Getting to India! Week 1

After two plane break downs, and a 24 hour delay from Schipol airport, I finally flew into Delhi, a day late, haggard, but relieved. I always knew my first day or two in India was going to be the hardest (in terms of getting ripped off), but nothing quite prepared me for the reality of it all!

On the way to the hotel I was amazed at many things, the monkeys playing on the side of the road, the sweet perfume smell coming from the flowers in the trees, the noises, colours and traffic was all spectacular! Finally, India!!

With the kind advice of the guys at the tourism desk they managed to help me find a hotel as it was 12am... for a grand fee of 1,900 rupees, and a 500 rupee taxi. lol. The hotel? Well I got my first taste of bed bugs, and wisened up fast! Or so I thought.

I was offered a guide the following day by the taxi driver called Kumar, who said he would show me the main sites for a few hours, which I thought was a great idea to the start of my trip. I was guaranteed a good price, and that I wouldn't be ripped off, and after reading my rough guide.. was assured the cost would be something like 600-800 rupees.

We visited Lal Qila, Safdarjung's tombs, the aerodrome, Qutab Minar, the Lotus Temple, Ashkar Dham temple, Purana Qila, Laxmi Narayan Birla Mandir, Parliament House and India Gate, Jama Masjid, Raj Ghat, Humuyan's tomb, and the fantastic Swaminarayan Akshardhan Temple. It is built on a 100 square acres, and is well worth the trip, although cameras are prohibited there. Although i thought it strange that I had to pay for his water as well all day long and his food.

After a day of sight seeing, we finally got back to the office to sort out the payment. To find I was locked in office and forced to pay 2,000 rupees by 2 men was distressing at best, not a great start to my first day! But overall felt I had done a lot and learnt a lot.

The next few days I spent seeing Delhi on my own, unlike a lot of people I love it in Delhi, there is so much to see and do, and a lot of my favourite time was spent wandering through the side streets in Old Delhi, sitting on crates with old men drinking chai and talking broken english. Oh, and Mango Lassi's for 3 rupees :) Delhi is a perfectly safe place to walk around on your own - anyone telling you otherwise is probably a tour guide and using scare tactics for business.The metro system puts London's underground to shame. It has air con, is spotless and gets you anywhere in Delhi and is way cheaper than rickshaws.. saves the hassle you get with rickshaws as well. Organised flights to Srinagar in Kashmir, leaving Sunday and very excited!!!!!

Rule No 1: Always agree the price of anything first... always!!!