Delhi

Totally forgot about the time difference and realised that by the time I had landed and got to the hostel I had not actually had any sleep.
Problem was I had only the one day to get the sightseeing done, so I had to suck it up and get cracking.

Arriving in Delhi was a nightmare.

To get to the hostel was easy, according to my map you just head straight out the west main station entrance. Only problem was that the metro station stopped on the East side.
To say Indian train stations are chaos is an understatement, but I thought I would give it a go and try to go through it to save on a quid tuk tuk fare.

So I charged through the dust and the tuk tuks and the rikshaws and then it hit me....first my eyes glazed a bit, my knees wobbled a bit, I thought it may be tiredness, then I looked down at the big puddled area I was in and realised I was alongside what was being used as a public toilet!
The smell almost knocked me out.
With a bit of sick in my mouth I headed on to the chaos of the station entrance and all I could see where no entry signs, and a barrier, and s*** loads of people.
I guessed going through would not be an option so decided to head down the road until I could cross the road over the lines and walk around.
But the pack of tuk tuk drivers had smelled my intentions and started to surrounded me like a pack of wolves.
I just looked at the ground and started power walking, surely that will make them leave me alone I thought.....

Hello my friend where are you from?

Pants!

I made the big mistake of being polite and talking to him.
I have friends in Bradford he told me.
No s*** Sherlock.
So there I was walking down this road, not even knowing where it led to, not a westerner in sight, wondering what this blokes intentions where.
Was he being friendly? Whas he going to murder me?
Then surprise surprise his book shop was down this road and I should come have a look, but even worse he pretended I needed to get a further stamp in my passport from the tourist board.
Funny, I thought my visa was my permission.
Oh no my friend, because of the problems this week.
I thanked him and took the next right turn.
My friend it is this way........
I just ignored him and carried on walking.
Then the same thing over and over as I walked what I thought was north.
After ten minutes of my friend and tourist boards I was ready to snap plus totally lost.

No choice, I enabled data on the phone and whacked maps on, turns out I was walking west, I was miles away.
Next thing a text from vodaphone, we will charge you a trillion pound a second for data abroad, but don't worry we will let you know when you hit eight pounds.

Bit of a relief I thought, at least I will know what I have spent.
Two streets later, I get another text...... you have spent eight pound.
Aaaaaaghh!

Now I was really angry and still nowhere near.
More my friends, more people going toilet on the street, more noise, more traffic, more dust more beeping of horns....
Why oh why did I just not get a tuk tuk I thought.

Finally I found the street, the bazaar, but things got worse, this was backpacker central and now people had shops......shops you dare not walk within fifty feet of.
Only problem the street is only ten foot wide.

Hello my friend what is your name, where are you from, I like your watch, where are you going, what are you looking for.

My blood was boiling. So I started to ignore them and then got attitude from them!

Hey man what is with the attitude, what is your problem one of them said as he pushed my shoulder.
I am not a violent man as you know, but I almost turned in to the incredible hulk.

I walked up the street, down the street, up the street, getting attitude from the same shop keepers, could I find the bloomin place?
So back to a trillion a minute and maps and finally I find it.

What a s***hole.

I had been bragging back home how I had an ensuite room for only seven quid........six quid too much I am afraid.

But I was so relieved to have found it, I just handed my money over. It was only later on I realised the sheets had not been changed.

Anyhow I needed to find the hop on hop off tour bus.

Back down to reception to get the wi fi code.
Internet not free my friend, sit here and wait.

The bloke that did the internet was surprisingly not in. More surprisingly the man from the tour desk wanted to be my friend. I have train tickets I told him.
Why not take private car he asked.
Because I have train tickets.
Car Is very nice.
I have train tickets. Where is the internet man?
I can do you good price.......
I HAVE TRAIN TICKETS!
But by car you have much better time....
Ok just tell me how much so I can tell you no.
Three hundred dollars, special price for you.
My train tickets cost twenty dollars.

Luckily mr internet turns up and after some checking, the tourist bus was in the place I had got lost to begin with.

I was so tired by now and did not feel well, but hey ho, got a shower and set off.

Same story when i got there, I could not find the place. There was a mcdonalds near bye and I was amazed to see a security guard on the door. but what I was not thinking was how did they work that in a country that does not eat beef?
Chicken is the answer.

I figured free interNet and ordered some disgusting salty mess. Surprise surprise,
Sorry sir internet no working.

So I showed almost every crew member where I needed to go, which as it happens was three hundred yards around the corner, but they did not know.
I ended up in a market, but felt it getting more and more dangerous with more and more beggars, so ran across the street, which is no easy feat in the Delhi traffic, and there it was.
It looked closed.

They all jumped to attention when I walked in and looked surprised when I asked for a ticket.
I want to do all the stops I said.

Sir it is now 2pm, you only have time for 4.
Grrrrr.

Ok chose the best 4.
Next thing one of them walked me to the bus stop.
A big bus pulled up and I was the only person to get on plus the bloke from the office.
What's he after I thought as I started to get defensive.
Turns out he was the tour guide.....oops.

Now I was really knackered and on a time limit, so I did a whistle stop tour running in, few pics, then out for the bus again.
When the tour finished I then had the same route march back to the hostel past stray dogs, cows, hawkers, con men, open toilets, beggars, vagrants.

It was not how I had imagined India and I was not having a good time.
Not a good start to say the least.

Back to hells hostel, and time for food. I thought I would go for a wander, but now the noise of everyone beeping horns, the traffic, congestion, hawkers had reached a peak. I managed about ten yards, got a kebab, could not find beer and went to bed in my very noisy, very dirty, very s***ty room.
Ear plugs did not even scratch the noise.
Plus I could feel myself coming down with something.
Great!
I was never so happy to check out of a place.
I left them a rubbish review on hostelword.

So I had to go to Delhi Junction station for my train journey to Jaipur.
I had watched the movie Darjeeling express, plus from what I had read, a journey across India was not a journey unless done by train......
If only I knew what awaited me.

Anyhow Delhi fort is the old part of Delhi (bit of a clue with new delhi being the new bit I guess).
So I braced myself for getting ripped off on a tuk tuk and walked to the chaos at the end of the street where all the tuk tuks converged.
I had been told it was around 40 rupees, so the first one who came up to me offered me two hundred.
No thanks.
I waited for one to pull up and he said a hundred,
I was running a bit late so haggled him down to 70 and jumped on.
I had allowed half an hour as it was not far on the map, but just after we set off realised I had forgot to factor in Delhi traffic, which can be hours.

As we went through the markets and the old towns and the slums it hit me just how hard their lives were and that most of them would never ever escape their grinding life of poverty.
The living standards gradually got worse and worse the deeper we went in to the old town, and the more the looks I got, the rich western man with his big camera.

Finally through the dust and the chaos we arrived at the station.
As I walked up to the station I was amazed that every single inch of floor was filled by people asleep or waiting.
All througout the entrance and also all over the platforms, amongst stray dogs and the litter everywhere were people sleeping, going toilet, making fires, eating.
And then the guards, not sure if they were military or not would come with sticks and start to beat people to move out of the way.
I saw a man the age of my dad getting hit really bad and i was horrified.
He was just sat there minding his own business.

It was obvious most of the people had no education whatsoever, so probably did not understand the need for keeping paths clear or anything for else for that matter.
It was all quite shocking.

I had a wander over to the middle platform as I saw a tea stand, so went and got some chai for 8p,
and was shocked as I turned around and was met face to face by a cow.

How the hell had it got on the middle platform?

It must have walked over the footbridge same as me.
So I wandered a bit more trying to take it all in then decided to go wait on the platform. The trains were well signed in English and it also told you where to wait for your carriage.
I asked the most educated looking person I could see if it was the right train, and he spoke perfect English saying yes it was and said I was in the same carriage as him, so stay close by and he would look after me.
I felt relieved as he seemed genuine.

I wondered just what the trains would be like. The online booking seemed very professional and efficient, allocating seats and carriages.
Finally it approached from the distance and as it got closer I could smell it.......

The smell of urine.

As each carriage passed I got a strong whaft, urine, urine urine.
It slowly ground to a halt and people were fighting to get on and fighting to get off, and bags were flying everywhere people must have been carrying their entire lives with them.
And this was second class!

So I followed my chap on board and he said my seat was further down but I could sit with him.
He was called Vikram and genuinely friendly, he was off to a wedding near the border of Pakistan.
We chatted a while and then people just kept turning up and trying to get a seat. He would turn them away, and they would start to sit on the floors, out by the toilet, and in true Indian style some were even on the roof.
Apparently it is comon for one or two to fall off on each trip !

Once again it was chaos with people not sitting where they are supposed to and crammed in like sardines. Imagine in the lower class this is horrific with people crammed in standing up the entire journey for hours.
I had thought nothing would ever top china, but this did by a mile.

I glanced over to the toilet which I could smell, and prayed I could hold it in for five hours. From that point I did not drink anything just to make sure.
As we headed out of Delhi I saw the slums next to the railway, with people even living on the railway. But it went on for mile after mile. I had no idea how many people actually lived like that.

Everything was fine on the train, and then this bloke who looked like a cross between a young Saddam Hussein and Freddy Mercury got on at the next stop and clicked his fingers for Vikram to move.
Vikram must have said it was his seat and then Saddam shouted at him, and the whole coach went quiet and everyone just stared at their shoes.

He looked a nasty piece of work, but of course he was now sat next to me.

I could feel his eyes burning in to me as I pretended to look intently out of the window.

It was a really tense atmosphere. I am not sure who he was but he had everyone scared.
He snapped his fingers at the tea boy for a drink, and I also notice he never paid.

Well it was an awkward trip from that point in. Luckily after an hour he moved, but shortly after it was time for me to leave.
Vikram showed me where to go and waved me goodby.

Finally a pleasant experience, although it was not to last long.....