Delhi: practical tips

The real calendar

Let’s do the whole year, because the good window is narrower than people think. From April to June, Delhi goes past forty-five degrees with a brutal dryness: it’s a heat that makes sightseeing impossible between eleven and five. From July to September the monsoon arrives, which drops the temperature but fills everything with humidity and water. From November to January there’s the air problem.

That leaves October, February and March. Those are the months: pleasant temperature, acceptable air and good light. It’s a narrow window and that’s also why they’re the most sought-after. If you have to come outside them, adapt: in summer, get up early and use midday for museums and the metro, which are air-conditioned. In winter, check the air quality index the way you’d check for rain, and if the day looks bad, swap the outdoor plan for an indoor one.

And account for the big festivals: at Diwali and Holi the city is a spectacle, but many businesses close and everything gets complicated.

The water, and the stomach

The rule admits no convenient exceptions: bottled water always, including for brushing your teeth. Check the seal is intact when you open it. No ice in drinks from places you don’t know, and be careful with fresh juices with ice and with pre-peeled fruit.

That said, don’t go around afraid, because fear makes you miss the best of it. You can eat superbly on the street in Delhi by applying three filters: a queue of locals, food made in front of you with fire, and high turnover. And be realistic with yourself: if your stomach isn’t used to this level of spice and of different bacteria, give it a few days before throwing yourself at everything, and bring the basics from home. Rehydration salts above all, which is what actually matters if it catches you.

Discuss vaccines and prophylaxis with your doctor before travelling, well ahead, because some need weeks.

The metro, and the women’s carriage

Delhi’s metro hands the visitor the best news in the city: it’s modern, clean, cheap, air-conditioned and it reaches almost everything you want to see, skipping traffic that’s among the worst on the planet. Use it by default for everything. There’s a security check on entering each station, with a queue, so allow five extra minutes.

Two things to know. The first: the first carriage of every train is women-only, it’s marked on the platform and it’s scrupulously respected. If you’re a man, don’t step into it even absent-mindedly.

If you’re a woman travelling alone, that carriage exists precisely for that and it’s comfortable.

The second: at peak times, Delhi’s metro is full in a way that has to be seen, so if you have suitcases or children, avoid seven in the evening. Buy the rechargeable card on day one and forget about queuing at machines.

How to behave, and haggling

A few things that are welcome known in advance. In temples, mosques and gurdwaras you take your shoes off, and in Sikh ones you also cover your head: they hand out scarves at the door. You eat and give with your right hand. The left has another function and using it reads as unclean. Dressing with shoulders and knees covered is the norm and saves you looks, especially at places of worship and outside tourist areas.

On money: a tip of around ten per cent is expected in restaurants with table service, if it isn’t already on the bill. Haggling is normal in markets and with rickshaws, and it isn’t a conflict: it’s a conversation, done with good humour and without souring. But there’s an asymmetry worth keeping in mind: the difference you’re arguing over is usually small for you and not so small for the other person. Haggle, it’s correct and expected, but don’t turn it into a sport.

And in shops with marked prices and in app taxis, there’s no haggling at all: there the price is the price.