Jaunted - New Delhi

So, Just How Safe Is India?

pbb — 2008-12-04T16:45:25-05:00

Not long ago, the BBC reported gunfire at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. But now reports indicate that it was merely a scare, easily understandable in the wake of last week's terrorist attack on Mumbai. So with tensions super high and governments warning about continuing dangers, it's fair to ask, just how safe is India?

The conversation, as usual, is on Twitter, where Budget Travel magazine says:

Peter Greenberg had bad timing in defending travel there in his newsletter today.

A few others agree, but while we said an airport shooting would be "the last thing India needs right now," we also have to get behind Greenberg's call that the Mumbai attacks shouldn't deter travelers.

As the "Today Show" travel editor points out:

The very best time to go somewhere is after there’s been a civil disturbance, a terrorist act or a natural disaster, because … these countries derive the bulk of their foreign exchange from travel and tourism. It supports their economy. The worst thing you can do to a country is to disrupt their travel and tourism if you want to shake their economy to its foundation.

Are the odds of something terrible happening in the next few weeks in India greater than the odds of a terrorist assault on Des Moines before Christmas? Probably. But should we all cross the country off our lists for the foreseeable future? Probably not.

Related Stories:
· Surveying Mumbai After The Terror Siege [Jaunted]

[Photo: Stuti ~]

My Nose Is On Fire

Todd — 2008-11-10T08:57:19-05:00

Chasing Racers is back, with a brand new Amazing Race 13 mashup. This map will update the morning after every new episode. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors, become a member and comment on the stories below and add to the Jaunted-Flickr photo pool to get in on the fray.

Remember to zoom in, out and around on the map--with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.

Well race fans, it's hard to believe, but we're getting down to the last few exciting episodes: Only six teams remain in the quest for the million dollar prize. Last week, Ken and Tina lucked out on a non-elimination leg, but they face a Speed Bump, an extra task that only they must complete to stay in the race. Will they be able to overcome the setback and charge ahead--or will they self-destruct? Can Kelly and Christy build on their second-place finish last week and stay ahead of the pack? Will Starr ever give Dallas her phone number?!

Please Hold Me While I Singe My Skull

Todd — 2008-11-03T08:30:06-05:00

Remember to zoom in, out and around on the map--with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.

Well, race fans, we're basically left with two types of teams: Pretty and pretty annoying. This week, teams depart Cambodia for New Delhi, India and a whole new world of challenges. The clock is ticking, and with only six teams left, every decision is make or break.

Will Kelly and Christy serve Nick and Starr a big heaping plate of revenge? Can Ken and Tina continue to work through their extramarital issues and power through to the end? Will Toni and Dallas keep focused on the race, or does Dallas have Starr in his eyes?

LET'S FIND OUT

Street Art Travel: C215 First to Bomb India?

Dan Gould — 2008-10-23T13:00:49-05:00

C215 is a talented street artist from Paris. His code name references his real name--and possibly the number of a jail cell he spent time in. He primarily creates evocative portraits of people he encounters on the streets in remote and downtrodden neighborhoods.

He recently took a trip to the Karol Bagh District of New Delhi to create a series of street portraits. C215 may be the first street/stencil artist ever to paint on the streets of India. It was a challenging endeavor, he says, as he was occasionally threatened and usually drew large crowds who wanted to watch the action.

Related Stories:
· C215: India [Flickr]
· C215 [Flickr]
· Street Art coverage [Jaunted]

Monkeys Menacing New Delhi

pbb — 2007-11-14T11:05:01-05:00

If you want to see the world's most street-savvy monkeys, book your trip to India soon. The government of New Delhi is finally dealing with the city's primate problem, finally fed up with the thousands of critters that have taken over as urban sprawl eats up their habitat.

The catalyst for the crackdown was the late October death of the city's deputy mayor who fell from a balcony fighting off a pack of primates. Though New Delhi has tried for years to eradicate the macaque menace, lack of funds for animal control and devotion from Hindus has kept the population from shrinking. All the while, the animals have been on the attack, biting park-goers, invading hospitals and rampaging through neighborhoods, rich and poor.

So until the city can round up the primates and restore order, what's a New Delhi visitor to do? Animal rights activist Sonya Ghosh has some tips for avoiding trouble:

The only way is to ignore them. Never look a monkey in the eye, never raise your eyebrows at one: it's interpreted as a challenge.

Related Stories:
· Monkeys in The Parks, Monkeys in The Palace [NYT]
· India Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Animals coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Japs - TheGypsy]

HOWTO: Fly Without Taking Off

amandak — 2007-10-03T09:15:01-05:00

Some of us jump on and off flights so often, it's easy to forget that plenty of people might never get the chance to set foot on a wobbly set of aircraft steps. But an enterprising retired Indian Airlines engineer named Bahadur Chand Gupta has come up with a neat solution to help spread the joy of sitting in a cramped airplane cabin eating horrible food.

Gupta bought an old Airbus 300 a few years ago and has now assembled it in a Delhi suburb. Now he, his wife and a few staff pretending to be airline stewards don their uniforms every Saturday for the flight that doesn't fly. They sell tickets for about $4 to people who want to experience life on an airplane but can't afford to get airborne.

Gupta makes pilot announcements (including turbulence warnings), his wife and friends serve airplane food and push their trolleys up and down the aisles and the plane goes nowhere. It's better that way: The aircraft's missing a wing and half its tail. But that doesn't stop the enjoyment. We're wondering if they make the experience more authentic by throwing in the odd vomiting passenger or screaming child.

Related Stories:
· Tickets Take Off, Plane Stays Put [news.com.au]
· Don't Catch a Plane, Pull It [Jaunted]
· Travel Stories in New Delhi [Jaunted]

[Photo: Keenan Pepper]

Life in an Indian Airport

amandak — 2007-05-03T09:17:40-05:00

We've seen it before, both in real life in Paris and on the silver screen with Tom Hanks: occasionally, people get really, truly stuck in an airport.

It's happened again, this time in New Delhi, when two Bangladeshi men without the right visas got sent back from Saudi Arabia sans passports, and India wouldn't let them back in without them. So instead of getting rich in Saudi (that was the plan), the two men spent 48 days of boredom in a Delhi airport terminal. And we can't even find any evidence of WiFi there. That's terminal boredom.

[Photo: seaview99]

Related Stories:
· Delhi Airport Hosts "Terminal Men" For 48 Days [Reuters]
· Bunnies and Airports [Jaunted]