The Experience of Night Life in India

When it comes to living in India, my choice of place falls in Delhi, even though I love traveling to other parts of the country. After visiting so many cities in India, there is barely any city or town that I don’t like. There is something about every city, which fascinates me. When I am in Delhi, I like the nightlife of the city, even though it does not match the level of energy in Mumbai.

The best part about driving at night is that I don’t get much traffic in Delhi, unlike Mumbai where the roads are occupied at all times of the day. I have been to several road trips within Delhi and outside the city as well. I try to wake up around 2 am if I have to travel for more than 500 kilometers for the trip. And when I am in the city, I can drive until 3-4 am with friends, girlfriend, or anyone else.

Whenever I have to go for clubbing, I know that I will be drinking. Therefore, I choose not to drive at all on return. If there is a friend who is not drinking, he or she is the best option to accompany. If I don’t have any friend to drop me home, I prefer to pay for a cab. It is not that the sense of responsibility was always there in me; it is the Delhi police that taught me the right lessons at the right time.

Whenever there is an important occasion like Christmas, Holi, or New Year’s Eve, the number of people going for clubbing increases manifolds and so does the number of police personnel strolling outside the clubs. They check every driver for alcohol and if found guilty, they do not spare without a challan or bribe. For the fear of paying fine, I have learned to avoid paying them illegal money and pay that amount for a cab.

I have had an accident in the past when I was in Kolkata. Since the local traffic laws are not that strict in the city, I had taken an Innova for hire for Self Drive in Chennai and planned for a boisterous birthday party. I met my friends and we all went for a night party in a hotel. We all got heavily drunk and I decided to drive because I was confident that nothing can happen when I am driving. I have been driving for more than ten years, but that day was not a lucky one. Due to sheer carelessness, I banged the car in a tree because I was out of my senses. I could not take control of the car properly and it hit the tree. Thankfully, the speed of the car was not much and none of us got hurt.

That day still haunts me whenever I sit back and recollect my memories because it was the single bad accident that I had. Since that day, I drive responsibly for the sake of my safety and that of others. After having great night outs, there is no use risking the life of others along with mine.

How Mumbai is Different from Other Cities

I have been fortunate to live in different cities of India and have a taste of different cultures. Just after completing my school, I happened to live in Delhi for a few years, switched to Trivendrum for a media course, and life took me to many other cities for various experiences. Let me share how Mumbai differentiated itself from all other cities.

When I came to Delhi in early 2000, the Delhi metro was not so popular. I had to commute to places either by bus or auto-rickshaws; both of these modes of transportation were notorious. The bus drivers used to rash drive the bus and those were the days when Blue Line bus drivers were famous for knocking off people on the road. No one would dare to challenge these drivers as the Delhi-ites hardly had any alternate for transportation. Nonetheless, the auto-rickshaw driver during those time were no less than goons who would extort money from other people because of the monopoly they enjoyed.

At present, whenever I go to Delhi, the scenario has changed a lot because of Uber, Ola, and many other cab services. I can ask the auto-drivers to turn on the meter and charge a fair price. Sometimes, they may refuse to go by the meter and ask for an arbitrary price.

In Trivedrum, the auto-rickshaw scene is quite messed up. They would switch on the meter, and it showed 45 INR for a short distance once. I handed over 100 INR to the driver, who returned 50 INR to me. I looked at him bewildered, he made strange face, shook his head, and ran off without saying a word. With time I realized that I cannot ask for the remaining amount from the auto driver after he rounds off the bill to the nearest 10.

In Chennai, I have had the worst experience with auto-rickshaw drivers who do not care to install any meter in their vehicle. They can ask for any amount they like for a short distance and be stubborn about it. The choice is on the passenger whether he wants to ride his auto-rickshaw or not. After paying hundreds of rupees to these notorious drivers, I decided to have Innova Self Drive for my road trip from Chennai.

The best is the attitude of Mumbai drivers. If the meter in the vehicle says 49 INR, I would hand over a 100 Rupee note to him, and he would return 51 INR exact change to me. Most of the drivers have it ingrained in their minds that they should be honest with their passengers. There have been many instances in the past when the drivers have returned precious gold jewelry and lakhs of rupees in cash to their passengers who forget their stuff in the auto-rickshaw.

The attitude of people in Mumbai impresses me every time I visit there. I don’t have to struggle with people for daily events such as commuting even though the city is heavily packed with people all the time. Until now, Delhi and Mumbai are my top favorite places to travel and stay whenever I get a chance to go to places.

My Idea of Intimate Travel at New Places

When it comes to closely traveling at places, I need to make sure that I do it as I like it. There are countless places in India that require the attention of Indians, who are more focused towards foreign destinations these days. It pains my heart to see that my friends do not value their own country, which is so beautiful and vast that it may take an entire lifetime to explore it. Even if I dedicate my entire life to just travel to one city, town, or village at a time, I won’t be able to cover the entire India.

My idea of traveling diligently to a new place is to go for a walk and talk to the locals. The airplanes can take you to the farthest corners of the world, but they cannot take you to the brightest or darkest corners of a town. I have been to the small streets of Paris, New York, and New Delhi. Everything that I had seen on TV seemed to fade away when I talked to the locals of these places. They tell a lot of insider stories about their native place that never finds mention in books and journals.

When I was in Udaipur, I would hate to walk in the polluted alleys, but I still went for it. Firstly, the roads in Udaipur are not spacious enough for a car to drive smoothly. Second, they streets are already so polluted that I did not feel like contributing more to it, so I did not hire a scooter for traveling. Thirdly, the city is not too big and the markets are adjacent to each other. I could easily walk or hire an auto-rickshaw whenever I did not feel like walking.

Last year, I was in Kolkata where the boat rides are quite famous. Although the city is not too clean, it is still great to know it from a lesser distance. I also hired Self-Drive Cars in Kolkata to drive off to farther places, but my two feet served the purpose most of the times. It also lets me decide my own pace when I am walking. I don’t like to move quickly because it makes me miss the most beautiful things of a town. Walking, on the other hand, is a beautiful form of slow travel. I get to see things, places, and people closely without disturbing their lives.

There was an instance in Delhi when I went for morning walk and I did not carry any money. I boarded a bus and asked the conductor if I could ride without paying. Surprisingly, he agreed as I was visibly tired of walking a lot.

The best part about strolling is that I get to save money, even if they are a few bucks. I, being a typical Indian, love to save a single penny, even if that means I spend hundreds of bucks later on an expensive pizza. That’s funny, I know, but I cannot help it.

My Idea of Solo Trips in India

Some things are beyond your control, and so is my urge for solitude. I do like to be with my family and friends, but I cannot ignore the compulsive need to spend time with myself every few months. This may not make me a real solo traveler as other people are around the world, but I love intermittent solitude every once in a while.

Trip to the mountains

If my love for mountains could be put in words, I would do that here, but I cannot. On my last trip to Kasol, I had very high expectations of the place, but that place was too much crowded with people. There were hundreds of folks wandering around, which made me felt even more claustrophobic than Delhi. I so wanted to leave that place and reach a quiet one that I just spent one night there. I left for Tosh the next morning and had a great time in the camp. Then, I went for trekking the next day, which was a really challenging experience. Although the mountains of Kheerganga trek intimidated me at that time, my heart still goes to that place whenever I think about it. The plush green forests were so breathtaking, even though tough to hike, that I wanted to click a picture at every few meters. I have been to several other mountain treks with friends and a few of them alone, which makes me confidently say that I love the hills of North India.

Trip to the beaches

I had heard it somewhere that mountain-lovers do not love the beaches, and it is absolutely true in my case. I like the beaches, but my love for them is a little lesser than the hills. Thankfully, I have never been to any beach site alone. There were people with me whenever I had a plan to go to a beach city, whether it was in India or abroad. I don’t know why, but beaches do not give me that peace that I receive from the mountains. I can enjoy my solitary time only for a while at such places. After that, I need someone to talk to, be it anyone.

Trip in the city

I have never met anyone who likes to walk around the city alone, but myself. I like to explore the new streets and cafes of Delhi, the religious shrines around the city, and the roadside restaurants as well. I hired Self-Drive Car Rental in Delhi last month and just drove to random streets wherever I felt like. It was an amazing day-out, which is unexplainable. I have been to various libraries, museums, and parks just for the sake of being in silence for a day. It gives immense gratification that I cannot elaborate in words.

A solo traveler, according to me, is not just the one who leaves footprints around the world, but the one who can enjoy silence in the mind and heart even while being among the people.