Delhi
The train trip from Delhi to Jaipur was like watching an 8 hour movie. What an insight into life on the tracks. Life here is so difficult. The problems are so big it’s difficult to see how to solve them. Even a simple question like where do you put your rubbish? is a huge problem when you have 1.4 billion people.
Following the track-towns there were hundreds of miles of flat, yellow fields all producing vegetable oil.
These are a some vignettes I took en-route.
Two things I’m particularly drawn to in India are tuk-tuks and signage. I do love a tuk-tuk drive, except that is when you have a young hot-headed road racer with a turbo charged tuk-tuk hurtling across the Delhi roads. One white knuckle ride is probably enough. We soon realised that an older driver is a wiser driver and a lot slower. This gentleman seemed quite bemused that we adopted him as Mr Tuk-Tuk. He didn’t know the way to many places, but that was unimportant.
A visit to the beautiful Lodhi Gardens proved to be both relaxing and very informative.
Finally we found the Indo-Islamic style tombs and the garden. Apart from history and beauty, Lodhi Garden is a fitness hotspot.
I’m not surprised that everyone, including the dogs, needed a rest. This really is a bit of an oasis in an otherwise noisy, crowded, dusty city.
A walk round a lovely lake and a bit more reading to finish off.
Lodhi Estate Security
No shop yet, but a very sparkly new sign. Luckily our local shops have everything we need.
Hello Delhi!!
It’s Winter now in Delhi and our visit began at a chilly 12 degrees rising to 20 after just a couple of days. So I guess that’s winter finished for us but not for the Delhi dogs, they are wrapped up in their lovely coats all donated by the locals.
It is wonderful to be back, to see new things and revisit a couple of favourites. This trip begins at the our 21st bed-stop in 2019 - C99 Defence Colony, New Delhi. So this is the beginning of a new travel experience which I hope to recreate in my blog.
A new area for us to visit was Harkesh Nagar Okhla. Here is the Sanjay Colony, the biggest of the many poverty colonies in Delhi.
We met a former resident who grew up in the colony and now works for a charitable organisation helping provide extra education to facilitate a way out for the youngsters. In the state school there are 100 pupils in each class. Girls in the morning, boys in the afternoon.
We visited the Charity’s school, here they teach English and Computers.
This colony has approximately 50,000 people living in different blocks, covering 25 acres - that’s about 18 football pitches. The Sanjay Colony is next to a textile industrial area so this makes it a better place to live as there is the chance of work close by. The women sort the shredded fabric remnants and earn the equivalent of £3 per 12hr day, the men work in the sewing factory and earn approximately £150 a month.
The work is harsh and unpleasant but it is work and it means food can be bought from the colony market at the end of each day.
The cows and goats belong to the colony to provide milk for the residents.
Understandably photography was NOT allowed in the Colony residential area. We met lots of families and were very humbled by our experience.
Living in such close proximity, we wondered what the effect of Covid had been on the community. It wasn’t so much the virus that was the problem it was the closing down of all the work. No work, no money, no food.
The government has put in free electricity and water standpipes which helps ease the pressures. The government owns the land so the threat of closure could happen at any time. You need to prove you have lived there for at least 25 years in order to get rehoused.
New trees have been planted in this area to provide shade for the future.
As the sun began to set we headed off. Making our way onto the Metro, this was our parting shot of the Sanjay Colony.
A tale of two cities. A whirlwind couple of days back in Delhi, this time to the Defence Colony in New Delhi. Our final stopover before Singapore. A tranquil, modern Indian suburb, quite a difference from our previous destinations. Once everyone had woken up, we hit the deafening hustle and bustle for one last time.
Sunday morning cricket.
Barber in the colony park
Shoe menders
Delhi’s bypass is noisy, heavily polluted and home to a number of families. Home is just a tarpaulin and a campfire situated underneath the bypass. We have witnessed the poverty in India, but it wasn’t in your face. However, this bypass is desperate and dystopic. To try and make money, families attempt to sell flowers and cheap toys to the drivers, as they wait at the lights. Men, women and children go knocking on the car windows, starring at you through the glass. It breaks your heart.
Our taxi driver took a big bunch of flowers home to his wife that afternoon.
Having passed through Delhi Airport without any issues this time we felt a huge weight lift. Arriving in Singapore Airport you quickly realise that you ‘waft’ and ‘glide’ through. There is no stress in this airport. In fact there appears to be no stress anywhere.
The cars in Singapore are on the correct side of the road, travelling at a slow steady speed. it’s unnervingly quiet, no horns are beeping, no revving of engines. Its very, very calm. Not a cow, buffalo or goat to be seen.
The roads are smooth and everywhere is planted, pruned and manicured. Ugliness is hidden away or disguised. Colours are considered and harmonious. There is no chaos. Singapore looks like an advert for Utopia. There is a population of about three million people living on this tiny island. High occupancy flats and offices and yet it is so quiet and uncluttered. However, there’s no wildlife around us anymore, just an occasional dog on a lead.
Our AirBnB didn’t quite workout, infact it was disastrous, so we vacated and took a punt on a hotel downtown. As we squeezed into our super-deluxe, top of the range ‘value’ room, it dawned on us that our palatial, generous rooms in India were now a thing of the past. We would be downsizing from now on.
Shoebox with a view
We also realised that food was going to become challenging, especially if your vegetarian like me. However, we preferred the challenge of the Chinese hawkers markets to the sterile city restaurants. It’s really clean here, no litter, no shoving or pushing, everyone is so polite and helpful. It’s very easy. The trains are driverless as are some cars. There is WiFi everywhere and its super fast. Everyone is on their phone, all the time.
Our first menu in Singapore was quite challenging.
Hawkers market
Restaurant Open Kitchen
Singapore is not a particularly attractive city in the daylight, its very sanitised, clinical and a bit dull, but when the night draws in it’s transformed into the city of tiny lights, millions of twinkling lights. Its stunning and magical.
And since we’re in town we brought rain. Not just any old rain, 24 hours torrential rain. John’s nickname in India was Johnny Monsoon. He’s beginning to believe it.
Through an organisation called PETE, we gained access into a textile factory, located in a working class area in Delhi. Like many of the factories here, the workers live in fear of losing their jobs because their bosses wont pay their taxes. These sorts of factories are always under threat should an inspector call. Bribes are paid to the officials to turn a blind eye, if not, they instantly close and the workers disappear and all evidence of the factory is gone in an instant.
The factory bosses pay no tax, officials gain healthy bribes and so it appears everyone wins - except the workers of course.
Machinist Room with new young apprentice learning how to sew shirts.
Machine Embroidery Room
Hand Embroidery Room.
Machinist room
Lunchtime, only one person remains - ironing.
Sunday mornings at Chandri Chowk are the complete antithesis to the rest of the week. Sunday is for washing, cleaning, chilling out, praying and dressing up in your best attire. We enjoyed seeing the contrast of Old Delhi within 24 hours.
The beginnings of a three month adventure, starting right here in New Delhi.
Rocky found us, as is the norm for rickshaw drivers touting for business. We had merely stepped off the Metro at Chandri Chowk and within seconds, Rocky talked us into going for a ride around town. His rickshaw magically appeared out of nowhere - just for an hour at our agreed cost.
We saw a lot in our three hours plus overtime - Rocky’s prices, not ours. The journey was ridiculous, first through the gridlocked streets of Old Delhi, which has currently been dug up to be pedestrianised, in the near future. Then into the market lanes. It was quite unbelievable that Rocky even contemplated attempting to cycle a rickshaw down the lanes that are barely 2 meters wide, but motorcycles did it so why shouldn’t he? It was incredibly claustrophobic, loud, frantic and intimate - right in people’s shops for just the briefest of moments.
Old Delhi High Street
Rickshaw through the Old Delhi Market Stalls
Rocky’s bike broke a coupe of times, so while it was being mended we explored the rooftops of the Chilli Exchange in the Spice Market. The views over Old Delhi are quite incredible.
Entrance to the Spice Market
