Delhi - Yikes!

First impressions

22.10.2010 33 °C

The fresh welcoming face of India is Delhi’s stunning new airport terminal, built for the Commonwealth Games. It will be terrific (if it’s ever finished). However, the impressive, (almost monolithic) skytrain, designed to whisk athletes and spectators to the city centre in minutes, has completely run out of steam, and is likely to become the world’s longest white elephant. When the Commonwealth Games fizzled amid charges of racketeering, fraud and nepotism, any enthusiasm for actually finishing the line left with the last competitor.
The rest of Delhi seems to be in a similar state to the overhead metro line and the city is awash in partly finished projects obviously intended to show Delhi in a good light for the games – nice try! Maybe next time.
Following on with our stately home theme we’ve hooked a great deal at a Maharajah’s home. We even have the Maharajah Suite. Here’s just a part of it.

But wait … Cairo was noisy, but Delhi is simply deafening. Our home is easy spitting distance from a main road so I MAY HAVE TO SHOUT!
First impressions of Delhi – chaotic, dirty, splendid, exotic and loud. On the roads we’ve seen monkeys, horses, pigs, cows, bullocks, dogs, chipmunks and, of course, rats. We’ve mastered the metro, (the parts that are finished), been to Connaught Place, Janpath bazaar and India Gate…

And we had tea in the Imperial Hotel – How much? Yikes!

And that was only our first day.