India 2017: To Delhi

We've arrived in Delhi, but I intend not to rush in with too many generalisations. So just some initial impressions. The traffic in from the airport, at times, was every bit as bad as I'd expected. The must be some female drivers, but maybe they know to keep away from the most congested roads! I suppose they employ drivers, anyway, as it seems from the newspaper that anyone who can afford a car is likely to employ a retinue of "helpers". Although Delhi is dusty, it's got a lot more trees and so is greener than I thought it would be (the wet season finished a few weeks back). The city seems rather spread out, and in my walks, I haven't felt unsafe (but of course I haven't ventured too far). Most of the people we encounter are friendly and helpful, but of course the numerous people who approach you in the street are just touts!

Our exploration has been based on the area around Connaught Place, not far from our accommodation. All colonnaded (relics of a British past) but now very overlaid with lots of Indian character (that is small shops selling everything you don't want and nothing that you do want, like bottled water). And numerous touts!

Delhi sunrise, through the mist ...err, smog

For the record, our trip, from Bangkok to Delhi, involved a 7.35 am departure, so in line with the hotel's suggestion, we were up early – and ended up with more time at the airport than we needed. Oh well, better than running late and then encountering holdups. There was a delay before we took off from Bangkok due to congestion, and our approach into Delhi was also marked by a few minutes in a holding pattern, However, we arrived in Delhi satisfactorily, to be faced with crowds in the immigration hall which seems unable to cope with the number of travellers - especially given the very thorough check of everyone's passport and visa. But we emerged, and were met by the "meet & greet" person that the tour organiser had arranged (at our cost!). This was followed by the drive to the hotel through Delhi's Saturday traffic (awful).

In Delhi, we've eaten a couple of times in the hotel's coffee shop which is expensive - even by Western standards. The reason for the high prices is that there's nothing else in the immediate vicinity that most Westerners would accept. We have also eaten at Connaught Place, but that's a few minutes walk along fairly ordinary footpaths.

Tomorrow our tour officially starts, with a tour of Delhi.