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Sept. 17, 2009 I've just completed my first three months in India, having arrived on June 17, 2009 from Argentina. I have eight and a half months left on my visa. The clock on an Indian visa starts ticking on the day it is issued rather than on the day of arrival, as in some countries. Furthermore, according to the Indian Embassy and also the US State Department's Consular Information Sheet, visitors to India must have proof of return or onward passage to present upon arrival. I duly bought a round-trip ticket in Buenos Aires with no intention of returning. I would merely discard the ticket as part of the expense of the trip, and buy another ticket to my next destination when I decided. At customs, however, no one asked for anything, and it looks as if I might have gotten away with buying a one-way ticket up front, unless of course this matter was checked from the passenger list without my knowledge. How much I might have saved buying one way, I don't know. I selected New Delhi especially on account of the fact that rainfall is much lighter in the monsoon season, June through September, in New Delhi than in Bombay (Mumbai), which I would have chosen otherwise. Bombay receives an incredible 25 inches of rain per month in that season, whereas New Delhi gets only 10, still more than Miami, America's rainiest. But rain has not been as heavy as usual during this dry summer. At the moment, though, the Yamuna River, which flows through New Delhi, is flooding. This probably won't affect me, as I am 6 or 7 miles away. The river is swollen because of heavy rains in the north, where it has its source. At the time of my arrival, the temperature was around 110 F (43 C) every day, but now it has cooled down to around 95 F (25 C), pleasantly hot. We did have a number of rainy days, but today it is clear and sunny. Almost the first thing I discovered here was the Delhi Metro, quite on a par with the Los Angeles Metro, with which I am quite familiar. The Delhi Metro's sleek trains, rolling along both elevated and underground tracks, service 68 stations on 3 lines covering 50 miles at present, but additional mileage and more stations are scheduled to commence operation in October. Even further stations are planned for the more distant future, and I've seen the signs of construction in many parts of town. A good Metro makes for a better city as far as I'm concerned, since I don't drive, and even if I did, would be loth to rent a car day after day. Access to points not near the Metro is available in auto rickshaws, three-wheeled little cars that are cheap enough but probably somewhat unsafe. I've taken three one-day excursions out of town. I went first to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and other sights. Then I went to Jaipur, the capital of the neighboring state of Rajasthan, whose chief attractions are the Amber Fort,and Jantar Mantar Observatory. The last excursion was to Haridwar, in the state of Uttarakhand, north of New Delhi. The River Ganges, with dozens of temples on its banks, flows through Haridwar. During these excursions I had the pleasure of seeing camels, elephants and cobras, as well as the usual array of cattle and horses. Cattle wander the streets freely in India, just like people. Even in New Delhi, I've seen them shambling along streets or relaxing wherever they can, apparently unattended. I've also visited a number of sights in the capital. These include the Red Fort, a 17th century fortress right downtown, the National Museum of India, the National Zoo of India, Qutb Minar, a 12th century minaret, and Birla Mandir, an important Hindu temple within a couple of miles of my hotel. I was amazed at the number and quality of malls in India, mostly equal to those in the US. I don't much care for malls. I like old-fashioned department stores like the ones you find in Chicago, New York, London and Paris. Still I was impressed with the malls. I didn't expect India to be so modern. Basically, I'm just living though. I spend a lot of time online, and I am teaching myself to read Hindi. Those two activities take up most of my time. Photographs of some of the places that I have mentioned can be seen on my website: www.mecnita.com/Events2.htm ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Visit my website here. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! 
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