Hi everyone, arrived and have survived two days in delhi with only a few minor mishaps so far! Yesterday was a the longest and most emotionally unstable day of our lives. All went well in airoport (bags turned uop and transfer actually exsisted, one of the toilets even had a seat!) but it went rapidly downhill from there..drove from airport with bags on the roof but hannahs was very precariously balanced with the straps wafting in and out of the window. we thought our trasfer driver was a mad driver as he ignored all lane markings and loved his horn but we have since learnt that was good by indian standards. Hotel rahul "palace" turns out to be in the the middle of karol bagh (complete dump) after two hours sleep we bravely ventured out determined to not get scammed by all th taueters we'd been warned about but that lasted all until the hotel lobby where we were led off by a nice man offeing us a map but ended getting a taxi for 50 rupees to fake travel agent which he assured us was the government offcial one but turned out to be in the opposite side of delhi! the guy told us all trains to agra were full and then tried to sell us a minibus tour for 700 pounds each, when we left we then got pestered lots by rickshaw drivers/shop keepers/beggers/small boys who insured us he just wanted to practice english but also led us to a dodgy shiop. very stressed and mapless(the nnice man never actually gave us a map) at this point we proceeded to march down a long road in the hope it led somewhere useful (it didn't) eventually managed to find our way to new delhi centre feeling completely overwhelmed and ready to cry we succumbed to the first familiar sign we saw which happened to be pizza hut and we just couldnt resist so we are quite embarrsed to admit that first actual meal we had in india was a pizza hut.feeling slightly more energised remeber we'd only had 2 hours sleeps at this point we stumbled across a nice spacious park which cheered us right up.the plan was to go to the red fort (the only place we actually knew in delhi) two guys approached us talking to us in english at first we were extremly suspicious (don't worry mums) and basically told them to go away but they saw our lost faces and took pity on us by offering to buy us a drink (non-alchoholic, again don't worry mums) and to show us where to go in delhi as a result we have completely changed and finalsed our itinerary. nepal is no more and north of india, dharamsala and amritsar are now in so we still get to see the himalayas but with less hassle. we have a personal taxi driver who is lovely for 2 weeks around rajisthan with camel safari, tiger safari, delhi tour all trains to agra, varanasi and up north sorted. all for 270 quid which is slightly more than expected but much more worth it for enjoyment and peace of mind. so finished ysterday feeling much more up beat and more excited for the rest of india ahead.

today we had our delhi tour which allowed to see the best of everything without stress. went on a cycle rickshaw ride around old delhi and red forst which was great despite the trauma of nearly crashing and being chased by beggars. then went onto some more sights of delhi including the tample which inspired the taj mahal which was deserted and was beautiful with parrots and chipmunks galore. also got blessed at a hindu temple and watched a hindu wedding. very tired and sweaty now and leaving at half 7 in the morning to start our journey around rajisthan and into the desert. we can't wait. having tea then early night. will keep you up to date on our next chapter as soon as possible. who knows what interent faciliities will be like in the desert!

speak to you all soon, thanks for all your messages they are making us smile, lots of love th girls xxx