Delhi

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After months of planning, saving, daydreaming and talking about India it finally arrived. D-Day.

After a tiring but uneventful flight I landed in Delhi, first step into what promised to be the exhilerating, illuminating and insane world of India. Exhausted, sweaty and slightly crabby after having to wait what felt like an eternity to retrieve my pack from the carousel, I stepped out into arrivals expecting to be greeted by a placard bearing my name held aloft by a Pre booked driver. 25 minutes of scanning the multitude of faces all scrutinising me and hollering names of varying nationalities (none of them mine), I admitted defeat and made my way outside, sidestepping the dozens of taxi wallahs, touts and plain conmen all offering to take me anywhere I desired. After locating the Pre Paid Taxi booth and slinging myself bag into the back of the cab, we departed into the early morning Delhi sun bound for Paharganj.

I was fully prepared to be hustled from the minute I set foot in Paharganj, Delhis notorious backpacker district. Walking with a full backpack, clean clothes and a vacant stare marked me out as fresh and easy meat so I was concious of ditching the bag ASAP and attempting to try and make some sense of my surroundings. Ignoring the numerous offers of assistance "Hello Sir, you want room?", "Room? I have, very cheap, very clean " I eventually checked in at a reasonably clean guesthouse, unburdened myself of the backpack and surrendered to some much needed rest.

Rising later in the day I took a walk to orient myself. A sort of nervous anticipation flood through me as I took the first steps. For months I had been thinking almost constantly about India, trying to imagine the sights, sounds and smells and it didn't disappoint. The first thing that struck me was the air, it seemed to hang thickly with dust, smoke and exhaust fumes. The sound of street vendors, car and bike horns melded together with the hub of hundreds of people. The smells of beedi smoke, frying samosas and bubbling Chai intermingled with burning incense. And then there was the sheer mass of people, people walking, talking, singing and shouting. People on bikes, people on cycles, people selling their wares, people carrying children, people laughing, people chatting on their mobiles and people just stood...staring. Overwhelming at first but soon you fall into the rhythm and begin to cruise through the crowds, stepping over dogs in the street, side stepping scooters blazing past in a whirl of dust and rejecting the advances of the dozens of touts desperate for some of your hard earned rupees.

A fact of life anywhere you travel, especially in developing countries, touts will offer you anything and everything. They will lie to you, charm you, deceive you, try and guilt trip you and ultimately try to make you spend money you don't want to.

"Hello Sir, what is your name, what country you from?"

"Hey man, you come my shop, very cheap, good price for you"

"Psst, you want to smoke something?"

"Want Rickshaw?"

Although new to India I was not new to Asia so my tactics included, smiling, shaking of head and repeated NO's.

After experiencing Delhi's traffic on brief rickshaw trips I decided to try the New Delhi Metro system. Carrying 2 million passengers per day around the city and its outskirts, the Metro has revolutionised travel in Delhi. I descended the stairs at New Delhi after spending 45 minutes trying to locate the Metro stop (directly behind New Delhi station, over the platforms!!!), consulted the map and for 8 rupees boarded the subway for Old Delhi. Around 5 minutes later I was spat out at Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi and made my way through the throngs of people to the Red Fort. A mass of Red sandstone rising from the far end of Chandni Chowk. After poking around inside I decided to try and locate the much more impressive Jama Masjid (Friday Mosque) the largest Mosque in India. After a few wrong turns and being followed by a persistent, deluded cycle rickshaw driver I found the gates and climbded the steps to the entrance to the mosque. Apparently 25,000 worshipers can be squeezed into its main courtyard. Although no where near that amount were present, the building is impressive in its scale and architecture, with its minarets loom over the neighbouring streets like watchtowers, the onion shaped domes perch like crowns atop the main prayer hall. I spent a peaceful hour there before descending the stairs back into the chaos of Old Delhi and working my way back to the Metro station.

After another day traipsing round Delhi's narrow alleys, bazaars and dodging touts and conmen I decided to move to pastures altogether more peaceful. However, there was one more place en route- Agra and the Taj Mahal.

Ahh, Agra, home to the worlds most famous building. A monument to love and beauty, built by the emperor Shah Jahan in honour of his favourite Wife. Theres no descriptions necessary really as the images are so familiar but suffice to say that on this occasion it does pay to believe the hype.

Its a shame then that the city of Agra is the polar opposite, cow shit covers the cracked pavements, stale piss permeates the muggy air and psychotic rickshaw drivers and touts stalk the major monuments looking for fools and their money to easily part. Its impossible to judge a city on 2 days spent in and around its major tourist district and I know if I took time to scratch under the surface there must be a more appealing side to Agra, it just feels that it tries its hardest to conceal it and present you with the rough, uncut version. Still its all part of the experience and one that had me looking forward to my next destination :- Pushkar.

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