Our first day in Delhi. The embassy complex is quiet, clean, green and huge. There's a market, bowling alley, baseball field, pool, gym, 2 restaurants, a coffee shop, book store, library, curios shops - everything. Plus clean water and reliable electricity. SO why leave this safe-haven where the kids can play and ride bikes freely ?
We decided to take a small walking trip to the local market. The typical Indian neighborhood in this area has lots of open garbage and heavy traffic : Bicycles, walkers, cars, tuk-tuks, and motorcycles that are constantly honking. The electrical grid looks dangerously over burdened - an electrical/fire hazard put together by clowns. Some electrical poles are falling over by either hits from autos or by the weight of the wires. I'm a tall guy by Indian standards. The transformers are at eye level and exposed wires are everywhere, so you have to watch the kids closely.
We walked down a side street to one of the local neighborhood "strip malls" There were several passport facilities, shoe and bicycle repair guys, lunch wallahs, 2 pharmacies, post office, and a chai wallah. There was a wall that the barber set a mirror and 2 chairs in front of with clients waiting for cuts.
And there was a fresh fruit and veggie strand loaded with all sorts of goodies - the only problem with that is you have to soak the produce in a bleach solution before putting it in the fridge. Dogs are everywhere. In the street, in the parks, near the vendors. None of them looked threatening - also, unlike most dogs in the US, did they look interested in human contact. We often saw small packs of dogs eating out of the garbage.