When you tell people that you are going to India they often ask Why? I think a lot of people are nervous of the crowds, the dirt, the smells, of something so different to what we are used to in North America and Europe that it scares them. But to me that is part of the attraction, the charm, the fascination.
However, I was a little nervous flying in Delhi for the first time myself. As I boarded the plane for the 14-hour flight I was saying in my head why, why can’t you just go and sit on a beach like other people? Why do you get these ideas of going on an adventure? But the answer is, I want to experience the culture and the people for myself.
Landing in Delhi airport was quite disappointing, it looked like any other international airport, nothing different at all, even leaving the airport to get the taxi to the hotel was less intense than I had anticipated. I had expected hoards of people, kind of like in the movie ‘Eat, Pray, Love’, but it was quite normal really, except that the lines on the highway and the traffic lights are more for decoration than rules to be obeyed.
Touring Old Delhi with our amazing guide was fascinating, an assault on the senses, absolute chaos, from every sort of mode of transport, going in every direction, to the chaotic maze of electrical wiring above your head, to the smells of spices, incense and food.
We were fortunate to visit the Salaam Baalak Trust, a non-profit organization which provides shelter to street kids. We were shown around by a young 16 year old man who had been kidnapped as a 6 year old and taken to Delhi to beg on the streets. Fortunately, he was able to get away from his captives, but then found him self alone, with no knowledge of where he came from and no way to get back. He was helped and sheltered by the Trust and now gives back by giving tours and educating people about it. It really gives you a different perspective on life.
http://www.salaambaalaktrust.com/
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