India (New Delhi) July 2007 D-24

Due to the heat wave in New Delhi, I decided to change my departure date a day earlier. So instead of staying on until Wednesday 8 Aug , today is my second last day in Pahar Ganj.

All good things finally had to come to an end ! Thanks god I was still in good shape & health after spending 24 days in northern India. Some of the fears and concerns I envisaged prior to the trip had been overcome. Things like food poisoning, muddy tap water, high altitude mountain sickness in Ladakh, treacherous drives up and down the mountain roads from Kashmir to Leh, extreme temperature over 40c in New Delhi to minus zero in snow capped mountain in Ladakh, sleeping in camps / tents, dodgy characters & touts in touristy places, political tension in Kashmir, culture shock as soon as I landed in New Delhi airport, longest day tour to Agra & Jaipur - a big learning curve for me and a well earned one ! The experience I gained in ths trip would certainly help me in my future travels to countries lacking in public amenities, infrastructure and poor living conditions.

Some pictures and my two cents advice on this trip

1) Food - I avoided road side stalls and ate my breakfasts, lunches and dinners mainly in lonely planet recommended restaurants or those frequented by foreign tourists. Just walked around the surrounding places near where backpackers stayed and you could easily spot on some decent, clean restaurants serving hot prepared meals from kitchens based on menu ordered. A plate of fried noodles or rice priced around Rs60=Rm5.40 and beverage or drinks around Rs20=Rm1.80. The Indian fried rice I tasted was a class of its own ! See below of a favourite restaurant I patronised in Pahar Ganj.

2) Hostel - If you really want to gain a better understanding of the everyday life of ordinary people and their lifestyle in New Delhi, Pahar Ganj is a great place for you to stay as this place is like the China Town of Kuala Lumpur. It's has a character of it's own; very vibrant and lively; jam packed with all sorts of vehicles in narrow streets; so much to see and feel - not a place for people who want to be far from the madding crowd ! You will get a better appreciation of what the life is all about in this highly densely populated city of New Delhi (20 mil people), Pahar Ganj has a few hundred of backpacker's hostels (Rs250-300=Rm23-27 per room) but please make sure you inspect the room and check the air-conditioning before booking. Use bottled water for brushing your teeth. When raining, the tap water turned muddy and brownish ! Power breakdown was quite frequent so bring a torchlight along so as to make life easier for you.

In Leh, signboards with names of hostels were mounted near the road side to attract the attention of tourists.

3) Public transport - For short distance travel around town, I used auto-rickshaws (2 persons sharing- Rs40-60=Rm3.60-5.40 per person. A full day taxi with driver costs around Rm600=R54 per car (3-4 people sharing) . Private taxis was most ideal for visiting major touristy places in New Delhi. To save time, I joined a local tour bus for my day trips to Agra & Jaipur (Rs750=Rm67 per tour) though both day tours lasted for 20 hours . To make it less stressful, I suggest you take a day rest instead of doing both tours in two consecutive days. I was trying to take an overnight train to both places but after considering the train ticket, hostel accommodation and ground transport and the time factor, it was not worth the hassle and not much saving if I ventured on my own. City tourist buses looked quite new and road worthy but don't judge the book by it's cover ! The tourist bus I took from New Delhi to Agra had it's roof leaking at the back resulting in passengers having to sit on wet seats throughout the journey ! As for private long distance buses in smaller towns - they are old and shaky !

Service jeeps ferrying people between small country towns were often over-packed (13 people in one jeep inclusive of a driver) - so be prepared if you have large back packs to carry. If you have two bags, try to pass one of your bag to the next or opposite guy to relieve your burden.

From Shimla to Kalka, you will probably enjoy taking the slow toy train ride to admire the country side scenery. This toy train takes longer hours to arrive but pretty relaxing although the seats are basic and crude compared with the tourist trains .

In Ladakh, when our Tibetan driver was driving his jeep downhill from an altitude of 5,000m (17,000ft) , he tuned on a Tibetan chanting music causing some dislikes from our HC members. As I was the only Asian who have a better understanding of the local culture, I explained to them that the chanting music would provide calm and peace to the driver's mind as he maneuvered the vehicle with considerable skill on this stretch of narrow, dusty & bumpy roads downhill ! Any careless mistake , brake failure or wrong judgement could mean life or death to all the passengers in this vehicle. So instead of asking the driver to switch off the music, I asked that they extend their understanding and appreciation to the driver as I believe we were in the capable hand of an experienced driver. All agreed and relented after my explanation.

If you are taking a long distance bus from Leh to Manali, you need to check with the bus ticketing office as buses only depart on alternate day.

From Kashmir to Ladakh, you often seen lorries or heavy vehicles with large attractive picture of their Tibetan Leader in exile mounted at the front. Some vehicles were so well decorated or painted as though they were entering a "most beautiful vehicle" contest !

3) Avoid using public toilets, too smelly and dirty - you have to be very bold to do your natural duty in this unwelcoming place. Use hotel or McDonald's wash rooms if you come across one in the main streets. Not surprising, many locals simply ease themselves in the side lanes.

" After writing this travel blog and looking at all these pictures, I asked myself - Have I unravel some of the mysteries on India ? Certainly not. India has a lot more to offer so what are you waiting for ? "