Where to kill some hours in Delhi ?

Ryan7611

im arriving in delhi by train on Friday morning at 8am. i have an 11pm flight home. any recommendations on where to hang out all day with my bags ? are there any nice Western hotels i can check into at that time in the morning? i am not interested in seeing anymore of India, I just want to sequester myself for a few hours. i do not want to go anywhere near Paharganj.

for the moment, i am thinking of finding a coffee shop or a mall in Connaught. but im hoping for something better

machadinha

Arriving by train, you could stash your gear in the "cloak room" as left luggage is called. Most any non-minor station will have one. It will require a train ticket, incoming or outgoing, which you'll have; your gear needs to be locked; and it costs Rs. 10 per piece of luggage a day.

You could then go around unencumbered by your stuff (and yes, of course hotels will let you in at that hour, which isn't early in India anyway), then go pick it up allowing yourself enough time to make it out of the country at a leisurely pace.

Ask those cloak room folks about their lunch break hours for good measure, i.e., you'd like them to be open when you come to collect it. And don't come and pick it up ten minutes before you want to move on, there'll be forms to fill and there may be people in front of you with a shipment of sacks and etc.

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kapil4ever

Cloak room won't be an appropriate option for him coz he has a flight to catch in the evening and cloak room facility is available only if u have a train ticket. It appears, that u would be flying to US so it would be appropriate to check-in in some decent budget hotel for the day, near the airport coz roaming in the city the whole day with luggage will be a real pain in the *ss. You will get lots of hotel near airport.

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machadinha

Which he will have, since he's arriving by train. Like I said, the train ticket can be in- or outbound. Or that's been my experience; and I've used the cloak rooms quite often.

That's an option yes. Hardly a fun way to spend your last 13 hours though, is it. I don't know of too many "decent budget places" near it either; it gets asked for a lot, I've never seen an answer. (On that note, and I take it from some of his other posts Ryan may have had his fill of India for a bit, if you would just like a place to crash or hang around in and read a book, I'd suggest just looking into some hotel of your -- no matter how remote -- liking near whatever railway station you may land at, maybe do some walking around in the immediate vicinity or find a place or two where you can sit, then get moving again later in the day.)

Ryan, I reckon Connaught Place these days should offer you some quiet and upmarkety places to sit in if that's what you want yes; or maybe and probably some other ideas will pour in still. The question of how to kill a few hours in Delhi meanwhile gets asked quite a lot, so you could search around for it.

bsprasad

You got a Intenational flight (I presume) by 11PM. If thats the case, you got to checkin by 8PM. Which leaves you exactly 12 hours in delhi.

I will go by what Machdinha says. Leave your luggage in the cloak room and you can plan your itenary. I think the maximum time by which you should clear your luggage should be 6.30 pm to 6.45 pm so that you can hire a cab or a auto(Depending on your luggage size) to reach International airport by 8 PM.

The time inbetween can be utilized to see any one or couple of the following

India Gate
Gandhi's Memorial
Take a trip in Delhi Metro
Lotus Temple
Akshardham Temple
Birla Mandir
Red Fort

Regards

B.S.Prasad

NOTE: If you have already seen the above places, I hope you can wait for any of our seasoned IM'ers in delhi to respond to this thread.

machadinha

I'd been thinking of that yes, it's set in a large park called Raj Ghat. I had memories of us being left wonderfully (and untypically, for Delhi) at peace here; when I posted a pic of it here, my then partner informed me that according to her we were chased by pesky kids though.

So much for memory, eh. It may always vary per the moment how your experiences will be anyway, of course; but my memories of it are nonetheless tranquil. It's not far from the Red Fort I think, a little south-east from there. Probably walkable from there; from anywhere in the main tourist Old Delhi-Paharganj-CP route, it should be a standard'ish rickshaw ride.

nb Just to be clear,

I think autos (as autorickshaws are known locally, this isn't clear to all readers) aren't allowed out there at all. It used to be it was a highway out there, where they are indeed not allowed. Not sure about today. I once made it there in one... but it's a bit of a story

Ryan7611

lol, yeah i think ive had enough of india this time around. after i almost left last time, i spent 3 weeks in varanasi taking music lessons, having a blast. then just spent 3 nights in the hospital and decided its time to go.

im not interested in storing my stuff anywhere or seeing ANY sights. just want to read my book. A hotel is definitely what i was thinking but I am not sure if hotels will allow me to check in at 8am. - i know i can do this at budget places but im not looking for budget at this point (AND CERTAINLY NO PAHARGANJ!!!!). i am looking for a location that is clean, with Air Conditioning, and no Indians (or at least not Indians who want to talk to me). if i can't find a nice Western hotel that allows early morning check in, then i will settle for a coffee shop in an upper class neighborhood.

Indizen

On arrival at New Delhi, check into Ginger hotel which is within the premises of the train station. It is clean, decent and not too expensive.
During the day you can see Connaught Place, the National museum, Khan market, Lodhi gardens, Ansals Plaza mall...
What activities do you like? We can plan your day accordingly.
But book your room online in advance.

http://www.gingerhotels.com/delhi/hotel_profile.aspx

bsprasad

Ryan, You should be kidding....

Indians will die if they dont speak...

sa_ill

OR....you can simply go to Dilli Haat and kill a few hours there just walking around....its nice and peaceful specially from afternoon to the evenings.

namaste_cat

You haven't told us your budget range or whether you want it close to the airport, close to the station where you'll be arriving, just no Paharganj (I'm with you on that one). As per what little specs you have provided, Lutyens Bungalow or places in the Jor Bagh, Golf Links, Sundar Nagar areas are what you probably want. You'll have to pay big time to stay at any places there, though. So to see no Indians is gonna cost ya!

The folks who run Lutyens are really nice and friendly. Bet if you ask, they will let you check in early. The premises are nice so you can always wait and sit by the pool area or even read a book in Lodhi Gardens (very close by), and when it's time to check in arrive at Lutyens Bungalow.

Cardinal Divide

I second Lutyens Bungalow. There is no finer place to spend an afternoon with a book than Lodi Gardens. You could walk to Khan Market for lunch too.

machadinha

Ah, glad to hear that And then,

Ah, less glad to hear that. Won't have improved your mood, no doubt

Ah, yes, I see. The checking in as such at that hour won't usually be a problem (hotels all over the world are normally in the business of renting out their rooms at any hour, after all); but you may very well run into check-out schemes that require you to pay for an extra day.

You can always try and ask to rent a room for a half day (used to be quite common; never worked for me on my last trip earlier this year I don't think. Besides, if still feasible at all, it would be more commonly used to extend your stay by a half day I think); or I'd think oh sod it and just dish out the money for the extra day, even if you're just using a few hours of it. After several months in India it may seem insane, but think of how it would likely be peanuts at home. You could make it one of their cheaper single rooms, depending on what you want; but for the luxury of having your own space, a shower and fan or airco, the option to leave your gear and take a walk or whatever if so desired, or just lie on your bed and watch TV, maybe have some coffee or a snack or a meal even brought up, I know what I'd prefer.

Finally, have a good home-coming then. I've a feeling you'll be one of those who will soon start forgetting about the bad, and developing a craving to return for the good in no time

btw And given your desires and if you have a little cash to spare, I think some hotel near the airport might suit you very well really. Tips over there I don't have, sorry.

Let's see, I was hoping the airport website itself might have some info on it, but all they offer under their FAQ's is:

Brisso

Take a cheapish room for sure. I have made the mistake of arriving in a large city with 12 hours to kill before flying and trying to fill in the hours. It can become exhausting and a kip for a few hours really helps.

machadinha

'Tis true yes. Twiddling your thumbs and watching the world go by, not really knowing what to do with yourself, can be great fun if that's what you chose to do; can be much less so if you have no option but to (and have had your fill of coffees or whatever too by now, with several hours to go still, and that rewinding jukebox getting a little on your nerves now too). btw If sitting in a coffeeshop or someplace with all your stuff and getting a little jittery, and provided you feel comfortable with the place, I'd have no qualms at all to ask them to mind my gear some behind the counter or something (keep your valuables on you at all times, of course, but you should know that by now), whilst I go out and about for a bit. It's up to them to agree of course.

And then you have a long flight ahead; starting it somewhat rested and preferably freshened up never hurt no one. Certainly if being in a stage as described of, er, somewhat having really had it. I'm not kidding either (Remember myself no more than dozing off on a flight back after a few months of pretty hard and ultra-budget travel -- and on an ultra-budget flight to match, of course -- and in my half-sleep mostly thinking of just kicking everyone around or otherwise getting close to me.)