India - Delhi

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India - Delhi! Wow!! I think is the first word that comes to mind about India. After a bit of a nightmare journey getting to the airport (stuck in a big crash not moving for an hour!) we got on our plane heading to Delhi. The flight was good, even James enjoyed it and we got our first taste of curry. After 8 and a half hours we arrived in Delhi and had a nervous wait for our luggage - ours was the last to come off the plane! We were met by a man who just waved at us and motioned us to follow him arriving at a car that took us through some of the poorest parts of Delhi. We couldn't get over the amount of people sleeping on the floor, in rickshaws and on pavements. We finally arrived in a very dark street that looked like a building site. The taxi driver motioned us to a ally and said our hotel was down there. Past the urinals we went and past many over dubious buildings until we reached the Smyle Inn, which in fact was ok. Everyone is very friendly and the room was clean apart from 2resident cockroaches- 1 didn't make it! He was compressed sharply by James' foot. The next day, after a good sleep our building site road had become a bustling bazaar and we mean bustling. It was obviously very clear we were the new kids on the block as we were constantly hassled with various things and many autorickshaw drivers. Eventually, we hired a rickshaw for the day and were shown the sights of Delhi including India Gate, Gandhi's resting place, a Mughal tomb, Indira Gandhi's house, parliament house, president's house and a very large Hindu temple rounded off with a great curry. In the evening, we went up to the Red Fort to see the sound and light show, but it wasn't on due to the heat so we ended up in an Indian version of Greggs (various curried pastry things) Got a cycle rickshaw home - James' face was a picture, trying to hold on to the take away, some beer and to the seat! Monday was Indian cooking day - Fantastic! We arrived at an Indian ladies house called Jyoti at 11.30 and were shown how to cook 10 different recipes as well as being told all about India and how they use their spices as herbal remedies (did you know if you cut yourself while in the kitchen you should put turmeric on it! If you mix it with milk it soothes aching bones). We learnt how to cook soup, chutney, pakoras, tikki, rogan josh, butter chicken, paratha, Indian rice pudding and various other things. We then tucked into a 4 course meal and met the rest of the family. After that she took us to an Indian spice market and we saw death row for chickens. They were literally cutting their heads off right then and there! The smell - I will let you imagine! Today (Tuesday) we walked around Connaught Place and found an Indian fast food place called Saravana Bhavan - brilliant south Indian food, served on a banana leaf in little pots - great! Fed both of us with 2 drinks for 3 pounds! We are now off to get the train to Jaisalmer - 18 hours here we come! We will update you soon. Thank you for all the comments. Love you all lots and will speak to you soon xx

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