Neon Jungles

Indian tourists wander through the neon jungle of the tourist quarter with big grins on their faces. You can find Mughlai, Bengali, south Indian and even Nepali restaurants, not to mention reasonable facsimiles of Mexican, Italian, French and Chinese cuisine. To wash it down, a better choice of beers and local liquor than you'll find at any eating spot in Delhi. There's shopping galore and for anyone who has any money left after Diwali, an opportunity to lose all your remaining cash in the surprisingly calm and wholesome casinos.

Just as another illustration that we're all the same under the skin, I came upon a family from Delhi having an animated discussion in the hotel lobby one morning. "All they want is our money," said a women in a pink sari. "They lie to us, and take us to expensive shops owned by their brothers and cousins." My flash of deja vu wasn't hard to explain. Just listen to almost any exasperated western tourist in Agra, or Jaipur, or Delhi.