When I first travelled to Asia last year, I was expecting crowded streets, a lot of noise, poor people sleeping in the street and generally that poverty will be rubbed into your face, while shopping, while going to the museum, or just at a restaurant. Entering Kuala Lumpur, I was surprised by the clean streets and the western style of the city.
Now Delhi has completely fulfilled last year’s expectations. It’s dirty, it’s poor, it’s loud and full of people. My friend Mudit told me: “In India, everything is possible and nothing is possible!” That is the basic principle of the country. As soon as you can afford a fancy car, you can also afford a driver. If you’re a bicycle rickshaw driver, you’ll most probably sleep on it in the night.
So here are some impressions from my stay in Delhi: It’s like the city is planned by Europeans, there are big roads with markings, traffic lights, you can even rent a bike and drive around on it through the city. So on paper, everything looks fine. What the planners forgot over all the planning are the people and their heritage. The markings on the street are worth nothing, when you’re stuck in traffic in a motor rickshaw and have to make your way to the city center. Crossing the street even while the traffic light is green, can kill you, if you don’t look out. And the renting a bike thing must have been imported by a blind man. YOU CANNOT CROSS THE STREET!
I went here to see a complete different reality. I wanted to be shocked, so to say. In that way I am happy. It is like I expected and thus I cry out several times a day: “We’re in India Lexi!”, while Lexi just rolls her eyes and remarks “Really? Thank you for telling me.” We love exploring everything around us. We love the food (no diarrhea yet!), and all the friendly people. We try to laugh at those who want to take pictures of us and we carry a little towel with us to wipe off our sweat (if I don’t accidentally drop it in front of a public toilet!). Lexi can make a sweet human heart with her arms above her head, which looks great on pictures, and it is a personal highlight on our friendship discovery adventure. She can still see every mood written in my face, I can’t seem to hide myself from her, which is a good thing. So things worked out as planned. We landed in the shithole of Delhi, managed to discover some beauty in the chaos and are excited to continue our trip.
Some other highlights: meeting Tabs again – he is still damn funny and smart! There are not only cows on the street, but even more dogs, and also pigs. Poverty is like you see it on the pictures, just that you can also see behind the frame, and you can smell it as well. It’s hard for me to tackle, I have a slight tendency to panic.
Hope to be able to write more about our adventure. Tomorrow we will take a train (!) to Amritsar. I say good bye with a big woop woop! Hope you’re looking forward to our adventures as much as we are.
P.S.: On the picture: Indians love to take pictures with white people, here Lexi and I with a sweet couple we met at the place we stay.
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen