Much of Todd’s time is spent visiting embassies and attempting to get visas for the team. Here, Nancy and Take Me With You! guest, Matt Candelaria, wait to pick up their passports from the Kazakhstan embassy in Delhi.

[Photo by Todd Borgie]

Journal by Nancy Olson

Uh, like, we’re in Delhi, and stuff. Delhi is, well, pretty much indescribable. What I mean is, I can describe it, but you still won’t get it. I guess I’ll just try my best.

To begin with, Delhi is hot. I mean, Delhi is Africa hot, and I am hereby changing the descriptive term “Africa hot” to “India hot.” I’ve never been to Africa, you see, and I know for a fact just how oppressively hot India is. So, India is the new hottest of hot spots. While in India, we have to dress fairly conservatively so as not to draw too much attention. T-shirts are ok, but long, loose pants are a necessity. We sweat a lot, and that means we drink lots of water. The plus side is that hot weather decreases the ol’ appetite.

Delhi is crowded. All of India, with more than a billion people, is very crowded. All of these crowds migrate to the streets together, so driving here is more difficult than anywhere else I’ve ever been in my entire life. Even in the rural areas, people flock to the streets in droves and avoid moving over to the shoulders at all costs to avoid stepping into dirt or grass. It seems they’d almost rather get hit by a car or truck than move over into the dirt. They march their livestock down the middle of the road, they ride bicycles and mopeds, drive tuk-tuks (they’re called auto rickshaws here), maneuver pedicabs, walk side-by-side, sit, nap, play cards, dry their corn, park, poop, pee, stand, and even roll (we saw a “holy roller” all stretched out and rolling steam-roller style down the street once) down/in the middle of the road.

In the city here in Delhi, traffic is a mess. It’s like full-on, no-holds-barred bumper cars. By now, most of the team has been involved in some form of auto rickshaw accident. Matt and I were in a rickshaw that barreled into the back of another because his brakes went out. We had to hop into a new rickshaw. Colin’s cab ran over a pedicab and then hit a little boy. The boy was ok, and Colin ended up paying some rupees for the pedicab’s bent wheel, but relatives of the boy beat up the cab driver. We’ve all witnessed accidents, but luckily nobody has been injured. Auto rickshaws are the best form of transportation, because they can maneuver through tight spaces, and in Delhi, there’s nothing but tight spaces. The rickshaws zip down back alleyways, around buses, through crowds, onto sidewalks, through red lights, and past traffic jams while the passengers hold on for dear life. Diesel fumes are choking, so a lot of breath holding goes on in Delhi.

Delhi is smelly. I’m not being rude; I’m just stating the facts. There isn’t a lot of progress, so far, in the sanitation department in India, so garbage, and sewage, is often seen and smelled in the streets. (Again, with the highest population in the world, sanitation is a foreseeable problem.) I once saw a cow with its head in a dumpster, and it was chewing on a plastic bag the way a country cow might chew on hay. Poor thing. Cows are holy here, and they have free rein to wander the streets pooping on and eating everything in sight. In Varinassi, I saw a big cow poop on a baby cow. Delhi actually has far fewer livestock/poop/garbage in its streets than Varinasi did. There were cows and poops at every turn in Varinassi, but Delhi is relatively cattle-free, at least in the most crowded areas. Regardless, Delhi has a garbage problem. I bought an ice cream once, and I asked a local where I cold deposit my wrapper. He pointed to the ground and insisted that I put it there. I refused. He thought I was nuts. He looked offended. For whatever reason, even when I am surrounded by mounds of garbage, I still cannot bring myself to litter. I once put a plastic water bottle on a pile of garbage in Varinassi, and I still feel bad about it. Sweepers come through and pick up the piles, but it just ain’t right.

Delhi is friendly. People here are genuinely friendly, and I feel relatively safe in the city. I won’t walk around alone at night, but that’s just common sense, no matter what city I’m in. Men will jeer and stare and make lewd and offensive comments, but not any more so than in many American cities. We just need to steer conversations far away from marital status, etc. For the purposes of my stay here, I have a boyfriend/husband/fiancé, depending on the situation. People everywhere are kind, as long as the subject of politics is avoided at all costs. When we leave Delhi, it is the people whom I will miss the most. They’re wonderful.

Delhi is a fine place to visit, and the shopping is good, but it’s not somewhere people like us want to stay for more than a couple of weeks. Being here for two weeks (plus) is too hard on this restless crew. As much as we have enjoyed our stay, it will be nice to get moving again! You can’t tie down a band of vagabonds…

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