Travel: New Delhi, India part.2

Posted by Scott

As is tradition with all of my travels, I have a “list.” The categories change for each location, but the memories will not fade away. Here is the list for New Delhi, India.

Scariest moment of the trip: Always wondering if I’ll get Delhi Belly after eating something. Luckily, I came out fine.

Best meal of the trip: Eating North Indian food in Delhi. The bread, rice and food in general were tasty and not too spicy.

Something I learned about myself:  I can walk and tour in the 115 degree weather.  Sweaty and tired, I am always up for seeing new things as long as I have air conditioning and a good shower at the hotel upon my return.

Moment feeling like a local:  Upon entering the hotel, I received a garland and my very own red dot on the forehead.

Interesting way locals hang out on a Sunday afternoon:  Doing yoga in the Loti Gardens.

Feel good moment:  After eating dinner with colleagues, we saw a group of individuals playing ball. I asked them if it was a particular local sport of if they were just having fun. They said they were there with special needs children to get them active. It’s good to see those type of things happen even places far from home.

Interesting experience:  Seeing where Gandhi was cremated and having a feeling of peace.

Local food I enjoyed:  There was an Indian dessert that was sweet, which had a very thin edible foil of silver on top.  It looked like the wrapping from a piece of gum and when I was trying to pick it off, they told me you just eat it.  I thought it was a joke, but it wasn’t.  Good pastry.

Hindi word I remembered:  Namaste, which means “greetings” (at least from what I’m told) 🙂

Scene I would never see back home:  That’s a toss up between seeing a snake charmer or a baboon running across the street with its baby on its back.

What I’ll never forget:  The hotel & the heat and humidity.

Something I wouldn’t hear/see back in the USA:  A taxi driver addressing me with the word “sir” everytime he talked.   Talk about being super polite, polished and professional.

Something that grounded me:  Individuals walking barefoot at 9pm at night on the way to the airport.  I was told these people were so poor that they couldn’t afford public transportation to get themselves home.  Imagine doing that everyday. I will never complain about my commute again.