New Delhi, India
28° 36' N 77° 11' E
Oct 17, 2006 15:03
Distance 2922km

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earlier Entry 71 of 162 later
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SO not in kansas anymore

Text written in: English

not that I ever was....

landed in delhi - is there culture shock going on here? was night and day going from the new, beautiful bangkok airport to delhi international. so old and crummy that in some spots, I could touch the ceiling it was so low...and everything was brown. and I drank some water from a dirty fountain. we'll see what comes of that. just felt the need to baptize my landing.

our first steps outside - hounded by taxi touts, including attempted extortion for 'putting my backpack in the trunk'.   taxi itself- at least forty years old.   cows loose on the street - five, and counting.   cars on the street - six across on a 'four lane' road.    beggars - loads. one guy on crutches with the skinniest legs I've ever seen.   squatters in empty fields - not as many as I was expecting but those we saw were even sadder than cambodia.   men oogling me - too many to count, and counting.   men grabbing my ass - none.....yet.   width of our room - maybe 6 feet.     hot water - only on demand.    lock on the door? - are you kidding?    sheets on the bed - nope.   safe to go out at night alone? - not if you're a girl.   garbage - everywhere.  smog - relentless.

bottom line, that whole 'new delhi' label is a load of crap. there's nothing NEW here....heck man, as a collage artist, for the first time ever I'm afraid to pick stuff up off the street - grimey, covered in cow poo, stepped on a bajillion times, probably even spit on.  'new' delhi is the biggest marketing scam of the century. while they were at it with the re-naming, why not add 'improved' too? 'new, improved delhi' - that's more like it....

but despite all this...maybe, actually BECAUSE of all this, I already feel a great vibe about being here. granted, it's also damn sweet to have P as my travel partner for the next few months. (I had no idea it was so rough for girls travelling alone here( and we have a bet going on who will loose their cool first. but yeah, around all this, this place feels amazing! ! !

now. time to sort out that guide book and figure out where we're headed....

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Photos / videos of "SO not in kansas anymore":

K. actually, this is bangkok, just too lazy to post later grand palace and grand green yard (in bkk) kao san road - little did we know the signage galor was a warm up for india tuk tuk ride and the ubiquitous tuk-tuk driver who tried to rip us off parting shot of that sweet bkk airport - so stainless and gray and lovely! surrounded by 40 year old cabs our 'balcony' serioulsy, our 2nd floor room opens onto the street - yipes! but we have this sweet 'low-rent porn flick' decor loads of mirrors (and of course no TV - probably stolen) fake panelling. maybe should be called the 'yes maam' GH instead, tho... helllllooooo signage! and half-finished buildings this guys making me a coffee - obvious, right? (was boiled and burned, but still pretty good)
earlier Entry 71 of 162 later
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