It's not all like Delhi, is it? Does it get easier?

gqsmoothie

Hey everyone.

Just got to Delhi two days ago, staying in a budget hotel in Paharganj.

I shoulda listened to everyone here and did the hotel pickup from the airport!!! What the hell was I thinking? Finally got a hotel though.

To be honest, I'm pretty overwhelmed with Delhi. Going to Amritsar Sunday for a few days and then Haridwar. Is Amritsar this chaotic, crowded, poor, etc.?

If any other IMers are here in Paharganj and see the tallest white guy in the city walking around looking dazed, that's me, stop and say hi!

later,

Gabe

machadinha

It just takes a bit to get into things. Getting on the move (to other destinations) when you're ready will likely help a whole lot yes. It will give you some sense of purpose and of belonging in doing so.

You may just love Delhi on your exit visit, I know I did. Don't despair just yet; take it easy and give to some time.

Else, one can always blow off steam here Good luck with it, I'm sure you'll be fine.

(Two days really isn't much, just allow yourself some time. I hated Delhi upon arrival, and I was looking at six months there! Well, in India anyway, but at that moment I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. Getting on the move helped me to acclimatize and learn to love the place, yes. With its ups and downs, no days will be just good anywhere.)

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gqsmoothie

Thanks for posting.

But did you love Delhi when you first got here?

machadinha

Just added some stuff above. No, I hated it with a vengeance. Really. My fellow tourists and Indians alike.

Again: Allow yourself some time And get your butt moving, but, not necessarily to you, but to anyone: Even that may take some necessary time. To get going, I mean.

Just try to not be too hard on yourself and want to do and understand too much those first days. It will all come. (Well, some take a flight home.)

Returning there later was like coming home really. So, yes, all a matter of perspective, and one can learn to love a place.

Aishah

Gab, take an autorickshaw to Khan Market - it's the other extreme! You can find some good coffee places to chill out and relax. It will give you a break from Paharganj. I haven't been to Amritsar, but my friend who goes there frequently tells me it's pretty hectic there too.
If you want a nice quiet place to sit in the shade go to Humayun's Tomb. Have a walk around Connaught Place - go into the air-conditioned shops to give yourself some quiet and cool! A few ideas for you...
And Delhi is not all like Paharganj either.

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shashank.aggarwal

Hey Gabe !! wanna join us for a drink ? PM me

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Random Reviews

Haylo

Absolutely loved Delhi from the start, but I was fortunate enough to go straight to an area that is a LOT nicer than Paharganj!

It depends what you are looking for, I guess. When staying in a city in England, I don't head straight for the most deprived area to stay in so obviously it wouldn't occur to me to do that in India either, although it must be said that there are many people on here who enjoy staying in Paharganj.

Shiver me Timbers

I didn't hate Delhi at first, although I certainly didn't fall in love with the place.

IMO Amritsar is the perfect place for you to head now - I arrived in Delhi after coming from there. The city itself is pretty typical Indian city - busy, crowded, noisy, etc., BUT the Golden Temple is one of the most amazing places I've been, well worth a couple of nights. Make sure you're there at some point in the early morning, at dusk, and late at night.

How long is your trip for?

Understand you've thrown yourself into the deep end in Paharganj, and you're far from the first IMer to have these feelings - here's a good thread where you'll find loads of posts which you'll probably feel you could have written yourself - First time arrival experiences

Trust me - it'll get so so so much better once you get out of Paharganj.....

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capt_mahajan

This may not work for you, but it does for me.

When overwhelmed with a new place, I do nothing except look after basic security, and let the place wash over me.

Which means don't question what you see and hear and experience.

When you are ready, a voice will tell you that. Later, instinct will tell more.

And yes, smaller cities (though like shiver me says, Amritsar is busy too) will be better.

Mickey S

If it's any help, I have never warmed to Delhi; I get the first train out every time I arrive in India. But there are many other places in the country that I adore.

(But don't expect too much from Amritsar, either. It's dirty, crowded and noisy, and if it weren't for the Golden Temple there would be absolutely no reason to set foot in the place).

PeakXV

I stayed my first nights & what turned out in retrospect to be a very nice sort of 4-starish heritage hotel. But ..... the broadloom smelled badly of mildew & there were cockroaches about - both living & dead. In Canada, staying in a place with such hotel 'amenities' is not on the todo list and probably means that there are escort services operating either above, beside or below you simultaneously. Being a business trip I was unimpressed and quite sure I'd been sentenced to the Indian hospitality gulag. Even worse was my impression of Janpath/CP which due to my first daylight view of India & pre Indiamike.com - thought I had entered the absolute slum area of the capital city. It was wrong of course, all an illusion - I learned to love Her very soon after that.

Consequently a 'first night' in PaharGanj would have blown my effing mind to be honest.

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Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

NYTim

I fell in love with Delhi almost instantly. My brother on the other hand just hated it. Go figure?

jyotirmoy

Yeah go figure that's what I would say

Haylo

If it's all a bit much, can I make a recommendation?

Go somewhere a bit nicer while you are in Delhi, for instance you could visit Humayun's tomb on Saturday, it is in Delhi but it is an absolute oasis of calm and beauty.

The buildings are stunning, there are peacocks in the trees, it's clean and tout free and the place is infested with the cutest striped squirrels.

machadinha

To be honest, from my observations it isn't about Delhi or any other place at all. Most people I met (there are some happy exceptions of course and indeed) hated their place of arrival, be it Delhi, Mumbai, or Kolkata, or wherever but these obviously used to be the main ports of entry, then loved all the rest (including Delhi, Mumbai, or Kolkata, if they happened to visit later on their trip). The experience as they described seemed to be identical (it also seems to take exactly three days -- I guess this is when most people get moving, if they don't hop on the first plane back home. Yes, all generalizations, of course, I'm sure it takes others longer or shorter.)

The good news is that it follows that it doesn't seem to matter much where you go after (as, again, it doesn't seem to matter where you have landed); any other city may be hectic and whatnot, but it's more the getting on the move as such that may help you "get into it" (and as noted, you may well love the next metropolis, or your point of entry on exit for that matter).

Well, good luck, Smoothie. I'm sure you'll get into it yet. Keep us posted & Other than that, I'd say the Capt.'s advice is unsurprisingly solid (not that the other advice above isn't).