I navigated Delhi airport with Ash, who I'd sat next to on the plane. We got a taxi to the hostel I'd booked, and peered out at the dusty streets with ramshackle storefronts and people sitting around and sleeping. The motor rickshaws and ancient Ambassador cars competed with the new SUVs for space on the road, all honking wildly. There seemed to be no rules for traffic - vehicles and pedestrians dodged and weaved around each other and the two lane road often held four cars in a row.

We ended up sorting out a tour at a travel agency, which is what I planned on doing, but there was much discussion and questioning as we weren't sure whether to trust the guy in charge. It included a tour around Delhi, so after dropping our bags at the hostel, we looked around the Mughal Emperor Humayun's Tomb and the India Gate. There were thousands of people picnicking and strolling around in the park around the Gate, and children swimming in the lakes.

Delhi was a lot poorer than I had expected. I had assumed that as a capital city it would be more like Bangkok or Beijing, but there were no tall buildings and very few foreigners. It was hot and intensely crowded, with throngs of people everywhere, who stared at us but were friendly. Even when you know that India's going to be a unique and very different place, it's still a shock to discover the smells and cows and noise and dirt.