Delhi Survival Guide

Delhi. Close your eyes and listen. You'll hear a veritable symphony of sounds ranging from vehicle engine noise, horns honking, spiritual chanting and so many dialects of various languages you wonder how anyone can communicate. Well, they can, in so many different kinds of ways. Like the blind have heightened senses of hearing, take a second to listen. Delhi speaks to you but only IF you shut off for a second.

The first thing you have to understand is that when you hear a horn honking, no one is about to run you over, no one is about to hit you and no one is flipping you off.  As an American, hearing a horn blasting causes a pavlovian-like response that a skid and crunch are the next sounds to follow. Here in India, drivers actually drive with their horns.

Delhi Belly

Delhi Belly-noun: Diarrhea or dysentery contracted from eating Indian (i.e., from India) food. Also Karachi crouch.

In Mexico it is known as a bout of Montezuma's revenge, in India a case of Delhi Belly. But whatever is called, it is common. Of course I have heard about it and if I hadn't, I'd be an expert by now. Not because I contracted it, but because every time I check in or touch base with friends and family in the States, invariably their first question is related to my lower gastrointestinal fortitude. It's a rather personal question, don't you think? But hey, I'm all about bathroom humor, just not so frequent or about a specific place.

Welcome to Delhi!

I'm in New Delhi, India, a place on the map that I had only been to once before and I am beyond excited for this trip. My last visit here was under very different circumstances. I had come to India just after the coordinated terror attacks at the Intercontinental Hotel to evaluate the risks of business continuity in a region that is so vastly different than the United States. I found it fascinating! Although, the project took a different turn, my curiosity about India as a country, culture and home to a variety amazing wonders, grew profoundly.