Delhi Subway

I'm a big fan of public transportation, especially of trains and other things that go on rails.
As such, I was completely blown away by the Delhi subway - it's probably one of the more modern underground systems in the world.

Naturally, at least for me, it'll never compare to the beauty of the Moscow Metro or the complexity or awesomeness of the New York subway or London Underground.


The one word that always came to mind when I was in the Delhi subway was "dichotomy", probably the most overused word in my freshman "cultures-ideas-and-values" class. Yet it was perfectly applicable to the Delhi Subway: there may be crumbling buildings, dirt, poverty and destitution above ground, especially in the Chowry Bazaar/Chandni Chowk stations in the center of town, while down below you have perfectly modern trains running on schedule in immaculately clean stations.

Another funny moment was that everyone coming into the station had to go through a metal detector and a bag search to prevent terrorism. I wonder how well that'd scale during rush hour in New York, or even Delhi for that matter.

Riding the subway in Delhi is also incredibly cheap - it's only 8 rupees to go from Rajiv Chowk (center of Connaught Place) to Chandni Chowk (near the Red Fort in the center of Old Delhi). Highly recommend the experience!