A book, and a friend in Delhi.
Everyone has an opinion about Delhi. I was born here.
195 pages on how Delhi really works, from someone who still lives here. And me on WhatsApp, for your whole trip.
$29 for the first 100 readers, then $39. Just the book on Kindle: $12.99.
TRUTH DELHI The Delhi they don't put in the guidebooks. SAURABH
The first page. 194 more like it.
The questions
Almost none of it is the real thing.
Some of it is true. Most of it is old, blown up, or one video nobody questioned. These are the questions people ask me most, with the answers from the book.
Pick a question
Who's writing
I'm not a travel company. I'm just a guy from Delhi.
Hi, I'm Saurabh. Born in Delhi, still here. I worked two years in Qatar and spent nineteen months in Medellín, so I know what it's like to land somewhere and know nobody. And the minute people found out I'm Indian, the questions started. Rats? Cows? Is it dirty? Is it safe?
It's the same every time a friend visits me here. "Bro, the taxi guy says my hotel is closed. Is that true?" It isn't. It almost never is.
Some of what people hear is true. Some of it is ten years old. A lot of it is one video. I'm not here to defend Delhi. If something's bad, I'll tell you it's bad.
So I wrote down everything I actually tell my friends. No filter, no tourism-board stuff. Just the truth.
On WhatsApp
I've been the foreigner too.
Two years working in Qatar. Nineteen months in Medellín. I know the exact moments when you wish you knew just one local person. Here they are, and what I do in each one.
Examples of the messages friends send me when they visit. With the Traveller's Edition, you can send me the same.
You can't buy a friend. But here, you get one. A friend, a brother, whatever feels right. Someone who's here.
The story behind the name
पहले गुड महाराज को दो।
"Give it to Good Maharaj first."
My Nana said that every time there were sweets or fruit in the house. Good Maharaj was his name for my mum, Guddi. Whatever was good, she got it first. And usually a little extra.
"Whenever I hear the words Good Maharaj, I remember him… it feels like one of my father's memories is still travelling with our family."Guddi, my mum, in the last pages of the book
Nana's gone now. Mum always asked me to keep the name he gave her on whatever I make. So it's on this book.
So when you come to Delhi, come home.
Have chai with us, or lunch, or dinner, or just evening snacks, whatever fits your day. Meet my mum, sit with us, eat with us. No tour, nothing to sell you. Just a family in Delhi that's happy you came.
- Morning chai
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Evening snacks
Saurabhand my mum, GuddiTwo ways to get it
Same book. The difference is me.
On Amazon you get the book. Here you get the book, and a person in Delhi who picks up.
First 100 readers: $29. After that, $39 for exactly the same.
- The full 195-page book, PDF and EPUB, on any device, with free updates
- Me on WhatsApp for your trip, from planning to the day you fly home
- Your hotel and your Delhi plan checked before you fly
- My name as your local reference for a SIM, and calls in Hindi when you need them
- If something goes wrong, I help you through it, wherever I am
- No expiry. One copy covers everyone travelling with you
Instant download · 30-day refund, no questions
₹1,149 in India · sold by Amazon
- The full book, on Amazon
- Just the book
Already bought it on Kindle? You don't pay twice. Upgrade for just the difference
Why $39? A guide gives you one day. This gives you the whole trip: the book before you fly, and me from your first plan to your flight home. Corrections keep coming to you free. And if it helped you, tell a friend. That's how a guy without a company grows.
Founding readers
The first 100 readers pay $29.
You'd be backing a first-time author before there's a single review. So the first 100 pay $29 instead of $39, and get a place on the wall if they want one.
- Buy in the first 100 and you pay $29.
- On WhatsApp I'll ask if you'd like to be on the wall. Say no and nothing changes.
- If yes, send your first name and country. A photo only if you want.
- Your name goes up about a month after you buy, once the 30-day refund window has closed. Change your mind later? Tell me and I'll take it down the same day.
0 of 100 spots taken
Inside the book
What's in the book
195 pages, in the order you'll need them. From your sofa at home, through the airport at 2am, to the morning a chai seller starts making your tea before you ask.
At the back: the Arrival Checklist, the Ground Card with Delhi's emergency numbers, the apps to install, a phrasebook you can screenshot, and the Ledger.
The Ledger
My book has almost no prices in it. On purpose.
Prices go stale the day a book is printed. So the book tells you how things work, and the exact numbers live online in the Ledger, each one dated, with where I checked it. It's free for everyone.
Five lines from the Ledger. The full list has every source and date, and it's free.
From Delhi, lately
New from Delhi
Before you buy
Questions people ask me
How does it reach me?
It depends where you buy. Here on the website (Traveller's Edition), the book lands in your inbox in seconds as a PDF and an EPUB, and your receipt has a button that opens a WhatsApp chat with me. On Amazon (Kindle), the book appears in your Kindle app. That's just the book: Amazon doesn't tell me who you are, so there's no WhatsApp with it.
Will you really come to the airport?
If I'm free, yes. I try to meet everyone I can and drop them at their hotel. But I can't promise it for every flight, so it's never part of what you pay for.
Can I really come to your home?
Yes. For chai, lunch, dinner or evening snacks, whatever fits your plans and ours. Send me your dates and I'll check with my mum. It's not part of what you pay for. You're just welcome.
What if my trip is years away?
Message me when you start planning. There's no expiry, and coming back another year is the same chat.
What if you're not in Delhi?
Then I help from wherever I am, same as always. Most of what you'll need is a call or a message anyway. If you'd need someone there in person, I'll tell you honestly and find you the right help.
Do you get commissions?
No. I don't sell tours, hotels or drivers. If you want, I'll book your Uber or sit with you and plan your budget, the way friends do. You pay for your own ride and your own meal. Nothing goes through me.
Does it cover Agra, Jaipur or the rest of India?
The book is Delhi only, because that's where I've checked everything on the ground. But I've travelled a lot of India, and I'll gladly help you plan the route: how many days, where to stop, what to skip. My one piece of advice: don't touch and go. India isn't a checklist. Every state is like a different country, with its own language, food and festivals. See fewer places, and see them properly.
We're a couple, a family, a group. One copy each?
No. One copy covers you and the people travelling with you, in one chat.
What's the difference with Kindle?
Same book. Kindle is $12.99 (₹1,149 in India), and it's just the book. The website edition is the book and me.
I already bought it on Kindle. Can I upgrade?
Yes, and you don't pay twice. Open the Kindle upgrade page here, send me your Amazon order, and I'll email you a code that takes $13 off the Traveller's Edition.
What's free?
The Ledger, with today's prices and rules, and the Ground Card, with Delhi's emergency numbers. Safety numbers shouldn't sit behind a payment.
Is it in my language?
English now. Spanish (Colombian) and Brazilian Portuguese are coming once a native speaker has checked every page.
Is paying here safe?
Yes. Checkout runs on Payhip, used by thousands of independent authors, and you pay through PayPal with a card or a PayPal account. I never see your card details, and PayPal's buyer protection applies.
What if it's not for me?
Reply to your receipt within 30 days and you get your money back. No forms, no reasons, no hard feelings. I'd rather you leave happy than stay unhappy.
Your trip
Land in Delhi with a friend already there.
The whole book tonight, and me on WhatsApp from the day you start planning to the day you fly home.