Overall

I started and ended my one month trip in India in Delhi... I absolutely love India, but I never want to set foot in that city again. Arriving at the airport at 4am, my pre-arranged taxi nowhere in sight, I had to take one of the prepaid taxis into the city. The guy takes me in circles around my hotel, proceeds to drive down a dark empty alley, turns off the ignition and gets out to talk to his "friend" who works at a "travel agency" which is closed at the moment...brings the guy over and they both try to get in the taxi with me. Being a single woman traveling alone, this was obviously not cool. I had to literally scream at them to get the "friend" out of the car and the driver to start the ignition and take me to my hotel. When I got to the hotel, the room I had reserved a month ago was "not available," so the desk clerk calls his "friend" at another hotel...you get the picture. The city is filthy and polluted, the people I had to deal with were constantly trying to scam me, I did not feel safe, it was difficult to get around, and I was not the least bit interested in hanging around the tourist area with destinations such as the Marriott, Nike and McDonalds. Not all was lost. The spice market was intriguing. As was seeing hundreds of people sleeping on the bare floor of their shops along the streets after dark. It was an experience for sure, but not one I have any intention of repeating. Every other town and village I visited was full of friendly people, awesome food and wonderful experiences. Khajuraho, Jhansi, Varanasi, Bodh Gaya... My advice is, if you want to experience the non-tourist-trap India, spend some time in the smaller towns and villages.

Atmosphere

Convenience

Safety

Value

5 June 2005 | A Yahoo! User

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