Flat New World

Since arriving in Delhi Brian and I have been living in the suburb of Noida, about 30 minutes east of the city.  We’re staying here because it’s a $0.50 cycle rickshaw ride from the office and it’s run by Drishtee and free for us to stay in.  The downside of living in Noida is the fact that it is extremely boring.  There are no people to hang out with and nothing to do but go to work and sleep and it’s getting to be downright depressing.

The first thing we did when we got to Noida was post want ads online seeking apartments in South Delhi which we’ve been told is a really fun area with plenty of expats, bars, restaurants, and clubs.   So yesterday, being a Friday, we made out first venture out of Noida to explore the city of Delhi.

Defence Colony market at night

We bummed a ride from a co-worker after work and arrived in the Defence Colony neighborhood (where we want to live) at 6 P.M.  The central market, a two block square, was a happening place with swanky restaurants and bars and many young Indians.  At this time the bars were running happy hours with buy one get one deals and happy happy hours with buy one get two.  One place even had an all you can drink for 750 Rs ($15 USD).  We had no problem finding a place to sit down and have a good time.

What really struck me about the Indian bar scene was how friendly everyone is.  Within our first few minutes at the bar we’d exchanged cards with five people and infiltrated a sizeable group of regulars.  It was a lot of fun and made me want to move out of Noida as soon as possible.

The real adventure began when it was time to head back home.  Two buddies from the bar helped us get an auto rickshaw and negotiate the price in Hindi.  We used Shipra Mall, a major landmark in Noida, as our destination and we were on our way.   However, after 40 minutes of driving it became apparent that our driver was very lost.

So here we were at 1 A.M. in the back of a rickshaw on unfamiliar roads and unable to communicate with the driver.  At night the ban on trucks in Delhi is lifted so the roads become filled with big and colorfully decorated trucks like the one below.  Our little rickshaw with one headlight and no tail lamps wove in and out of the trucks and made frantic U-turns as he tried to find his way to the mall.

An Indian truck

Once off the highway we made progress as he stopped and asked for directions from at least 10 people.  The reality of our situation really hit us when we passed a body laying in the middle of the street.  Our driver slowed down and took a good look but did not stop.  No one was attending to him.  It looked to me like he had been recently hit by a car and judging by way he was positioned on the pavement, face first, I think he had died.

We finally made it back to our apartment at 2 A.M., two hours after we boarded the rickshaw, and went straight to bed.  It was a rough end to an otherwise good night.  Hopefully we’ll find a place in the city soon so we don’t have to deal with a ride like that again.