Delhi : My First Impressions and Some Hints

India wasn’t the country I’ve always dreamed of traveling. But with a desire of traveling further away coupled with my growing interest in Indian culture, I found myself there in August 2019. I took my own colors to India and blended into the colors of India. I came back from my journey after experiencing 4 cities in 9 days with a greater sense for the power of acceptance and unique memories. I had plenty of spices, tea, postcards and Indian clothes in my suitcase! Delhi, the capital of India, was the first stop of my trip. While Old Delhi provides a real and harsh Indian experience, New Delhi interprets the west in its own way. My first impressions of accommodation, transportation in Delhi, the city of contrasts, are in this article.

Introduction to India

As I understand better at the end of the trip, it’s a good idea to start an India trip with Delhi. If you start with a smaller city, you’re likely to experience a culture shock. In Delhi I saw the west in an Indian way, and I love that mix! For example, there are plenty of places where you can go out at night. People enjoy their alcoholic beverages, and later on, the atmosphere suddenly turns to a disco and only plays Indian music. Or in a neighborhood of abandoned houses, you suddenly start to see graffiti and discover that there are cozy coffee shops along the street… These are all in my article on places to visit in Delhi. Delhi is a city full of surprises.

Departure to Delhi & Indira Gandhi Airport & How To Go To City Centre

We arrived in Delhi with Turkish Airlines’ direct flight from Istanbul Airport in a period of 6 hours. It was 4:00 a.m. when we landed. After waiting in line at passport control and filling out a short entry form, we went through a small Duty Free and put our bags on hold. These processes took almost an hour. After we got out of the suitcase, we looked for breakfast or coffee, but we couldn’t find the place we wanted. It was summer and sunrise was earlier, so we took the train straight to the downtown train station. Our journey was very comfortable by express train connecting the airport to the city centre and stopping at only 4 stops. From there we called Uber and went to our hostel in Daryaganj.

Accommodation in Delhi

We stayed in two different hotelsin Delhi. When we first reached, we stayed in Gostops Delhi. This is actually a hostel, but they also have private rooms. I suggest you choose the private room, the prices are reasonable. To be honest, my first impression was never how it looked like on Booking, the entrance and lobby weren’t very clean. Luckily, the room was clean and comfortable, so there was no problem. Its location was convenient because it was located just off the subway. When we returned to Delhi at the end of the trip, we stayed at Bloomrooms. This boutique hotel chain has more than one branch in Delhi and other branches. We stayed at the Paharganj branch, which is very close to the central train station. I loved the Scandinavian interior design and cleaning, but due to its location, it was very noisy, dirty and chaotic. You can pay more for accommodation south of Delhi and stay in quieter and cleaner neighbourhoods.

Transportation in Delhi

Metro

Delhi has very large metro network, most of which are new, so the subways are new and clean. My favorite was the magenda line. The short trip to Hauz Khas with its pink seats was very enjoyable. By metro you can reach many points and avoid traffic. I don’t know if it was the time I use the lines but I’ve never been in a crowd. I can tell you that Delhi metro is better than Istanbul metro!

Tuktuk

One of my favorite things in India was “tuktuk”. These little taxis with no doors make you have an exciting journey in traffic without any rules! It’s a little abrasive in the distance, but I would definitely recommend it for short distances. You can find tuktuks almost everywhere, don’t forget to get an estimated price on Google Maps and then negotiate with drivers.

Uber

Uber, which is no longer available in Turkey, is very common in India. In fact, sometimes it’s hard to find because there’s so much demand. We’re used to luxury cars coming in when we call uber in our own country, i was shocked when I first called uber in Delhi 🙂 You can choose to travel to long distances in Delhi, i have reached the airport at a price of 70-80 TL.

You can follow my India pictures on Instagram by #elicetravelsindia