When we touched down at Indira Gandhi International Airport at 3:30 am on Thursday morning, it looked like we were arriving in the middle of a snowstorm. Lights shone fuzzy in the gloom. But that's impossible - it can't be the middle of a snowstorm - this is India!
Delhi is one of the most polluted cities in the world, according to almost every counter of such a measure, especially in the winter after the farmers have cleared their harvested fields by burning them, too poor to buy the equipment to clear the land otherwise. People die here each year through respiratory issues related to pollution, and the fall/winter of 2019/2020 has been one of the worst Delhi has ever experienced. So of course, our jetlagged brain rushed in to tell us - this must be what the air is like all the time in Delhi. How appalling!
We were met by Ruki, outside the airport instead of within, which caused us some confusion, until we were reminded that Sunday is National Day and extra security measures applied to such things as airports. We were greeted with two long strands of fresh marigolds placed over our necks, and a small bottle of water, and a fat folder of paperwork, then were taken by him and a driver to our hotel in the murky dark.
The road ran along and curved around military compounds all barricaded with the usual sentries and barbed wire (Canadian embassy among them), then the roads got a bit leafier, and a bit curvier, and the compounds looked a bit less of the barbed wire, although still heavily guarded. This is Connaught Place, one of the grand neighbourhoods of New Delhi designed by Edwin Lutyens, and inspired by the crescents and avenues of Bath, England. Along the way we saw many temporary roadblocks stifling access, all guarded with khaki-wearing, gun-toting police. National Day this year in particular, everyone is on high alert.
By the time we turned into our hotel compound, the terrible air pollution had rather miraculously cleared, and it was then that we remembered reading that the airport was known for its fog. Yet another of life's many reminders to never assume! We breathed in the cool night air as we were escorted to our very colonial room and left to our own devices for the next day to deal with the traumas of a 14 hour flight in utter darkness. Our flight path took us over Alberta, NWT, Greenland and then "down" through Russia, never once seeing light on a January night. Our Air Canada meals of chicken curry and rice were excellent and we wished that kind of thing was on offer for flights other than to India. I also watched 5 movies (5!) - 3 of which were excellent (Jo Jo Rabbit, Parasite and Judy) and 2 of which were fair. Martin (being a man) was asked by several older Canadians of Indian birth who were sitting near us to fill in their customs forms for them, which surprisingly indicated at the scale of illiteracy, in both English and Hindi, this older population experienced.
The art deco Imperial Hotel is what you'd expect - thick carpets over marble and wooden inlaid floors, dark wood furniture and white upholstery. We are thrilled with our large room, a sleigh bed the size of someone's kitchen, and marble bathroom. The next 24 hours are going to be a wave of naps, wanders and repacking for the first half of the trip. This is a little bubble of colonial splendour before the real world of the city, so we will soak up the calm and be ready for whatever mayhem Delhi throws at us on Friday!
Delhi is one of the most polluted cities in the world, according to almost every counter of such a measure, especially in the winter after the farmers have cleared their harvested fields by burning them, too poor to buy the equipment to clear the land otherwise. People die here each year through respiratory issues related to pollution, and the fall/winter of 2019/2020 has been one of the worst Delhi has ever experienced. So of course, our jetlagged brain rushed in to tell us - this must be what the air is like all the time in Delhi. How appalling!
We were met by Ruki, outside the airport instead of within, which caused us some confusion, until we were reminded that Sunday is National Day and extra security measures applied to such things as airports. We were greeted with two long strands of fresh marigolds placed over our necks, and a small bottle of water, and a fat folder of paperwork, then were taken by him and a driver to our hotel in the murky dark.
The road ran along and curved around military compounds all barricaded with the usual sentries and barbed wire (Canadian embassy among them), then the roads got a bit leafier, and a bit curvier, and the compounds looked a bit less of the barbed wire, although still heavily guarded. This is Connaught Place, one of the grand neighbourhoods of New Delhi designed by Edwin Lutyens, and inspired by the crescents and avenues of Bath, England. Along the way we saw many temporary roadblocks stifling access, all guarded with khaki-wearing, gun-toting police. National Day this year in particular, everyone is on high alert.
By the time we turned into our hotel compound, the terrible air pollution had rather miraculously cleared, and it was then that we remembered reading that the airport was known for its fog. Yet another of life's many reminders to never assume! We breathed in the cool night air as we were escorted to our very colonial room and left to our own devices for the next day to deal with the traumas of a 14 hour flight in utter darkness. Our flight path took us over Alberta, NWT, Greenland and then "down" through Russia, never once seeing light on a January night. Our Air Canada meals of chicken curry and rice were excellent and we wished that kind of thing was on offer for flights other than to India. I also watched 5 movies (5!) - 3 of which were excellent (Jo Jo Rabbit, Parasite and Judy) and 2 of which were fair. Martin (being a man) was asked by several older Canadians of Indian birth who were sitting near us to fill in their customs forms for them, which surprisingly indicated at the scale of illiteracy, in both English and Hindi, this older population experienced.
The art deco Imperial Hotel is what you'd expect - thick carpets over marble and wooden inlaid floors, dark wood furniture and white upholstery. We are thrilled with our large room, a sleigh bed the size of someone's kitchen, and marble bathroom. The next 24 hours are going to be a wave of naps, wanders and repacking for the first half of the trip. This is a little bubble of colonial splendour before the real world of the city, so we will soak up the calm and be ready for whatever mayhem Delhi throws at us on Friday!
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