first impressions: delhi and leh

I arrived in Delhi in the middle of the night and was struck most by the heat and the traffic. The heat jumped out at me, slammed me in the face in a way that not even high speeds on the roads with the windows down could solve. For 4am, the roads were busy, but it was not the congestion as much as the drivers' interpretation of road rules that struck. Basically, there are none. No lane dividers, no real red lights, no stopping for people or bikes... just an idea that you should stay to the left side. The more aggressive vehicle always wins and it is always a test of nerves. That made me glad I wasn't driving in India. The roads the first few days always felt crazy like I was hurtling down the street at ridiculous speeds, nearly clipping everything in sight. But like much here in Delhi, I got used to it.

Through a couchsurfing connection, I met my new friends Zoe, Tony, and Poonam. They have welcomed me into their home and made me a part of the harried city life here. From the first sip of chai to the yummy chicken Zoe made as a goodbye treat, the "home-food" has been good and comforting. Usually we eat when Tony, a DJ, comes back from work. which means 1 or 2am. That means I stayed in Delhi on a rather strange schedule. That was time because it meant I was outside less during the hottest part of the day.

I spent a week and a half in Delhi, and, because of my friends, lived almost like a local here for that time. That means traveling around in autorickshaws (after Zoe did the bargaining), seeing a few sites in the cities (with prices 10 times higher for foreigners), and even catching a movie in Hindi. Some of the things I saw were surprising. I was surprised by the lines at the gas stations (no waiting for petrol or diesel, but for gas you waited at least an hour). I was ready for the cows on the side of the road but I didn't think they would be so scrawny, so dirty. I was ready for a different kind of security, but I didn't think I would go through a metal detector and patted down at a movie theater. I was ready for heat, but not the dripping sweat when the fan stopped running when the power went out. None of these things, all new to me, were bad--they were just different from the way I was used to living.

Now that I have arrived in Leh, Ladakh, my experience in Delhi becomes even sharper. I had thought that I wasted too much time there, especially when I stayed inside for 3 days when I was sick. But just being there, breathing the dirty air until my throat hurt and buying huge bunches of bananas from the street vendors, was the real Delhi--all a part of the India I came to see. And I learned so much from talking with Zoe and Tony and Poonam while I was there, not just about Delhi but about the northeast, where they all come from, as well. Like how most Indians in Delhi assume that Zoe is a foreigner because of the way she looks. Or how traditional women might still fast during the full moon "for the health of their husband."

I could explain things like seti to my new friend in Leh, Martin, because of what I learned in Delhi. Martin, a Swiss guy (of all things) about my age, shared a taxi with me from the airport in Leh to the city center. We found a guesthouse together and so have shared a couple of meals together, which is nice for two people traveling alone. I could tell him about the heat and intensity of life in Delhi since I had just been there, and he came straight from Zurich. It was fun, too, to talk with someone from Switzerland, because of all that we now shared.

Leh is a great place to be a tourist. It was a brisk 5 degrees Celsius when we landed at 6.40am, but it warmed up to at least 12 or 13 in the sun during the day. The sky is bright blue and cloudless, the land is desolate and brown. We are at over 10,000ft here, which means my head hurt the whole day. The first walk through the town reminded me, somehow, of Capileira in the Alpujarras of the Sierra Nevada in Andalucia. That is a funny connection to make, I know, but this town has the same kind of white buildings, the same quiet in the streets. Most of the town center is focused on Western tourism. There are clothing and shoe and craft shops alternating with trekking agencies all along Fort Road and the Main Bazar. There are little German bakeries where westerners in hiking boots sit and sip chai. There are restaurants everywhere advertising their fare as Itealian (yes spelled like that) / Tibetan / Chinese / Israeli. And the food they have really does cater to the international clientele. For breakfast today with Martin, sitting in the shade of a garden, I had eggs and potatoes and toast along with my chai and mango juice. Now this is not very adventurous of me, I know, to order that when I am in India, but it was such a nice feeling of home. Of course yesterday's breakfasts was parathas and curd (potatoes-stuffed naan and a sort-of yogurt), so I balance it out.

I leave for a trek to the Marhka Valley on Thursday, the 18th, which gives me a few days to acclimatise and see some of the gompas (monasteries) in the area.