This place is nuts...

One moment I’m finding my surroundings all highly amusing and good entertainment and the next I’m having to step over families who have no where else to sleep but on the side of the road. It sort of brings everything into perspective, and then the next thing you know you are in a rickshaw laughing aloud to yourself because the whole mentality toward highway safety is just so ridiculous.

I have spent today in central Delhi seeing a few sights.. Some guy I met called Ashok took me in his car around the city to show me various area's. He seemed nice enough, however I do have my suspicions as to whether he, like everyone else, is after my rupees! Having said that I did spend the afternoon with him and he helped me book a hotel for tomorrow night (commission free??) and as yet he hasn't asked for any money. I agreed to meet him for a beer tomorrow night as it seems he would rather spend his time having a beer with a relative stranger than at home with his wife.. Fair Cop!

I'm trapped in an internet cafe as it has just started to piss it down with rain (feels like home!) but I must brave it in a minute as I have to go and meet Ennis.

We are thinking of getting the overnight train to Jaisalmere on Monday but every deliite I meet seems to think it is better to travel Rajasthan by car and driver. however having witnessed the driving id rather get the train!

RAIN CAUSED POWER CUT MARK GOT VERY WET WADING BACK TO HOTEL THROUGHFOOT DEEP WATER...

That night I had to get a taxi to the airport to meet Ennis. I had arranged a taxi through a company local to the hotel that I was staying. A truly professional outfit they arranged to 'send a boy' to meet me at the hotel.. He arrived as planned despite the relentless rain and the roads being washed away from beneath our feet. The two of us made a run for the taxi which was in a car park at the end of the road. The road that the hotel is on is too narrow to get cars down. When we arrived in the car park someone had parked in front of the taxi preventing us from getting out. Very soon a full-on commotion was in place and despite the still heavy rain we had become center of attention with half the Tibetan colony coming out to help. I sat in the taxi as they started to attempt to bump the offending vehicle out of the way, and after a while (45mins) I thought it only right that I leant a hand! However once they realised that our efforts were in vain and that resorting to vandalisn was the only answer I decided to take a back seat again. About 15 Tibetan boys then proceeded to kick the absolute cr*p out of the car leaving it looking in a rather sorry state. Eventually they got another taxi for me and we left for the airport with a good ten or so boys still taking their frustration out on the now rather knackered car.

The journey to the airport should have took about45mins however the rain had washed most of Delhi’s infrastructure away and it ended up taking us over 2hours to aqua plane across the city to the airport. Fortunately Ennis's plane was delayed "good old BA"

The following morning was Ennis's true initiation to India so I took him on a rickshaw ride across town to our new hotel in the center. Rickshaw journeys took on a new side of madness now that half the roads had been washed away.. All good innocent fun though!

In the afternoon we went across the city to visit the largest Mosque in India 'The Jama Masjid' It truly was an amazing building but even here in a truly holy place there seemed to be ways of getting your rupees, I’m sure I had to pay to get my own shoes back!

Afterwards we walked through the Muslim area of Old Delhi which was a great way to spend the afternoon as it is completely off the tourist trail. I think we might have been the only white faces seen there for some time. We saw some enticing looking eateries so decided that that evening we would head back that way for Dinner. We went to a place that appearedpopular with the locals and ordered an array of different interesting sounding dishes. The food was great and really tasty, then I asked Ennis what part of the chicken he thought it was that I had on my plate, then it dawned on us that I was in fact eating a Chickens neck! mmmmm!

The following day we just passed time around the city before getting an overnight train heading for Jaisalmere.