The sounds of honking motorbikes, tuk tuks (auto rickshaws), and cars were incessant in Old Dehli. We were told that if a vehicle honks its horn and there’s an accident, then the driver is not at fault, since he warned the other person. People say to the other party that they’re sorry and move on or simply hit and run. The traffic was chaotic, and it’s a wonder why there are not more collisions and incidences with serious injuries. Many times, we were gently pushed aside while walking down the alleys as two tuks tuks were trying to get by from opposite directions down alleys meant for only one vehicle. Of course, the motorbikes simply went in-between both. See video clip below for a sense of the traffic.

Old Dehli is the most historic part of Dehli, while New Dehli was designed by the British during colonial times. Old Dehli officially became New Dehli on 13 February 1931. The British destroyed membrances of the old moghal past by destroying mosques, gardens and other historic features during its rule.

Dehli was destroyed 7 times through its history. However you can still see parts of the walled city and the fort. The older part of Dehli is quite colorful and photogenic. Just don’t get caught in the line of rickshaws carrying 72 tourists from Trump supporters coming the opposite direction! (yes, they came through as a caravan of 36 tuk-tuks, totally bringing all traffic in the narrow alleys to a standstill)

There are many street food eateries to try out — if you have the nerve to do so. We took a street food tour on an earlier visit to India in 2019 and were assured at the time that each eatery had been vetted, and sanitized, and did not get sick.

Some of the alleys had so many electric lines running above ground, that it was a photographic moment (upper-left). You can still see people getting their ears cleaned (center) and haircuts in public view.

A note– India has just surpassed China as the most populous country, now exceeding 1.4 billion people. Though India is 3 times smaller than the US, it has more than 4 times the number of people (1.4 billion vs 337 million). It is difficult to create enough jobs for all the young people entering the work force. India has done an amazing job of economic growth in the past couple decades, but if jobs cannot be created fast enough for this new generation, trouble is likely on the horizon.

There are signs everywhere stating no videos or photography is allowed at the Sikh temple. Apparently, instagramers have been posting videos with the reliqious buildings in the backgrounds and there has been a backlash against disrespecting of the religious site. After listening to a brief lecture on the Sikh religion, the Sikh leader told us that it was acceptable for us to photograph if we were praying, which explains the poses above. We were required to cover our hair and to wear neither socks nor shoes. Others in our group included Mehmet (upper-right), and Pansi with Tim (middle-right).

View a quick 60 second segment showing the traffic chaos along the streets of New Delhi. Believe it or not, actually being there feels far more chaotic than the video can communicate! (This video looks better if you click the “watch on YouTube” link in lower-left)