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[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t’s mid-January. In Delhi that means about +10 C degrees in the morning, and +20 C in the middle of the day. It’s not cold for us, Northern Europeans, but it’s not hot either. Just a month later here it would be more like in European summer. But at the same time it would mean, that further South, where we are planning to go, it would be even hotter than now.
During the winter in Goa like in most part of Southern India it’s about +20 C at night and +35 C during the day.
It’s not hot in whole India year-round. In regions more up North from Delhi temperatures can go well below zero, too. Keep that in mind, when planning your trip to India.
Winter in Goa looks like this:
And this is how it looks in Agra at the same time of the year:
Shortly before 7 AM I arrive at New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport. I’m guessing that today sky will be more clear than in previous days. On my way to metro I didn’t feel that smell of burning garbage, on which someone has peed on, combined with the smell of incense sticks and exhaust fumes – aroma of Delhi. Does it mean we will have smog free sky today? I’m not sure about it, as sun hasn’t risen yet.
I’m standing outside, just behind the barrier. None, except those who are traveling today or working there, are allowed to enter the building of the airport. Guards, armed with automatic weapons, are here to look if this rule is being followed.
After the situation of losing our tickets because of the bankruptcy of our airline, we bought new tickets. And that’s when we with Una decided to come to India two weeks before my parents and brother. To adjust to India a little bit and to prepare for our upcoming trip together. We had to get prepaid SIMs for us. And we still remember, how once it took us almost a week to sort it out.
And we wanted to go on some train journey as well. As later on the trip with my parents we were planning to go on an overnight train journey from Mumbai to Goa. But we had no experience with trains in India before.
What comes to one’s mind when thinking about Indian trains if he or she has no prior experience with them? I’m pretty sure, that most of us have the same image in front of our eyes, when we hear these two words put together – “Indian trains”.
People hanging out of the doors and windows, people riding on the roof of the train, someone traveling together with his cow, you name it… Those pictures have never really stopped making their way across the web and social media.
Moment of truth here – no one is sitting on the roofs of trains in India anymore. And mostly no one is hanging out of the doors either. You can see people hanging out of the doors in local trains of Mumbai, for example, but more often than not it’s because people like to do like this. And it’s not so hot by the “doors” as well.
So, here I’m, standing outside Indira Gandhi International Airport, looking through the glass walls, and trying to spot my family. Soon they should be coming. It’s almost 40 minutes since their plane landed, and all they have with them is carry-on size backpacks. Please, come! Please, come! Please, come! Please, no more obstacles.
Head to Traveling with parents in India – PART 1 to read about how we got to it! How we turned this idea about traveling together into reality!
Oh, yes, I haven’t yet mentioned the message I received previous night from my brother, saying that their flight from Riga to Helsinki, from where they had connecting flight to Delhi with just an hour between the flights, is delayed because of snow storm. Ouch! At the end their plane left Riga International Airport almost an hour after its scheduled time of departure.
Boy, what an hour it was for me, following information on the website of Helsinki Airport and seeing that boarding for their next flight has started soon after their plane only left Riga. What a relief it was to learn, that nevertheless they have made it!
Even better it was to finally see them here, at Delhi airport, some 10 more minutes later.
Here they are. Walking into the hall. They walk across the hall and stop. Looks like they are thinking – where are Kaspars and Una? I see them. I wave through the glass wall. But looks like they don’t see me. I go to the doors, guard stops me, and I call out to my brother. And now they see me, too.
We are all together now. And we head to the metro station, located at the airport. Last time we didn’t need it, as we were traveling across India on bicycles, but this time we with Una have already tried out and learned, that there’s no doubt that metro is the best way to get from Delhi International airport to the city center. It’s very fast, easy to use and cheap (ride costs less than 1 EUR/USD).
Half an hour later metro reaches its last stop, New Delhi, located just by the New Delhi Railway station (central train station of Delhi). Few more minutes, we will be out, and they will finally see real India. Our hotel is 20-minute walk away from the station. But we have decided to walk there, to not wait any more and immerse ourselves into the reality of New Delhi Railway station right now.
If you are planning to stay in a hotel somewhere not far away, for example, in the area of Pahar Ganj, like we did, then you need to do this walk. It will be your first training on surviving in Delhi, haha. Arm yourself with patience, be ready to see strange for you things, like people sleeping on the road or improvised wood stoves built in the middle of the sidewalk, and just go!
Be aware, that you might be approached by scammers, too. Here you can read about our experience, being pulled into the scheme of official tourist office scam in Delhi!
We walk out of the metro station. Sun is shining now. And I hear my mom calling in excitement: “Here they are, my cute tuk-tuks! Cool! I already like it here!” Few minutes later and my dad shares his first impressions, too. In few words, as a real Latvian, but with a smile on his face he says: “Looks fine!”
Believe me, area of New Delhi Railway station really isn’t the cleanest place on earth. Nor it’s the best place for sightseeing. Simple walking here could be tricky. As you might step into a pile of burning garbage or get hit by a bus passing by if you are not careful. It’s crowded and loud here, too. More than half a million people are traveling by train from and to this train station daily. 24 hours a day. 7 days a week. So you can imagine, life here never actually stops.
But… it’s India after all. It’s Delhi. And this is how it is here. Years will pass and it will change, as nothing is ever constant, but right now it is like it is.
We are walking in the direction of Pahar Ganj. Passing by pissing men and trying not to step into those small and black piles of burned plastic, that seem to be all around. Most noticeable public toilets in this area are without doors, and designated only for peeing. But, why walk to the restroom, if you can do your business by the wall 50 meters away from the toilet, right?
And all I see is excitement in my parents’ faces. Or laugh. Or smile. Or mix of all of it together.
Is anyone shocked? Nope. Not even slightly. On the contrary – mom and dad look entertained. That’s a good start!
Head to Traveling with parents in India – PART 3 to read about how we were doing in following weeks! Our itinerary, costs, few more practical tips, all of it you will find there.
Head to Traveling with parents in India – PART 1 to read about how we got to it! How we turned this idea about traveling together into reality!