When Love & Hate Collide

Somebody recently asked me how I've enjoyed my Delhi experience. There were just too many things to take into account before I could give her a straight answer! Here goes..

1. Walk down Janpath at night and you'll find an empty road (it's downright creepy). Come back the next afternoon and you'll find yourself in the middle of a bustling market. These hawkers have perfected the art of space preservation. Give them 50 square feet of space and they'll happily throw their clothes one on top of the other. It becomes our job to wade through these piles of clothes (each with a slight tear or tea stain)...most of the time you dig out a just-too short shirt with a nice fancy logo across the front. You'll have to have the willpower of an ox to resist the thought of snatching it up for yourself (Face it..it costs only Rs. 20. You may never know whether it's real or not, but you figure, neither will anyone else).----(Love-1, Hate-0)
2. Creepy 'uncles' in cars and parks. Enough said. (1 added to Hate's score..wasn't it obvious??? :P)
   
3. Public Transport - Once you get a hang of the bus routes, there aren't many places you can't go to by bus. Besides..it's the cheapest way to travel! You have to be prepared for the crowd, occasionally being felt up or pushed around etc etc..but I guess it all evens out in the end. Wouldn't recommend travelling by bus any time after 8:30 at night though for any female. And if all else fails, there is the Metro (amazingly clean for Delhi standards!). It's just too bad that it doesn't cover the whole of Delhi yet ---(+1 for LOVE)
   
4. Right now it's 42 degrees outside during the daytime..and 27 degrees at night. It supposedly gets worse! Blaa..
5. Dilli Haat (Love-3, Hate-2)
   
6. Street food! (especially the Momos) Somehow paranthas taste best at 12-1 in the morning ;) (Love-4, Hate-2)
   
7. You can't wear just whatever you want in Delhi. You run the risk of being stared at, followed and whatever other crap comes to mind. You can think of wearing figure-hugging, skin revealing clothes only if you are going to be driven to and from your doorstep to the desired destination. Mumbai totally rocks when it comes to this though (Love-4, Hate-3)
8. Agreed..you have to sharpen up your Hindi (at least be well versed with some of the gaalis) as well your elbow if you have any plans of staying in Delhi for an extended period of time. You have your share of weirdos here and the occasional people who have the urge to feel up random females..but you do find some really nice people around :) The kind who let you into their lives, chat away to glory, give you advice on good food places to check out, the kind you are not likely to forget for quite some time... (Love-5, Hate-3)
9. The monuments. Delhi is just oozing history from every pore. There seems to be a monument on every corner in some areas. It's crazy! We should really take measures to conserve these national treasures instead of letting them deteriorate til the point of no return. (Love-6, Hate-3)

I guess I could go on and on..but I decided to stop here. Bottom line..I love Delhi twice as much as I hate it :D I have less than a week here before I fly back home and I have this strange feeling that I'm leaving yet another home behind.

This post is dedicated to all those who made my stay in Delhi so memorable..you guys rock! Cheers :D