We're Here!!!

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Good evening from Delhi!

We woke up pretty early after hardly any sleep due to excitement on Thursday morning before catching a train out of Selly Oak to Moor Street. Managed to get a train to London Marylebone for $3.30 (they don't have a pound sign on these keyboards!). Bummed around London for lunch before getting the tube out to Heathrow Terminal 4 (we were meant to be going out of the new Terminal 5 but it got changed - gutted). Our flight left at 5:20pm but on all the big TV screens in the airport it was on BBC News saying there was a crash at Heathrow which was slightly worrying.

The BA Flight was absolutely brilliant. We got fed literally every 2 hours and watched loads of movies (Sex and The City, Phone Booth, Pride And Prejudice). There was hardly anybody on the plane and we got seats together including the window seat. We couldn't sleep on the flight because we were so excited. I did nearly fall asleep but then one of the flight attendants was telling us about Delhi because that was where he was from so we chatted to him instead. We landed in Delhi at 6am local time (12:30am UK time).

After being accosted by several taxi drivers trying to get us to go with them into Delhi for 150Rps we managed to get some cash out and some water. We wanted to get the bus into Delhi but it would have cost 120Rps and the buses look horrendous in every way so we're definitely not doing that! Eventually we got in a taxi and the driver took us into Delhi and parked us outside a tourist information surrounded by stray dogs (oh dear, hello rabies). The information was dire. They made us sit waiting for ages whilst they took our hotel booking to "make phone calls". I went around the back to get our paper back and most of the people in there were asleep!

We then got an autorickshaw to New Delhi Station. We should point out at this point that Indian driving is on a par with Dilley and Butler's!! Yes it really is that bad. They have 4 lanes but our driver mostly stayed in the middle of lanes 3 and 4. I was grabbing hold of Laura to make sure she didn't fall out the side (no rail to stop her going! - panic to all mothers). I've now vowed to be on the non rail side from now on (and yes we are going on them again because they are ridiculously cheap and actually cooler than taxis/cars.

We arrived outside New Delhi Station to absolute chaos. You really have seen nothing like it before in your life! Amazing. Everybody is trying to help you (probably for a tip for which they got none) by sending you to some place for them to get a commission (normally its a Tourist Information). We were just about to get a rickshaw to our hotel but the bloke was talking nonsense saying that it didn't exist or that the roads were broken. Luckily we'd read in the guidebook this sort of thing happens so we just left. We followed a printed map to our hotel and asked a few people on the way for help (normally they were trying to get us to go to their hotel!). Once we found it we got a nice room and they let us in earlier than check-in time which was great because we were now racking up our 21st hour without sleep and constant travelling, and for the latter part, constant hasselling from the Indians!

After a few hours sleep the heat really started to take its toll. It's about 37 degrees out here and very muggy. We've had a walk around the city this afternoon and we're just about to go out for some food! Our time runs out now so lots of love to you all and we're missing you!

Tink and Laura xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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