Hello India and hello New Delhi

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Wow culture shock city, thankfully due to our last minute planning in Singapore we were met at the airport with a driver from the hotel, always a nice feeling when you walk out of customs and see a board with your name on it - and it’s not the police…

Anyway, shortly after leaving the airport on the way to our pick up, Suzanne kindly decided to give a poor child a bouncy ball to play with, only he didn’t know it was a bouncy ball and tried to eat the entire bouncy ball whole - however following a quick Heimlich Maneuver he quickly regained some colour in his cheeks and ran away to play with his new toy… I bet he was well chuffed with us…

With no more near death experiences before getting to the car we set off for our hotel, the delightful Hotel Ajanta in the middle of the city, on the way to the hotel we quickly discover the rules of driving in India. Basically there is only one rule for driving “don’t hit a cow and the rest is a free for all”, to say absolute mayhem would be an understatement but at the same time there is no road rage or even accidents, it just seems to be a given that everyone does what they want which can be quite scary at first but bizarrely you soon get used to it and inch near misses are nothing to worry about… Another thing you notice straight away is the absolute poverty of the people around you, whenever you stop at traffic lights there are small children and mothers with babies begging for food - this is definitely going to take some getting used to...

We arrive at out hotel and check in to be bombarded by the on-site travel agent trying to sell us a tour of Rajasthan with a private driver and staying in palace hotels - I don’t think so, we’re backpackers if you don’t mind and that’s way beyond our budget… So we politely decline the offer and venture off to find Connaught Square which is the main hub of the city to see if we can find any better offers without accepting the first one. After some dodgy directions and a few thousand Indians staring at the fresh faced white people we decided to get a tuk-tuk and hey presto before you can say travel agent we are ushered into a doorway, up some steps and into the smallest office you’ve ever seen - my old work cubicle was bigger (and cleaner). Anyway we discover that hiring a private driver isn’t exactly a bad idea as it makes life a lot easier in a place where things could go pretty darn pear shape…

Still not sure on what to do we sleep on it and we return to the hotel where we had a nice evening meal on the rooftop restaurant overlooking the city, Suzanne also got a henna tattoo on her hand which looked amazing (at first....). In the morning we decided to try one more place and we managed to find a tour we liked and after quite a long time trying to lower the price we agree on a plan and a price with our new friend Kalig. During part of our haggling we manage to include a half day tour of New Delhi and dinner at the tour guides house - I know, I’m a cheeky sod but if you don’t ask you don’t get. So we head out into the old city and we’re pretty much getting a flying visit including the biggest mosque in India where we had our fisrt experience of the so called "guides" - wont be falling for that old chestut again, then the Red Fort followed by Gandhi’s memorial which was absolutely beautiful and given the hectic surroundings, very peaceful and moving, next was India Gate and Parliament House which reminded us of Constitution Avenue in Washington DC - all of which are very nice as well as full of people trying to scam money off you at every opportunity - somebody should of told them I was Scottish and it wont happen twice….

Once the whirlwind tour of Delhi was finished we headed back to the travel agent to meet up with out host for the evening and set off for his place. On arrival we were greeted by his sister who had been preparing dinner for Suzanne and myself - very lovely girl indeed, we also learnt that not all women in India are allowed to drink alcohol - good luck Sukie... So we sat down and enjoyed a lovely authentic Indian meal, everyone sat on the floor, and mostly everyone eating with their fingers, well everyone apart from Suzanne and myself who opted for the trusty knife and fork, some things you just cant help using - like toilet paper, if it’s there it’s getting used but I wont go into that just incase you’re about to eat…

We then thanked out host and hostess for a lovely evening and went back to the hotel to pack our bags for the tour as it started the next day - Watch out camas, Rajasthan here we come and here is where the fun starts…

Hope you are all well and I’ll write again soon…

Cheers

Cass

(Sorry if these blogs seem a bit rushed and a bit behind and I’m sure I’m forgetting parts but the opportunities are few and far between at the mo so I will update it as and when i can…)

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