Delhi

I'll have to upload pics of Delhi later because unfortunately they wouldn't fit on my usb key. My pics aren't amazing though, and to be honest neither was my experience. When first landing, I was hit by a blast of heat. If you know me, you know this is a good thing. I love heat ! Can't say I was disappointed. It was nice and hot, even at night. Even after a...what was it....13? 14? hour flight, I thought it was lovely. That lasted a few seconds though as immediately after I was hit with a blast of smell. Ahahaha, yay India.
Mom and Dad had hired a driver to take us around India. Anyway, I was very surprised when instead of loading our bags into the car he tied them on top. He explained that there was no room in the trunk. He was right. The van was compact. Anyway, I think Deepak (our driver) was the best investment our parents ever made. Driving in Delhi is madness. It's like the rules of the road are mere suggestions. People drive whichever way they feel like down one-way streets. We had headlights coming straight at us on several occasions. Pedestrians don't follow signals. Well, there are no signals. They just run into the road and you have to swerve to avoid them. People on motorcycles are much the same. They sortof do whatever they want. Deepak says there's a saying in Delhi. It goes 'good brakes, good horn, good life'. Truer words were never spoken.
Our hotel in Delhi was fantastic. It was called the 'amber hotel'. Gorgeous place. Marble bathrooms. Beautiful furniture. Really. Really. Clean. Stark contrast to the city outside. I knew that India had it's share of poverty but I really wasn't prepared for what I saw. People were living in such filthy conditions. I can't believe humans live like that. Old women were working on the side of the road cutting stones. Dad says that the government is trying to keep everyone employed so instead of using machinery they use manual labor when possible. It keeps everyone fed. I can understand that but to see women and kids working like that...it just broke my heart. I think that was the feeling I came away from Delhi with. Intense sadness. It's so overpopulated. And dirty. And poor. I think it's possible for you to enjoy Delhi if you can look beyond the poverty but I just couldn't do it. It wasn't a good experience for me. It did however leave me feeling intensely grateful for my life in Canada and extremely, extremely homesick.
I'll edit this post and talk about Delhi more later. I'll also add some photos.