After an amazing twenty five days in Nepal, it was time to head to India. We had the choice between a a 1 hour 30 flight to Delhi or 28 hours in the human food processor locally known as a tourist bus. We opted to fly. The views of Nepal from the air were simply breathtaking. The jagged white teeth of the Himalayas form a backdrop to the lush green valleys of Nepal, and from the comfort of our seats we were able to survey the vast mountains which we had trekked a few weeks earlier. However, the view wasn’t to last, as once we crossed the Indian border the ground disappeared under a thick grey blanket – a smoggy layer of dust and pollution. We only knew we were coming into land when we heard the landing gear descend – there was absolutely no sign of the sprawling city below us. The pollution was seventy times the legal limit that day – allegedly due to Diwali fireworks and crop burning.
Having both been in India (Ant in 1999, and Will in 2010) we were braced for the onslaught of chaos, madness and hustling the second we stepped through customs, but this time there was nothing: no tuk-tuk’s, no touts, nothing. We strolled un-harassed into the clean, modern train station which, for 60 Rupees (about 80p – take note Heathrow Express) took us directly to the centre of Delhi in twenty minutes. The serenity evaporated as soon as we arrived at Delhi Central Station, where we spent 20 minutes trying to find an exit from the underground, and once we had emerged had to fight through cows, motorbikes, stray dogs, rickshaws, travel agents and scam artists to get to our hostel. Finally, this was India in all its glory.
Delhi
We only spent a short time in Delhi. We had both been before and had little desire to stay, but we wanted to see some places we hadn’t visited on previous trips – so not the Red Fort. Will’s interest in old stuff meant taking the excellent (and also cheap) metro to the ancient mosque at Qutub Minar, with its giant 800 year old minaret. Equally impressive, but practically deserted is the excellent Archaeological Park next door, with some eerie ruins and ornate step wells. Continuing the theme, we headed back into central New Delhi to the imposing Mughal tombs surrounded by well manicured lawns in the peaceful Lodi Gardens. All are imposing relics of a bygone era when India was ruled by the Mughals, the dense smog caused them to loom menacingly like the set from a Gothic romance.
Something which didn’t exist when either of us last visited was Akshardam, a temple complex completed in 2005 in tribute to Bhagwan Swaminarayan who founded the Hindu sect in in the early 19th century. If you allow yourself to imagine Angkar Wat being built today by Donald Trump in the style of one of his Las Vegas hotels and you’re pretty much there. A vast, clinical yet impressive complex of new temples complete with a daily laser/water show and underground boat ride demonstrating religious history of it founder. The detail and scale of Akshardam is impressive, especially in the centre of Delhi, but whether it will survive the tests of time like many of the millennia-old temples we’ve seen elsewhere is debatable. Unfortunately, you have to leave your cameras at the cloakroom, so you’ll have to take our word for it.
For our brief time in Delhi, we stayed in a very reasonably priced private room in the excellent Zostel in Paharganj, a company which has branches in many other cities in India. It was a welcome refuge from the constant beeping, the smog, and the “hello my friend, why don’t you come and see my shops” outside. A classic instance of a Delhi scam occurred when we decided to get haircuts at a barbers in the backstreets near the hostel. The initial quote of 50 rupees for a basic haircut soon ballooned to 900 rupees, once the barber had slapped facials, moisturisers and beard trims to the original service. We assumed all were included in the price, but we learned a valuable lesson about being extremely clear about what you want. Other travellers have been scammed for far more in far more frightening situations.
Demonic Demonetisation
After escaping Delhi, we headed to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan via a 7h train journey. Jaipur is busy, noisy and bustling with some vast forts, palaces and markets (to be covered in a future post!) but it will be remembered by us predominantly for 2 things:
- Waking up to a Trump victory in the US election – though the less said about that the better in case we are hunted down by the FBI in years to come and incarcerated for negative opinions made in this Blog; and
- By chance catching a TV address from Prime Minister Modi at 8pm to tell all 1.3 billion people in India that, in 4 hours time, R500 and R1000 notes (£6 and £12 respectively) will no longer be legal tender. The largest denomination left was R100 (£1.20). This was to fight corruption and new notes would be ready in a few days’ time. We asked our incredulous hotel receptionist about this and they said “no, that’s not what he means. I’m sure its fine”. By the next morning, 90% of hotel guests were at the hotel reception begging to to change their notes – but they were quickly out.
We have spent the next three weeks in limbo, paying on card where possible, changing GBP at appalling rates just to have some Rupees and waiting in line at banks/ATMs. Initially, the new notes were planned to be in circulation within two days. The latest best estimate from the government is more like ninety. The new notes they ordered are the wrong size to fit into the cash machines, you see. Only in India!
It’s been quite an insight into the Indian way of doing things. Indians we’ve met generally think the devaluation is a great idea. Nobody seems to mind the time they spend waiting in the huge, orderly lines at banks. They are very accepting of the chaos and calamity caused by such an immediate and widespread change as they recognise the ‘greater good’ behind it. At the time of writing, the measure has a 90% approval rating among Indians. Many tourists on the other hand generally moan and complain while standing in the much shorter, separate ‘tourist’ line (again, harking back to the glory days of Raj?) as if their entire way of life is about to come to an end. Yes, its an inconvenience but this is India and if the locals (who are much worse hit) don’t complain, westerners need to suck it up and chalk it up to their Indian experience.
Ant and Will's World Tour 
Fab and funny. Don’t give it up. Looking forward to momos. Mum x
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