Talk about culture shock...

My hotel is next door to Britain's Favourite department store... Debenham's.... oh and Marks and Sparks is just down the road !! :)

Right, it's been 6 days... No sign of a Delhi Belly yet, but I'm being careful, I still don't know what I'm eating half of the time, but at least it's from normal looking places, not from the street...!

It's funny, the India I have seen so far is pretty much what I was expecting (bar the poo on the pavement.. there isn't any... mind you, no one ever walks anywhere anyway, so who cares if you 'release' yourself where you want... I wouldn't know, I'm stuck in car all day !!)

I'm stuck in a town outside Delhi called Gurgaon... the kind of slum town which is going through a building boom with high rises and shopping malls everywhere.. but no public lighting and atrocious traffic... Mind you, that's pretty much the case everywhere I have seen (the traffic i mean)...

On the traffic... It makes Vietnam look quite tame... well, you just replace the motorbikes by cars and you have the idea... roads are chock full of cars, motorbikes, cyclos who just go the way they want to go, not the way the road 'planner' tried to suggest... the marking on the roads are totally ignored as you are over taken/cut/crashed into from all corners and all direction... u want to go the other way, just turn around without warning anyone (other than by honking like a mad man, but hey, everyone is doing it, so it doesn't make much difference)... and they are NOT pedestrian friendly... It's even funny... The traffic is so nasty that you are better off hiring a auto-rickshaw (they call them autos here now) just to cross the road, it'll cost you peanuts, but you still have your life !

Other than that, it's pretty much how I was expecting it (but it's good i had been to asia before)... there are people everywhere, all the time... on the road, in cars, on top of buses, hanging off the windows of buses (you know, for when the roof is full !)... It's dusty, very dusty, some of it is quite dirty too.. but again, if you have seen anything on India, it's nothing unexpected...

I love the colours, the saris and the men's weird shirts ... It doesn't actually smell (well it depends where you go, i haven't been to Old Delhi yet, which is notorious for it !)... Even the smog is quite pretty, well, in the way it makes everything in a haze and gives an eerie feeling....

I haven't actually got up to much on the tourist side since Saturday... I have basically been busy trying to find a place to live.. and my.. it gets interesting... I have a budget of $500, and because I want to be near the centre of delhi so that I can get to work without too much trouble and be able to go out... I basically can't afford much... it's SO expensive... total shock to me.. and all the flats are basically above the landlord.. so forget the parties !

On top of that, there is no public transport system to speak of (well, there is, its the one i mentioned before, where people hang off the windows when it's full.....) so you have to drive everywhere, or hire a driver to drive you... Which is what i'm going to have to do.. Moi, Olivier... will have a driver, actually, am going to call him a chauffeur, i'm french so i'm allowed (and I need to buy/lease a car too)... I think I could get used to that... The reason also why you need a car is taht the place is sooo big that you have to use the car to go anywhere... it's a bit like london but with no central london, everything spread out over Greater London... so bit more of a pain...

Coming back to the cost of things, (and don't forget this is delhi, i'm sure its different in other cities, bar Mumbai probably), even food is quite pricey (i haven't gone to street food yet as I said)... on average 5 quid for a meal and a beer... Drinks in bars START at 5 to 6 quid !!!!!

On the other hand, people are dirt cheap (!)... I understand I can have a maid coming every day, cleanign the place thoroughly every time, for 40 quid a month.. !!

On the more touristy side, New Delhi is pretty much an average Asian town, so concrete and stuff everywhere, but not scenic or pretty in general.. I have to admit, it's still nicer than Bangkok... I've done a couple of sites today, India Gate and Humayun's Tomb... the latter being very impressive (I'm keeping the adjective stunning for the Taj Mahal ;), it is the first example of a major building built in Moghul style, so mixing muslim and indian style (the Taj being the best example).. i have photos, will upload when I get my crates back (apparently held back at customs because they think i'm trying to import a playstation here !!!)...

Finally, the food I've tried so far has been fantastic AND i can eat with my hands.. it's normal.. I took to that quite quickly I have to say... but man, it's rich, i'm going to become enormous (they just do not do salads, at all.. ever... no fresh stuff.. all cooked !).. but again, it's only delhi and i havent' tried the street stuff yet...

Oh, by the way, I realised that India is the size of Europe + some of the eastern european countries... just to let you realise how much variety that country holds when you think about it that way... Can't wait to discover some of it...

Looks like an amazing place to me...!