India 2014

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After seventeen hours, not much sleep and a wee touch of food poisoning ( for me-note to self -avoid chicken in airport cafés) we arrived in Dehli to meet Maddy just off the plane from Dubai.We met our travel organiser, got into the van and headed into the city. Pretty quickly we knew we were in Asia- tooting horns, tuktuks, colourful and slightly raggedy roadside stalls and traffic! We drove down the main road between high walls made of sandy stone that went for miles. The Indian army appeared to dominate the first part of the journey, with huge, guarded enclaves. Finally we turned into a street bustling with local industry and stalls and stopped. Apparently we were at the Hotel. We looked rather bemusedly and saw a glass door which was our hotel. Hmmmmm.. -we laughed -the adventure begins. Showers, delicious Indian lunch and off sightseeing-a drive around Dehli with our driver, Jasbear, who struggled to understand us and vice versa. As the day wore on we warmed to each other. We saw the government buildings, a sheik temple, monkeys roaming, and dogs everywhere. We visited The site of Ghandi's last house(where he was killed) -it was surprisingly British in architecture and interestingly restored and set up as a celebration of his life. He was gunned down going to prayer there at age 79. Then off to Raj Gut (Ghandi's tomb), which is set in the grounds of a vast park -we were fascinated with the tiny creatures we think we're squirrels and the birds. Grant started counting the number of men he could spot urinating against the various walls - a project which kept us amused while we drove to the Red Fort. By this time we realised we were not quite dressed for the colder temperatures of the Dehli winter. It was five thirty when we got to the Red fort for the now infamous lightshow. The Red Fort is incredibly impressive, a huge fortress that we hope to learn about tomorrow. It was freezing but we stoically wandered around the massive red walls and prepared to wait for the show. We wandered the market, buying pashminas to add warmth- Roy looked stunning in the pink silk and cashmere number Lois liked the look of. Sue was wearing a collection of layers made up of Lois and Maddys tops ( they were sensibly in their Kathmandu puffer jackets), when we wandered to the lightshow. We were freezing and tired and the Marhalls started to giggle the minute it started-on another occasion we may have appreciated the deep sonorous voice telling us the story of the fort but this was not our night. The light show was sad and Grant and I were falling asleep when Roy looked to Lois and the choice was made. We were outer there! We trusted Jasbear to take us somewhere for dinner and he did not disappoint. We finished our first day in India with a delicious meal in a lovely restaurant -warm and happy -off to bed.

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