Paharganj, New Delhi

The course in Shimla had sent a jeep to pick me up from the airport. In the airport lift, the lift operator stared at me curiously and then began to pick his nose in full view - i was hoping this was a mere coincidence... :)


I had booked a hotel in the Paharganj area of New Delhi, near the Main Bazaar. This is 'the' back-packer area and conveniently located next to New Delhi Railway station. It's also the best place to find budget accommodation, but the Lonely Planet warned the cheapest places can be grimy cells, some without windows...

The only guy who i'd met on my travels who actually liked Delhi was an Aussie guy i'd met in a boozer in Thailand. He had loved the madness of Delhi and had played a lot of street cricket while travelling through the state...everyone else had hated it - one guy had even told me that 'India' stood for.. 'I'll Never Do It Again'. This guy was in the British Army and from London and having been to India twice before, i could only imagine he was referring to the cleanliness of the country. I figured, if i booked a mid-range place to stay, i would negate this problem..

Unfortunately, my hotel was fully booked and my reservation had 'disappeared', so i was lead to another hotel. The staff here were friendly but I had to ask them to clean the bathroom and change the bedsheets, which were stained !!!. I then set about disinfecting the bathroom and toilet seat myself (always carry Dettol wet wipes...). This was the first time i had had to clean my own room in my year of travelling !... it wasn't a bad room, they just didn't clean it enough...(something i'd noticed in other cheaper places i'd stayed at in India before..). This was a budget place though and i was paying GBP 12.50 per night...

...my room actually had windows and when i peered out of them, i thought 'Oh my God, where have i booked into...'. At first sight, the Main Bazaar area of Paharganj looks like it's taken a few direct hits from a couple of heavy mortar rounds...



..later that morning when they switched off the aircon, presumably to save electricity, i decided it was time to leave and upgrade to a mid-range place...
I found another place for £23 per night which had aircon you could use all day :), reliable hot water and an LCD TV and wifi in the room...this room was much better...





Later on, i discovered that why the area at first sight looked like Beirut was because they had widened the Main Bazaar Road and had broken the buildings on one side, exposing bear brick work.... That said, the area was still was a bit grungy and may not be everyone's cup of tea, but i loved it :

It was full of clothes shops, fruit sellers, food shops, fresh fruit juice crusher stalls, in fact everything..


The bazzar a night ...