Arriving in New Delhi: A Backpacker’s guide to India' Capital

New Delhi Arrival: What Backpackers Need to Know Before Exploring India, Welcome to the (urban) jungle. We are going to take New Delhi Airport to your accommodation.

They tell you India is intense, but nothing quite prepares you for stepping off a plane into 40°C heat. I have been planning this for a while and June was never part of that plan,

"Don't go to India in June its too hot" or "Why on earth would you go in June" were the comments that accompanied my plans. However thats just way the cookie crumbled and there was no way I would be putting of backpacking India again.

So here I am, tuk-tuks blaring, and the scent of spice and sweat and something I just cannot quite workout, invisibly skimming through the air. Welcome to New Delhi. Oh and this is not just a backpackers guide to India, this is what it really feels like to land here in June, armed with nothing but a backpack, and an idea to put my architecture degree' to use in a way that I will actually enjoy. By vlogging and and blogging about the architecture of countries I admire. So here I am in New Delhi in an attempt to define a new path away from the joyless realities of being a modern architect and stepping back into the realm of exploration.

Expectation vs. Reality

Ok so lets dive into this for you all thinking about heading into New Delhi as the starting point of your India adventure. I thought, "Yeah, it’ll be hot, but I’ll manage." Within five minutes of stepping outside, I had sweat through everything I owned. I arrived at a good time as well ... 8am after an 8 hour flight from London Heathrow. India are +5 and a half hours.

I imagined I’d arrive, jump on the new New Delhi metro, check in, and be sipping chai at my chosen hostel (Joeys, highly recommended) by midday. That is not a million miles away from how it panned out so here is how to navigate getting from the plane to your hostel.

New Delhi Airport to New Delhi Accommodation

Option 01 - The Metro

So first thing is first get ready to be confronted by several taxi drivers and tuck tuck drivers all promising the best possible price. Walk past them and straight onto the metro. Here you can get the orange line to New Delhi station for 60 rupees (around 50p).

From there you need a second ticket to get to your closest metro point and generally your hostel will be within walking distance from there.

You will need cash for the metro, and this can be withdrawn from the ATM in the airport for amounts up to 10000 rupees. I took 8000 and it all seemed to work seamlessly.

Hold onto one note and store the rest safely away for use at the metro counter. There are generally 2 queue at metro stations, one for QR CODE users and one for CASH. The QR system is generally for the locals or those with Indian bank accounts.

Option 02 - Uber

Uber works super well in New delhi but again, you will need cash and an amount as close to what you need as possible as sometimes you will get 'I have no change' upon reaching your destination. Uber has options for taxi, rickshaw and even motorbike, but save the motorbike option for when you have found your legs and do not have your bags.

Option 03 - Hostel/ Hotel Shuttle

Check to see if your hostel or hotel has a shuttle service as Delhi confronts you immediately so (I imagine) there would be nothing better than seeing your name on a board and a driver waiting to take you to where you need to be.

New Delhi

Ok so now you are 'home' lets talk about the city. India is one of the fastest growing countries both economically and by population and New Delhi holds a large portion of that population of around 33 million people! It has a reputation for being polluted, full of scammers and generally being more chaotic that a frat house on hazing week! So ... is it?

The answer here is both yes and no! I have found during my time here that New Delhi is a city of contrasts. You can go from, frankly, a filthy chaotic street one moment, to a stunningly beautiful park the next, I am talking zoological parks near Humayans Tomb check this beauty out 👇.

In June there it feels like you are in a sauna with monuments making it difficult to explore in the day (it is currently midday and 41 degrees outside so I am sitting writing this instead). I had a lot of plans here but the heat does really play its part so sensible planning is to be advised. So what else went into planning this June visit to New Delhi well first and foremost where to stay.

First Hostel Vibes/ Hotel Vibes

For a backpacker like me first time in the city, I went for what appeared to be the most social hostel in hostel world, Joeys (based on reviews), rather that one of the more, I wanna say bougie hostels. Was it the right decision? Look heres what I will say, its not the nicest building you will ever stay in and it feels like you are on the wrong side of the river but what I have found Joeys does well is make you feel at home, comfortable, safe and welcome. It is a world apart from a Viajero in Medellin, but thats kinda the way it goes in India, its a different flex.

If you want that luxury and comfort you can find it but you need to be looking at hotels like The leela Palace New Delhi which rings in around nearly £200 per night however, your experience is going to be nothing short of fabulous. It is a world away from that of the hostel hopping backpacker but it opens up New Delhi, where if (like me) you are mainly an architecture tourists, you can be shuttled from place to place in the comfort of a fully air conditions van, let the driver take the strain and hop off into the chaos once at your next exploration point.

That said, some of those architecture sites need a lot of work. The Red fort for example is a beautiful pieces of architecture with a great deal of history but it really needs a bit of TLC. If it gets it, the site has potential beyond words. But right now the reflection pools are filled with dirty water (or not at all) and when comparing this to the potential seen at the the zoological gardens. The reflection you end up with is ohhh my what this could be!

Backpackers Guide to India ... Let’s Talk About the Heat

June in Delhi isn’t hot. IT'S MOLTEN.

You don’t walk here, you melt. Every outing became a slow-motion crawl from shade to shade. I went through about 5 litres of water a day, and still felt like I was drying out from the inside. Here in New Delhi, you also have what feels like the entire population of the world around you.

That kind of heat, it forces you to slow down, and to adapt. The temperate in the UK was circling around 15-20 degrees so this, this was double, and for those who follow my Youtube page you will likely have seen where I have come from. Beautiful open countryside for as far as the eye can see. If you want to have a look then this is what I have some from ...

First Forays into the City

Imagine this: horns honking in constant symphony, street food sizzling on every corner, a wall of smells from flowers to exhaust, and above all of it, these towering temples and colonial remnants tangled in the skyline.

Everything was loud. Everything was alive. Its one of those sink or swim cities where you have to let go and accept all that is going on around you. If you can then you can begin to unweave the magic of New Delhi and it does have magic, despite what every travel video on Youtube seems to show. It does have its issues which, lets be honest, are fairly prevalent but it also has character and grit. Not always the sort after commodities for a holiday maker but for the intrepid traveller, the sort of environment that makes you feel immersed and alive.

Unexpected Highlights

From stepping off the plane I was assuming I would be thrown into the deep but the airport and metro feel like any modern city and the best part, the metro has AC! Although I am not sure if that adds to the intensity of the heat when you step off of it!

The food oh my my the food. Indian is my favourite cuisine on the planet ... however I have only ever had the British interpretation of Indian cuisine. To be here and get my first taste I was nervous ... what if my love of Indian food was built on a fallacy, lost in translation or modified for the British taste, much like cream in a carbonara. So I am relieved to say its magic. Peppery fiery, floral, the sort of food that will make it hard for me to leave the country and the costs. You can pick up a fantastic meal here for less that £5 (circa 550 rupees). The street food runs less at around a pound a time (100) rupees and its fantastic (but take it on sensibly).

Water has a max value price which is 20 ruppees (some museums and architecture sites will charge you considerably more though but its still not expensive at around 65 rupees. The whole thing means you can eat like a champion for relatively cheap!

Architecturally? The day to day is not conceived well. It is the architecture of need not the architecture of desire. Think concrete, ill thought out with infrastructure, lawless and space pushed to its limits. It is the sort of street scape that reminds you how pretty European streets and cities really are.

But in and amongst that necessity you can find Mughal domes and colonial relics that put you in that place. The architectural splendour we all adore, the architecture that reminds you of what humans are capable of.

I want to set my stall out early here and make it clear I understand that under some circumstances the architecture that brings us so much joy can be build off the back of forced labour, however with this blog and the Blueprint vlog I want to make sure we see that. We see the effort in every stone from the person who quarried it to the person who carved it to the person who laid it. For me thats part of the majesty of these spaces and places. They will always be immortalised in the creating even if we never know who they are. Make sure to join me through India as we discover it all.

Reflections from Day One

India doesn’t ease you in. It throws you into the deep end. But that’s part of what makes it unforgettable. It presses itself into your memory, one chaotic second at a time.

Tips for Fellow Backpackers Arriving Into New Delhi

• Avoid June if you can. Seriously.

• Book your hostel ahead of time.

• Expect to be overwhelmed. Let it wash over you.

• Hydrate constantly take a Grayl or other water filter bottle it takes out the unknown from the dodgy looking 'drinking water taps' found in the streets.

• Take a buff or a wide brim hat

• Let go of the plan. India always has her own.

• Be prepared to talk brass

• A portable charger is essential so you don't lose your Uber and Map access

• Do not dream of going to India without travel insurance, I use Safety Wing nomad insurance

  
  

Thanks for joining me on Day 1 of the Backpackers Blueprint in India. Raw, sweaty, unpredictable. But exactly the kind of story you remember for the rest of your life.

And I'm only just getting started.