Delhi! very very NEW Delhi

In our honeymoon suite at the Royal Palace Hotel in New Delhi we feel really out of place.

We arrived with a Tata car, granted, with a private driver, but still not the biggest car in the world.

At the gate they checked the bottom of the car with a mirror to see if we were bringing in bombs or stuff like that.

Someone opened the door for me and when I looked up I saw this giant with a black turban, moustaches curled up and a scimitar along his side who looked down at me (I might have shrunk in the meanwhile) and said “Welcome to the Royal Palace madame”.

I think I mumbled a thank you and then I rushed to the door, but I realized that I had to go through security again so I turned back and rushed through the metal detector of course forgetting to give in the bag and therefore setting off all sorts of alarms.

I’ve frequently been to business hotels, where luxury meant excellent business facilities, wi-fi in the room, flexible hours and conference rooms with beamers and stuff.

But I’ve never been to a hotel where you’re greeted by one of the few famous Sikh guards (I forgot the name) with a huge spear down his side.

Besides we certainly didn’t ask for the honeymoon suite, we’ve milked that cow long enough now, but this is all due to the lack of western tourists in this season.

We don’t really know the price of the room but I’m sure our agency could get for half the normal price.

Anyway, after we sipped our welcome cocktail and we were given the red dot on our foreheads, we changed into comfortable clothes and proceeded to meet with our tour guide for today. We were told he was a “very old man, that knows everything about Delhi”, instead we met with a nice man in his early fifties with amazingly white hair and a very expressive face.

In 7 hours of sightseeing we managed to squeeze in: the Presidential Palace, The Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk, Raj Ghat, India Gate, The eternal Ghandi Museum, Qtub Minar, a textiles and handicrafts factory and, on our request, the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple.

It’s certainly a lot to take in one day, but what an experience!

I look at Steve to see if the first impact with India has left him confused, bewildered, shocked, impressed.... as I was told I would have felt the first time I came here, but since I really wasn’t that shocked because of my previous travels, I expect Steve to be on the same line.

Now that we’re back at the hotel we’ll finally have time to talk about it.

What IS shocking is not Delhi in itself, but the incredible gap between the Old Delhi and the New Delhi, it's like two different countries altogether! New Delhi has been built by the British and it goes according to their standards, long and very wide lanes gathering the very well disciplined traffic (no horns, doesn't even sound like asia at all!), little if no pollution at all, perfect buildings with nice decorations and chalk white clean facades.

Old Delhi is ... well, Delhi! With the sounds, the smells, the traffic, the pollution, the humanity, but oh so beautiful in its imperfections, its flaws making a statement of vivacity and secularity.

If New Delhi is calm and diligent, in a word a bit dull albeit with colonial majesty, Old Delhi is vibrant, captivating and demanding. Experiencing Old Delhi requires guts, but that's what we love in a holiday.