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Oh no! Can't even get out of Manchester without a few hitches!
First of all we couldn't use the machines to get ourselves checked in and then there were a few issues with our sacks having too many straps and me managing to get through security with mine and Robbie not. (I thought he was getting groped behind a blue curtain and panicked a bit because he was nowhere to be seen.) In order to rectify the situation, we were forced to cause a scene and run back through security and palm our happy sacks off to a random guy at a random desk who we'd somehow managed to miss! Luckily he did work at the airport and our bags arrived with us safely in Delhi!
Delhi, Delhi, Delhi........what a place and what a place to explain! For a first time visitor to India, Delhi is definitely not what can be described as a soft landing. The heat as you get off the plane is like stepping into an oven. As we walked through immigration the very stern looking officials some of whom were wearing swine flu masks, we thought to ourselves, what are we letting ourselves in for! The
car we were picked up in had a strong smell of urine as we got in, and as the driver swerved and beeped his way through the chaotic traffic we could guess how the smell may have been created. Started getting a little bit scared that we may have bitten off more than we can chew!
Left the hotel in search of what's going on all around New Delhi and it is so hard to go to places and not be had over! We were overcharged by an Auto Rickshaw driver who turned out to be a wolly - but it was only by £5 in our money so not too much to worry about, just a bit gutting! The people are hilarious though, you just have to remember that they are all trying to get pennies off you, and if you ever meet an Auto Rickshaw driver by the name Pacca Singh stay well clear!
Second day in worlds most densely populated city was much more to our taste! The breakfast at the hotel was well mint! We got orange juice, coffee, toast, (well this was offered but never delivered) chapatis, daal, cornflakes, banana, omelet and a
cake! This was very much what we needed as we were so preoccupied and hot that we forgot to eat yesterday. After breaky we were picked up by possibly the best guide in the whole of India and a driver. This car smelt of wee also but we're starting to get used to this now! Our guide took us to the Jama Masid, The Red Fort, Gandhi's Memorial Gardens, he also sent us on a bicycle rickshaw through Old Delhi (which was pretty scary but absolutely AHHHHmazing!!!!!!!!!!!!), Humaryams Tomb, Qutub Mintar, Lotus Temple and a few other tourist spots. These included a nice restaurant that had Bob Marley playing where we ate daal and sat on illuminous orange chairs, as well as the Presidents house and all the while giving us an in depth yet interesting history lesson. He was well cool and and made our day amazing. Delhi is starting to win us over slightly but it is still the most smelly, crowded, intimidating, confusing, intense place we have ever been. So many contradictions are everywhere. Passing through all of the variations of people is a strange experience. When you see degrees of poverty in pictures in books, it
does seem real, but this goes no way in preparing you for seeing it right in your face, and at the side of the road at that. Having said that it is beautiful and exhilarating in so many ways. The only thing thing really I suppose that is stopping us getting our teeth into and really starting to get to grips with the city is the fact that you can never really start to relax. We're forever being approached by people trying to sell us things, and as a consequence of this we're not being ourselves and are finding it really difficult to know who's being genuine when they speak to us or are just after a quick buck. We sure are a long way from home.
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Karl (big bruv)
non-member comment
Wow!!!
Hope your having a great time apart from the wee-wee smelling cars!!!Take Care Rob and Susan!!!