So, after a good day of traveling from Venice to Rome and then Jeddah for the night, me and Stefano landed in sticky Delhi. Really hot and sticky event though he monsoonic season is almost over... that´s what they told us.
Taxi to Haus Khaz, in the southern part of Delhi, where my good friend and eponymous Andrea (but of a different sex) was waiting for us, at the gate of the village. Small streets, old buildings, fancy shops, art galleries, restaurants and bar all around. Wow, that´s not the Delhi I was expecting to be honest, but still really impressive. Colours, smells, people and most of all CONTRASTS, which makes India so famous (and infamous) for, I guess.
Great lunch in a vegetarian restaurant with south indian food. Great selection of indian "crepes" with yummy fillings and tasty sauces to dip in. Green cocunut water and super sweet cake to finish off. Just the perfect start of our indian adventures.
Then Andrea left to her workplace, the Cervantes institute, a spanish institution/language center that works (mostly) with spanish-speaker embassies all over the world. She had to translate in real time a speech in a scientific congress, from spanish to english.
So we found ourselves walking around the hood, checking ruins, tombs, parks, small lakes and cafes. Loads of animals around, that is very cool eheh Yellow-striped squirrels, dogs, pidgeons, cows, elephants... yes, you read it right, ELEPHANTS. We´ve already made our first encounter with one of the icon of this big country. To be honest I was distracted by some cows that were crossing the streets while Stefano spotted the big fella... I trust him though. :)
At night we agreed on having a drink on a rooftop bar nearby. Great idea, really. Amazing view on a big river and friendly but slow service. The only negative point: Stefano´s drink choice, a deadly mix of beer, tabasco, worcester sauce and something else I can´t remember. Disgusting, at latest. Other than that, all good. Heaps of foreigners around... from their conversation and ease with local habits most of them have been living here for a while, I reckon. Definitely more foreigners abroad than backpackers or random travelers like us.
After a while Andrea (my spanish friend not my alter ego) got back from work to join us for dinner in another amazing restaurant downstairs, on the third floor of the same building... a small restaurant called Gunpowder, for a reason. :) Hot, but soooo yummy.
There we met a huge colony of spaniards...they have all been working here for years in different fields, from commerce to engineering to consulting. What a nice bunch of people!
We finished off our first night with a local beer, Kingfisher, in another fancy rooftop bar called Out of the box, and we went to bed, exhausted but happy. :)
More fun to come!
Andy
