In my previous India post I said I had been let down regarding my return to Delhi and was heading there the following day with nowhere to stay and arriving at nearly midnight. After my initial panic good sense prevailed and I used my trusty guidebook to find a budget hotel near New Delhi station. The area was not very salubrious but I just wanted somewhere quick and easy to get to and I also had to watch my pennies. My hotel reception in Dehradun kindly rang Delhi for me and booked me a room at my chosen hotel and arranged for someone to meet me at the station. The arrangements sounded very garbled and confusing and I could only hope it would all work out.
Next day Passang saw me off at the station after a fond farewell and I was on my way. I think she enjoyed my visit and all the things we had done together, I hope so, anyway.
I must confess that the nearer I got to Delhi the more worried I became about whether there would be anyone to meet me. I had visions of having to find a safe spot in the station where I could sit until morning, hoping there might be a police post there where I could take refuge.
I was met, however, but not quite in the way I expected. There was a man on the platform holding up a placard with my name on it, he picked up my case and we set off to what I thought would be a car. Instead he just kept walking, crossing streets and avenues while I followed him. After some time we reached an area where there were no cars and started up a narrow street. It was after midnight by now and there were few people about, although every now and then two or three figures would detach themselves from the shadows and come towards me. My escort would say something to them and they would back off. My heart was in my mouth several times. Eventually we turned up a narrow alley and there was my hotel...to my immense relief.
The area I was in is called Paharganj, with narrow streets bustling with shops and stalls and usually crowded. No cars or tuk-tuks are allowed.
Below is the alley where my hotel was located
And this was the view from my window
The hotel itself was adequate for the ten days or so I would be in Delhi. Once through its doors I felt safe and although my room was not very clean it had all the facilities including air conditioning so I decided to stay put rather than go through the hassle and expense of trying to find somewhere else. It was all part of new experiences, after all.
Next up...adventures in Delhi and beyond.
This episode reminds me so much of me arriving in Istanbul for the first time. I had a similar experience with back streets and darkness, being alone, and not realising that cars could not actually reach my lodgings and I thought I was being dumped in the middle of nowhere in a city bad quarter. In fact the taxi driver was trying to explain to me that he had taken me as near to the hotel as possible. I had earlier turned down his request for sex so was a wee bit apprehensive about where he was dropping me off and what might happen next!
ReplyDeleteMy goodness Rachel you know exactly where I´m coming from then, glad that it ended well. You said you were a wee bit apprehensive...I was way more than a wee bit I must confess.
ReplyDeleteI had tried to make light of the request for sex by laughing it off by telling him I was old enough to be his mother. He had laughed along with this but persisted in his request. I continued to make light of it desperately hoping that he did not get angry. There was then quite a long silence while he drove and I ended up in this dark area of the city and of course I was scared but my experience of travelling alone is never to show being scared! I was however quite a lot scared until I came across some people sitting outside a bar and rushed over and spoke to them, looking over my shoulder all the time, and they pointed to my hotel. I was almost standing beside it!
DeleteSounds like you were as relieved as I was to see the hotel! I agree with you about not showing you are scared, never look or act like a victim, but it really sucks that we have to go through this. I will not allow these incidents to stop me from doing what I want to though.
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