Getting Around in Delhi

The main ways of getting around as a tourist in Delhi are:

1. Your feet
2. Auto-rickshaws (or "tuc tucs")
3. The metro

There are also public buses, which we never ventured on and which looked pretty scary. They were usually crammed with Indians who understood how the system worked, were not air-conditioned (I don't think) and nearly always looked pretty banged up.

We didn't get to use the metro either. We didn't have much time for exploring and I don't think it went anywhere we wanted to go. It's a very recent addition to Delhi and we're told is clean, quiet and efficient - in stark contrast to Delhi on the surface!

Getting to a shopping centre a few streets away on foot should be a fairly simple exercise but unfortunately this wasn't the case! We found we were constantly hassled by beggars and people wanting to be "friends", although this diminished when we went out in smaller groups. These "friends" invariably wanted to make suggestions about where we should go and which shops or shopping areas we should visit. We suspected that some of these people at least were on commission - being paid some sort of financial reward by shop owners for successfully luring in wealthy tourists!

On the last day but one we left the YMCA with the goal of visiting a particular shopping area and were way-laid almost immediately and told we couldn't go that way because there was a large demonstration taking place up ahead. We were also advised to visit an alternative shopping emporium. A demonstration did seem plausible as there was a "free Tibet" protest taking place at a stall nearby, but we were still sceptical. We ignored the advice, carried on, and were quickly met by someone else telling us not to go that way because there was a demonstration up ahead. At this point we decided to change route - Tearfund policy is to steer well clear of demonstrations for safety reasons in case anything turns nasty - and were quickly rejoined by the first man who cheerfully guided us again towards his selected emporium. As we discussed the possibility of going shopping tomorrow instead, we were informed this would be impossible as the demonstration would be there tomorrow as well.

The emporium we were taken to was very posh and ridiculously expensive and we left quickly without buying anything. Our next idea was to hire a tuc tuc to take us to the place we'd wanted to visit originally. The tuc tuc driver informed us that we couldn't get to where we wanted to go because of the demonstration (which we still hadn't seen any sign of) but he could take us to another shopping area instead. We relented and went with his suggestion. The second emporium was cheaper than the first one but still didn't have the things most of us were looking for and was a lot more expensive than the typical Indian bazaar prices which we'd been hoping to pay. A few of us found suitable gifts and souvenirs and, disappointed, we returned to the YMCA.

The next day, we were given some advice by one of the Asha workers about a particular shopping area near Delhi station which was worth visiting. In the afternoon (after the inaugaration ceremony) we left the YMCA to get a couple of tuc tucs to this area and were immediately told by the drivers that we couldn't go there because it was shut! The driver, again, wanted to take us to a shopping area of his recommendation and also wanted to charge us about double what we'd paid the previous day, so we gave up and decided to try again to walk to the area we'd intended to visit the day before. We eventually got there, there was no sign of any demonstrations anywhere, and we were able to get on with our shopping...