Delhi to Jodhpur

I was very apprehensive about going to India. I had heard so much about the country that my head was spinning. I was told I would hate it and would be sick through out my trip, its really hard work and I would be scammed by everyone. I think I have been told this about every country I have visited. I was expecting things to be very different from South East Asia and did not know what to think.

Arriving in to Delhi was great. Passengers on the plane welcomed me to India. They were very pleased to have foreign visitors. Once I checked in to my hostel and had a good sleep I went out to explore the city, but could not see anything due tot he thick mist everywhere, and had to run back to get a jumper. Delhi is so cold. I got so confused and got harassed by so many auto rickshaw drivers. I had to pretend I knew where I was going. Then random people would say hello and that they wanted to practise their English, then people offered to be my guide for the day. It was getting too much for me so I went back to my dorm and hid for a while.


Everything was unfamiliar and confusing for me. The city is so loud and busy. I thought the best thing for me was to book on to a city tour. Thought this would help me to get my bearings. Well, the trip was so rushed. Not sure what I saw, but go to chat to lots of people visiting the capital as it was one of the national holidays. Everyone told me that they work for the government and wanted to know everything about me. Maybe I spent more time talking then listening to where we were going. So I still did not really understand the city.


I went in again on my own and was fine. Asked where certain places were and got plenty of help. Maybe too much help sometimes. I would ask one person in a shop to help, then I was surrounded by 5 or more people trying to help, getting confused and not always answering the question I wanted the answer too. All so funny and quite testing of my delicate patience that I thought I would hop on the Internet for some relief. Though this proved to be a challenge too as everyone in the Internet cafe wanted to talk to me, so I caught the bus back to the hostel and relaxed for a while.


People in the hostel were fantastic. Lots of people were so willing to help me and chat about what ever. I never realised Indian people were so chatty. They all helped me with the trains and the buses and places to go visit. All very sweet lovely people.


I left Delhi and made my way to Agra on the train. I went in the lowest class and the locals told me not to do this. The carriage was a little fuller than normal, but less so then rush hour in London on the tube. Again, everyone wanted to talk. The chai, chai, chai and kofee kofee kofee men were annoying at first, but the noise soon blended in to the back ground. I arrived to Agra and it was such a contrast from Delhi. All the roads unmade, goats, cows, chickens, monkeys, dogs running wild everywhere, along with their mess too. Goats were eating out of the seats of motorbikes and sleeping on top of the market tables. It was so crowded. I was amazed how many motorbikes, rickshaws, cars and people could move so efficiently along the smallest of streets. This place was louder then Delhi. The noise never stopped, until I stepped in side Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal. Then there was peace. So much peace that I never wanted to go back out to the streets of Agra.


Agra is a very interesting place. It is so tiny. People are using old fashioned machinery. There is a huge mosque in the middle and people have built their homes all around it. The streets are a mess. I went to Agra Fort first and the building and art work their is spectacular. Huge red brick fort and palace, but the Ta Mahal was something else. I tried to go for sunrise, but my auto rickshaw driver had different ideas. I still got to to see the marble changing colour with the sunlight and the mist clearing to reveal it in its beauty. The contrast of peace and tranquility inside the Taj Mahal and the chaos outside also adds to how amazing the palace is.


Next stop from Agra was Jaipur, known as the 'Pink City', and it truly is. Apparently it was pained pink to impress King Edward. Jaipur was a great shopping haven, with a lot of heavy sellers. Jaipur has a wonderful aroma of spice and sweets. The shops are full of colourful sarees. People are dying fabrics in the streets. The city is organised and pretty. The forts and palaces are stunning and so are the of rocky mountains that surround the city.


I was very fortunate to be able to stay with a friend's family for my time spent there. I was fed the best Indian food I have eaten and it was great to be off the traveller's circuit for a few days.

From Jaipur I took the train to Pushkar. This place was recommended to me as it is peaceful, and its was a great place to relax. There are 500 temples here, and it really is set up for tourists. The shops are filled with everything for the traveller plus an Internet cafe every two meters. I climbed the two hills there to check out the temples and the views of the desert landscape and villages. The climb up the hills was hard in the heat, plus I am pretty unfit these days, but the hard work was soon forgotten once I got to the top. I was so relaxed leaving Pushkar, and was finally getting in to India. My white skin attracts so much attention and often I become the tourist attraction, the noise from the traffic and the bossy demands from the shop sellers and auto rickshaw drivers were causing me many frustrations. I know this was happening to everyone , but it took me a while to get used to this.

So I am now in Jodhpur. I now find India and Indian people beautiful. Jodhpur is very friendly, though I find some of the people a little bit odd, but in a good way. Its wedding season here, so have taken to watching the wedding processions with men and children on horses and camels, the master bands playing their tunes and people happily dancing in the street. Only seen the grooms so far covered in flowers!

India has a rich history, people living here are very proud of their country and the way things are developing. People are very sweet and kind. It would help if I could speak the language, but the way things are done are getting clearer to me. I did find it very hard at first. My mood would change so many times a day. Everywhere I have been so far is so very different. I am off to Jaisalmer tonight, which is the Thar Desert and hope to go camel trekking for a few days so will have to wait and see how that goes.