New Surroundings

The most surprising thing about my first few days in Delhi has been the fog. When I woke up on the first morning it become apparent that everything outside the hotel room was buried under a thick haze. It does lift towards mid-day and I’m told it only hangs around to this extent at this time of year, but it has been a bit of a surprise to all of us. Partly due to the thick fog the temperature in the mornings is a lot colder than I had been expected. It is obviously still warmer than Dundee, but I had not expected to use my jumpers much in Delhi. Again it warms up towards the middle of the day as it becomes brighter, but it does mean that, at least for the time being, the hectic commute to work on the New Delhi Metro will take place in conditions of relative comfort. The crazy driving, the overzealous use of the hooter and the wealth of contrasting smells and colours were all expected. So it was the fog that took me most by surprise in the first few days.

The journey to Delhi from Dundee took a lot longer than anticipated. Our flight from Edinburgh to Dundee was delayed because of strong winds which meant that we missed the connecting flight to Delhi. To make matters worse, Millie, one of the girls on the programme, was travelling directly from Heathrow and so had to get on the plane on her own. Fortunately a representative from Sannam S4 met her at the airport and she arrived at the hotel ok. In fairness to British Airways they pulled out all the stops to look after us and make sure we got on a flight the next day. We were put up in a fairly nice hotel, given dinner and then breakfast in the morning. On the flight itself we were all split up because the flight had been rebooked. Part way through the flight I got up to go to the toilet, but when I returned a man had taken my seat. He did not seem to speak any English and so did not understand when I tried to explain that it was my seat. So I had to find another seat which was in the middle of a row and so was a lot less comfortable than before.

We finally reached the hotel at 3.30am Indian time on Thursday morning after leaving Dundee at about 2 o’clock on Tuesday afternoon. Having arrived we were told that breakfast would be served at 8am the next morning before a long day ahead of us. Due to the adrenalin of arriving in a new country none of us got much sleep, but had to get going regardless. To go to Sannam S4 we had to take the Metro system to Nehru Place. The Metro in Delhi is very similar to the London Underground except that it is mostly above ground. The first line was opened in 2002 so it is obviously very new and, unlike the London Underground, built to handle a large number of people. That does not mean that the trains themselves are not crowded, but it does mean that it is a lot easier to walk between the different lines. At Sannam S4 we were given a basic induction and then given directions to the Red Fort in Delhi so that we could learn to navigate the system on our own.

From the Metro station we took a cycle rickshaw to the Red Fort. There were three of us on the rickshaw, with one of us on the back facing the traffic. The rickshaws seem quite heavy, particularly with three of us inside, and so it seems remarkable that one cyclist can take the load. The Red Fort in Delhi has a large amount of open space and a lot to look round. We only had an hour there because we had to get back to the hotel so we did not have enough time to do it justice. Around the streets we were getting a lot of attention and could not say anything within conversation without it being picked up by the traders as interest in their stalls. In our group of six in Delhi there three ginger people and two with blond hair so we are not exactly going to blend into the background.

On Friday most of the group had to go to meet their employers, but as I had already been there on Thursday I had a day off. I used it to catch up on sleep and start one of the assignments for the university course. In the afternoon a couple of us walked round the local area. There is really nice sports complex with facilities squash, tennis, table tennis, badminton, cricket and football which we are considering joining, but it costs double the membership fee for foreigners and we do not know at the moment how tired we will be after working. We also tried to get sim cards for our phones, but that is easier said than done. Foreigners are only allowed one sim card so they require a copy of our passport, visa and passport size photos and then it takes a few days for it to register.  I will therefore find out on Monday if the sim card works.

This weekend we were taken on a trip to see the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. I visited a year and a half ago, but I was hoping to get to see it when it was sunny. Sadly I was disappointed as the thick fog that had formed in Delhi was even worse in Agra. The Taj Mahal is still a magnificent building and, even though I have seen it before, the first view takes your breath away with its scale. Unfortunately the extent of the fog meant that the photos are not that good. Arun, our co-ordinator in India, seems to obsessed with taking group photos and so everywhere we went we had to line up for photos. Agra Fort was built initially as a fortress to keep people out, but was finished and utilised by the son of the king who commissioned the Taj Mahal to keep his father locked up. Evidently the Taj Mahal had cost a lot of public money and so the King was ousted in favour of his son to stop him spending the people’s money so lavishly. Whilst the Taj Mahal was expensive to build I am fairly confident there has been a very good return on the investment with all the tourists visiting in the subsequent centuries.

We are staying at the Green Leaf Hotel in the south of Delhi. As a group we have a floor to ourselves with a kitchen and lounge. I am sharing a room with a fellow ginger guy called Rob who is working with Control Risks. The wi-fi is reasonably good, but does not work all the time which could get a little frustrating. We get breakfast provided in the morning and have so far had food delivered to the hotel in the evening which usually costs less than £2 each. It is possible that when we get to know the markets better we will buy our own food to cook in the hotel, but it makes sense to get it delivered while we are still getting used to it. I have generally found the spice levels not to be a problem. The issue has been the level of salt in the food. Indians seem to have a lot of salt in their diets and I really do not like too much salt in my food. But apart from that the food is fine and I think I am getting more vegetables in my diet because it is spicy and so I do not realise they are there.

Tomorrow I start working for Sannam S4. I visited their office on Thursday and so know how to get there. It is about a 40 minute commute, but that is not too bad compared to the 2 hour commute that Harry and Jess have to undertake each morning. The people at Sannam S4 seem really friendly and the organisation appears to be quite informal. But until I have been there to work for a day I am slightly nervous. I am working from 9am to 6pm so it will be a long day, but it should be great opportunity to learn a lot about an area that I do not know that much about. Equally, by working with people who have lived in Delhi for a long time I hope to pick up the best local knowledge on where to go in the city and in the country as a whole. My next blog post should provide more information on what I am doing for the bulk of my time in India as I expect to find out quite a lot in the next week.