Good Horn, Good Brakes, Good Luck - Namaste!

The first thing you notice about India is the constant honking of the traffic.  There is a sort of organized chaos about it all - brinkmanship is taken to the nth degree and marked lanes don’t mean much.  In spite of the onslaught it all seems to work. As several of our drivers remarked, all you need to drive in India is a good horn, good brakes and good luck.

Mess of overhead wires crisscross
 the narrow streets of Old Delhi

A ride on the metro to Old Delhi
and a transfer to more traditional
transportation 

It had been 15 years since our last visit to India and how it had changed.  Delhi has a modern airport, improved highways and a brand new metro - probably helped along by their hosting of the Commonwealth Games. Despite all the bad press about India's readiness to host that event, the legacy was obvious.

From the old to the new - Delhi's
spanking brand new Metro system

We had chosen to start our stay in India at the Delhi Oberoi where we had stayed 15 years earlier. The Oberoi was as we remembered it - comfortable and welcoming - but with some changes.  Gone were the turban clad, white gloved waiters. An army of Bollywood lookalikes, clad in shockingly white modern uniforms graced the restaurant. The main restaurant was a study in marble minimalism - the sushi bar alongside a glassed in wine room and tandoor oven with new age music replacing more traditional musical strains.

Recuperation after
22 hours in the air

A mixture of tourists, Lagerfeld fashion types (it was India Fashion week) and European businessmen filled the restaurant.

Outside, the swimming pool we remembered is now there purely for decoration - a new infinity pool and gardens in the hotel grounds provided a welcome spot to relax that first day, along of course with a refreshing Mango and Black Pepper smoothie.

We would begin our adventure with a short flight from Delhi to Varanasi to visit the Ghats alongside the River Ganges. Returning to Delhi we would embark on a 3000 kilometer road trip through Rajasthan, the Indian desert state famed for its forts, palaces and temples.  Namaste!