The Beginning

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The trip didn't get off to the best of starts. Even though Heathrow T5 is a very impressive building, it didn't stop me from being sick of the sight of it, by the time I left for India. This was due to my flight delay of nothing less than five hours. Since it was only the first obstruction along the way, I shrugged my shoulders and said c'est la vie.

Finally, 6AM Indian time, I arrived in Delhi airport. My man was there to pick me up with his sign that said "Daniel Havees". He dropped me at my musty hotel where I could only get 4 hours sleep due to an early checkout time. Jetlagged, grouchy and just plain miserable.

Time to get down and dirty. I had to find myself a hotel for the next two days. No mean feat when every second person hassled me for hotels, tours and "very good stuff" (drugs!). I even was acosted by an ear cleaner and a shoe shiner even though I was only wearing flip-flops. Finally I got myself a nice hotel in the seedy but backpacker area of Paharganj. Free room service and they did pizza too! Heaven within hell.

The next couple of days I did my touristy expeditions around Delhi. Humayun's Tomb and Jama Masjid (largest mosque in India) were the highlights because it was away from the hussle and bussle. Everywhere else all you hear in horns tooting and shouting from bazaar shop owners. Some shop owners thought I was Australian, American, Japanese, Nepalese and even Indian. I even went to watch Canada vs. Kenya in the Cricket World Cup. The game was not great but I had a great view. Unfortunately I was unable to take in any possessions apart from my phone. Nightmare when I turned up with my camera and day bag.

Overall, Delhi is a massive culture shock. Mass poverty, people cleaning themselves in raw sewage water, rickshaws ridden down motorways, cows walking down town streets and many more things I will just have to get used to. To be honest, I couldn't wait to get out of Delhi. Not the ideal place to start off but I learned many lessons very fast.

Before I left, I ate an Indian stylee McDonald's meal - The Maharaja Burger Meal. Onwards to Rajasthan to the desert and an 18 hour train ride. Woohoo

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Photos

Autorickshaws
If only the UK had them. About 70p to go 5km.

Cobra Man
Tried to charge me 500Rs for a photo. Cheeky bugger. He even threatened me with a bite from the cobra

Protest
Don't have the foggiest what it was about

Humayun's Tomb
Peaceful, beautiful grounds

Comments

[Sherrick Chavda]

Good Luck!
Heya Dan, All the best for the trip, will keep a close eye on the blog. Take it easy, P.S. Think you could def do with a good ear cleaning! lol

[tim]

Lovely Flowers
Looks bizarre at the bazaar. Try to make sure any foot rot doesn't get above your knees and don't take your trousers to be washed in the river laundry. Mum will remember more things she forgot to tell you for the next 5 months. Just a thought, but try going to a tailors to enquire about a white/cream 2 piece linen suit. If say only £30, then you can get into better class hotels while being crumpled but stylish and you might even blag being with the BBC, especially when near the next cricket ground. Bruce Lee meets Sidney Greenstreet. Google to understand. Keep your Harry Hill eye out for the surreal. A concerned parent.