Delhi Diaries I

Yup.. am in Delhi.. so its only fair I note down some of my experiences here..

Metro!!!
Had to go to Connaught Place the other day to buy a Pathfinder, and was advised that the metro wud be the best n most convenient way to travel. No amount of stuff i had read abt it prepared me for the experience. Blive me you, its truly a world class accomplishment!
I reached Tilak ngr metro stn using 1 of the numerous mini vans (metro links). and the 1st obstacle i faced was.. wheres the damn entry for the metro? The line itself is well above street level, and after 2 mins of walkin around the station i deduced that the 4 underground subway like entrances must be it (i kno.. brilliant deduction by Capt.Nair yet again!!!!!).
walked in.. went upto the token counter.. but then.. i was not sure what to do.. so i just stood there..looking around..soon noticed the metro route map on the counter window.. n noticed 'tilak ngr' marked on it.. ok..now my destination was CP.. but no CP on map!! Hmm.. went up to the counter..( surprise folks!! hardly no.. or little rush at the counters..though the time was 10 am.. so not exactly peak traffic hr).. and found out i shud be gettin off at 'barrakhamba'.. ok gr8! fare:a paltry 15 bucks..(w-o-w)..
ok.. now i have to pass thru the inefficient lookin security system present at every stn. uniformed guards (only males!!!!) who frisk and check every bag b4 u get on the stn. finally.. im at the platform.. lookin triumphant..but then i realise.. in which direction shud i board a train!? after asking around.. i once again got my delhi geography corrected. and stood on the platform to board a train to barakhamba. well..in 30 secs.. a train came along.. stopped.. doors slid open.. i walked in.
1. Brilliant air conditioning.. inspite of the oppressive humidity n heat outside.. the insides were simply gr8! even wen the train got crowded..( offcourse.. im not using mumbai local std for reference here! by which stds.. the trains wud qualify as being EMPTY).
2. spic n span interiors.. this inspite of noticing that the general profile of the ppl using the metro.. not jus included the smart n trendy urbane folks.. but also the poor.. dirty and down trodden folks! hmmm.. how did the govt get the ppl to keep it so clean???!!!
3.Pricing: my observation above.. of even the poor using it.. is proof tat they have got the pricing right. but then.. prompts me to ask..is the metro makin any profit? last when i checked..with official published audits... operational profits are GOOD... but recovery on investment.. will take some more time.But nevertheless, gr8 pricing!
4. Another brilliant thing i noticed was.. use of stainless steel as much as possible..and neat plastic seats/interiors. Very discouraging for the avg indian vandal to find he cant scratch or tear anythin apart here!!!!

well.. tats abt it.. overall.. i must admit.. very impressive.. and really cant w8 for some of tat magic to get to mumbai..(yes.. the foundation block was laid by the PM a few weeks back.. n the planned date of completion is around 2009 or so..)

stay tuned for more of my delhi experience..