May 5, 2014 New Delhi

View from The Vivek Rooftop

I arrived yesterday in a country that seemingly never changes. Pahar Ganj, the backpacker area of Delhi, is definitely the same as it was a year ago, dusty, crowded, and containing anything you may have have forgotten to bring. 

I have a love/hate relationship with Pahar Ganj. On the one hand I love the familiarity, the hustle bustle of the area, the golden eagle with its distinctive cry perched across from the rooftop restaurant, the smell of curry in the streets, the vendors selling fruit, the women in saris shopping, the cows meandering down the street. On the other hand, the rickshaws will run over you if you are not careful, the dust swirls in the air settling in your hair, on your clothes; add in the crowds of people, and it is an assault on the senses.

I'm still getting used to the time change and will stay 3 days to rest and recuperate; my body clock is upside down. Then it's off to Jaipur and my favorite dentist to replace the crown I broke before I left the states...fun times!