My train wasn't due to leave until 11PM this evening, so the hotel owner kindly let me have my room during the day for half price. I can't stress enough the importance of this - in such a crazy city, you need your own little area that no-one else can intrude on. I decided to finish off my Delhi sightseeing by visiting the National Museum, just south of the Raj Path. I was scammed again when I was told I had to hand in my bag at the cloakroom, despite the fact that no-one else did. It cost Rs 600 to get in - 300 for being a foreigner, and 300 for having a camera. You also were paying for an audio tour whether you wanted it or not, and following the audio tour ended up ... read more

Even though Connaught Place had the decency to be open today, there was a shortage of places selling phones. And the ones that did exist were quoting ludicrous prices for their supposedly cheapest handsets, so the boys in Paharganj ended up getting my custom. There was a strange moment part way through the transaction, when there was a commotion outside and suddenly the owner started bringing in all the tables from the street. It seems as though the police had been spotted further down the market, and it's actually illegal to have anything on the street - it should all be in the store itself. This meant that half the market disappeared in about 3 minutes. I do think I'm getting better at spotting the touts and dealing with them appropriately. Based on what's happened so ... read more

Meeting up with my chum from yesterday at 9AM looked increasingly like a bad idea, given that jet lag, people shouting inside the hotel, people shouting outside the hotel, and a synchronised barkathon by the neighbourhood dogs at ~4AM, had conspired to keep my sleep time to a minimum. But I kept to the schedule, he bundled me into an auto, and off we went. He had just been looking in a clothes store because apparently "Sock is broken", a comment which deserves an airing in the next series of Little Britain. Again, the atmosphere was very convivial. We had some chai, and talked about Indian culture. I asked if he ever saw any Western movies, to which he replied "Oh yes, we get some great ones here". Such as? "Anaconda". The one with Jennifer Lopez? ... read more

What a tiresome day. For reasons too tedious to relate in full, I'm going to be stuck in the UK for another 2.5 weeks. In short, British Midland cancelled my flight to London, and there was no subsequent flight that would get me to London in time for my connection. And because my Virgin flight to Delhi was bought using airmiles, Virgin would only allow me to swap to another flight with an available "airmiles" seat - the next available one of which isn't until 17th November. This post was originally twice as long, but I have just removed all the obscenities.... read more

Only 5 days to go before I leave for India, and the doxycycline will be making its first appearance this weekend as part of my breakfast. Despite packing clothing with only one concession to cold weather - a lightweight fleece - my 50 litre rucksack is going to be brimming. I'm thinking that maybe the composition of my pack is all wrong - should 50% of the items really be medication? - but I can't see what I could leave out. I have zero experience of backpacking, so future regrets of what I did/didn't pack will all be part of the fun. I resigned from my job about 3 months ago, and that time has been spent first with winding down my life in New York and transporting everything back to the UK, and then with ... read more