the trip manager, and Jesse, our trip manager from the Africa trip.

We immediately knew that this group as a whole was going to be great - over 20 of the 27 people on this trip have either been on trips with Yuj in the past or were with someone that had. All 27 people had already been on a Contiki, so we all know exactly what we are getting into. It's a huge testament to Yuj that he was essentially able to fill a trip with his past travelers and friends. This India trip usually averages only 8 travelers, so this is a very large group by comparison. Yuj went over the full orientation, what's included, what's an extra cost, and we headed downstairs to head over to dinner.

We ordered rickshaws (on the Uber app) and headed to a bustling nightlife area. In our first "India moment", our rickshaw got a flat tire and it needed to be replaced which only took 5 minutes. It was pretty impressive in that the rickshaw was basically half lifted up so he could stick the wheel under the body so he could swap out the tires. Back in business, we headed for a hole in the wall kathi roll - essentially chicken tikka masala in paratha bread, I don't think I've ever had better Indian food in my life, and this was just my first meal in India!

Bellies full, we headed to a rooftop bar to chat with some of our fellow travelers and then went downstairs when the dj started to continue the party. My roommate and I lasted pretty late, which was a good sign for beating the jet lag. At around midnight, we called another rickshaw and went back to the hotel.

The next morning we slept in by Contiki standards as we didn't meet for breakfast until 8:30 AM. We then left for our whirlwind tour of Delhi, which only scratched the surface of all there is to do in this amazing city. Our first stop was India Gate, a 42' tall arch, which was built to honor the Indians that died in World War I. This gate was in New Delhi, so it was part of a large complex that felt very Western.

It was then time to head to Delhi, or "Old Delhi", which was the part of Delhi that was inhabited before the British imperialism took hold in India. Delhi is one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in the world, having been a metropolitan area since 800 BC. It was destroyed / invaded 7 times and was always rebuilt.

This was the hustle and bustle I was excited for. After arriving in the outskirts, Contiki arranged for rickshaw rides to the spice market. We went through crowded alleyways for about 15 minutes, weaving past people, other rickshaws, motorbikes, and more. Some of the food we passed smelled amazing and the most wild part of the ride was seeing the intertangled power lines suspended above each alleyway with what appeared to be no rhyme or reason. It was the highlight of our trip so far.

After getting off the rickshaws, our trip manager recommended we put our masks on because we were about to be pummeled with thousands of smells as we walked through the spice market. He was 100% right - it was a true assault on the senses, but in a good way. I've never seen or smells so many types of spices in one place in my entire life. We walked through the crowds in a single file line because it was packed before making it to our first stop, a spice shop that specialized in packaging spices for international travel. They had so many options including special ones for Indian dishes, teas, saffron and other things you can't get in the USA.

After that, it was time to get chai tea. Our guide took us through a whole maze of a market, up a super steep flight of stairs to the second story of an area with a courtyard to a small cart that made chai tea from scratch. It was piping hot, but delicious once you were able to get over the temperature.

We then walked for about 20 minutes to a famous restaurant named "Pt. Kanhaiyalal & Durga Prasad Paranthe Wale" which is known for its paratha . It was great and spicy, but not too spicy.

We then started to walk back to the bus and this is where I had a first, my phone was stolen. I was either pickpocketed or it fell out of my pocket at the restaurant and was gone by the time our local guide was able to check. He literally took a rickshaw back to the restaurant for me, so I'm very grateful for the attempt.

When something like this happens, you can either sulk or move on. It really sucked, but I chose the latter. It's only a phone, I have insurance, the more important thing is I'm in India having the experience of my life.

We hopped on the bus after a good 40 minute walk and headed to a our next stop. En route, I borrowed someone's phone to try to wipe my one that was stolen which, ironically, is not possible without 2 Factor Authentication. I figured my phone was secure enough, so I again just put it out of my mind, hopped off the bus and we arrived at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, a

Sikh religious site. In order to go in everyone, including men, needed to cover our heads, so we bought bandanas and that was all we needed. We then got to the main entrance and went downstairs to a room to take our shoes and socks off, which was a bit difficult for me with my orthotics. I was able to keep my orthotics on, but had to take my socks off and wear my orthotics without them. I made do, but it was difficult. The shrine sent someone with me because I had mentioned that, in Turkey, I had a few issues in places that you needed to take your shoes off with my crutches still touching the ground. We went inside the shrine which was the religious site, then saw the pool which is said to contain sacred water, before getting an offering of food and heading to the kitchens. They serve between 15,000 and 20,000 meals a day at no cost because they believe in community, equality and selfless service. It was a massive operation.

After this, we boarded the bus and went back to the hotel. We dropped out stuff off and met a smaller group of us to go to a market where we bought katras and saris for our visit to the Taj Mahal. I got a beautiful gold and blue one (I know, they are Michigan colors) which I was able to negotiate about 15% discount. I decided to pay a bit more to get a very nice quality one, so mine came to about $30 instead of $20. My roommate and I then went to get me a new phone and data plan. I got the cheapest android phone and a data plan for less than $100 - not too bad to be back up and running within a few hours. The camera isn't great, so I'll probably need to buy a digital camera at some point along the way, but I'm going to wait to get home to buy a new phone.

Successful, we went to take cash out of the ATM because we needed about $400 to get us through the next few days and pay for our free time add ons. Given this, we had to make multiple transactions to overcome the limit for the amount we can take out at any given time.

We then hopped in an uber back to the hotel, dropped our stuff off and went back to the area we had dinner the previous night for dinner and drinks at a karaoke bar.

Halfway through our evening, my neighbor back home, facilitated by my Dad helped coordinate two factor authentication by logging into my computer in my apartment. After a bit of trial and error, I was able to get into my Google account which is tied to the key items I need to successfully get from point A to point B through the trip! It was amazing that I was able to get help halfway around the world and I'm beyond thankful that my neighbor and Dad were able to help me out.

After returning to the party for an hour or so, it was time to head back to the hotel. Thus concluded our Dehli itinerary as we woke up the next morning for our drive to Agra and the Taj Mahal!