Day 16: New Delhi, India - Culture shock at its finest (and dustiest)!

The flight from Tashkent to New Delhi on Thursday evening and the pickup from the airport arranged by our hostel went smoothly. On the way to 'Backpackers Heaven', the name of our hostel, we couldn't see much as we arrived at midnight and it was dark. But what we could perceive was the dust and the noise. Honking. Roaring engines. Honking. Shouting. Honking. Dogs barking. And more honking. Nevertheless, we remained optimistic and looked forward to the next few days.

The way to the hostel led through the 'Main Bazar', a shopping street with many small shops and street food - India style.

The driver stopped in front of a small alley, garbage piles on both sides and stray dogs roaming around. The word 'unusual' describes it pretty well. Checked into the hostel, we briefly inspected our room before going to sleep. Not exactly the 'Backpackers Heaven' but sufficient since we didn't plan to spend much time here.

After a few hours of sleep, we got ready to explore the area around the hostel. We mainly saw the remains of the previous day's market. The market usually starts to pick up in the afternoon.

We strolled through the streets and it didn't take long before a friendly young man asked us where we were from and what our plans were. It turns out we were looking for a shop where we could buy a scarf, as it is essential for entering temples and other 'sacred' places. With a few words in German and otherwise excellent English, he recommended a shop just around the corner and accompanied us there. We found what we were looking for and even tried on the traditional sari.

However, we quickly realized that the nice man who had helped us was not out of kindness but for his own benefit. We were repeatedly approached by young men, and a few girls, trying to lure us into their shop. The same goes for the tuk-tuk drivers. We suspect they receive money for each person they bring into the shop. Well, we wanted a scarf and we got one - a win-win situation. We also got a fake wedding ring to avoid any unpleasant conversations.

We spent the rest of the day navigating through crowds of people, which awaited us, for example, in front of the India Gate. It turns out that we unwittingly chose Republic Day as our first day in India. In short, everyone is in public places celebrating.

We were frequently asked by mostly young men, but also a few girls, if we would take pictures with them. Apparently, this is a new sport here - who has the most pictures with tourists on their phone.

We then moved on to the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib Temple, where we celebrated Republic Day with the locals and used our scarves for the first time. It was a great experience to be in the midst of it. We observed praying groups, people strolling around, and dipping their feet into the pool in front of the temple. Indian music played in the background. Finally, we felt the true spirit of India. Instead of the impressions described earlier, we finally experienced the warm, colorful bustle that immediately comes to mind when thinking about India.

We also visited a tourist office where we booked our own driver for a sightseeing tour on Sunday (about €10 per person) and got our train tickets from Bangalore to Chennai. (For such bookings, it's always important to have your passport ready.)

We ended the evening with an impressive view from the rooftop terrace of our hostel.

Afterwards, feeling slightly overwhelmed but still somehow energized, we went to bed. The next alarm would ring at 1:30 am...