East Delhi

The night before we flew to Delhi, we saw a BBC news article titled: "Delhi Panics as 'Deadly Smog' Returns." With everything already booked, we figured experiencing the most polluted place on earth at its worst is all part of the adventure. Upon arrival, it looked as if we had entered a post-apocalyptic world. However, Andreas and I were buzzing because we made it to India! Andreas' dream destination and in our minds, the pinnacle of our trip.

With our double face masks firmly in place, we experienced a vibrant, exciting, crowded, and sensory-overloaded city. One interesting thing to note is that women have special treatment here. Separate lines for security, special seats on the train, and as one local pointed out to us, women are allowed to go to the front of lines. This proved useful when I cut about 40 men in line to buy metro tickets.

Despite the thick smog, we decided to go on a free city tour. We went to a beautiful Sikh temple and spent time listening to the hypnotic live music. In all Sikh temples, anyone can eat and stay for free. It is only encouraged that you help out preparing the food (however they never directly ask for donations or volunteering). The whole thing was quite the production. They were cooking the curry in swimming pool-sized pots. We helped by making roti bread with local families. We were then served a delicious all you can eat dinner with vegetable curry and roti. You can even takeaway as much food as you and your family need, no questions asked. The temple we visited feeds about 7,000 people a day for free. However, one temple in India feeds 70,000-100,000+ people a day for free! Somehow, these amazing communities make it work.

We are happy to leave the thick smog as we head to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.Read more