Delhi, what to say...! We arrived following a very uncomfortable overnight flight where neither Matt or myself managed to get a wink of sleep.
After the flight, getting through immigration, reclaiming our baggage and ensuring we had Indian Rupee (as you can only get this currency in India and not beforehand in the U.K.) was very smooth and we were hoping this was a sign of things to come... how wrong we were!

We were approached by lots of men outside the airport asking us if we needed a taxi, something I've experienced many times before when previously travelling but they were quite forceful, it was very hot and we were exhausted. We were desperate to get to our hotel, we didn't know how the taxi service worked at the airport and whether there was a rank to join and how far away our hotel actually was, a big mistake on our part! We agreed to a set price with two guys who then helped us with our bags to the cab, only then to have money returned to us by their manager as they had overcharged us considerably! Even then, we paid 800 rupees (nearly £10) for a 10 minute journey. We later realised it should have only been 100-150 rupees!

We arrived at our hotel in Mahipalpur with the ironic name 'The lovely hotel'. It was far from this!
With no windows, a practically wooden mattress and no toilet seat, I was pretty sure we weren't going to get the much needed beauty sleep! We walked the hectic, bustling street outside the hotel in search of bottled water. I instantly felt very uncomfortable as every man or group of men we walked past were staring, even after you made that awkward 'please stop staring' eye contact, they boldly continued to do so! I then realised the reason for this was I had left the hotel wearing a cami top, exposing my arms, shoulders and chest. I couldn't wait to return to the hotel and cover up, another lesson learnt!

That evening we headed into Delhi central for dinner. A good but cheap vegetarian restaurant had been recommended to me by Jack's friend as she lives here, but it was full with crowds of people waiting for a table outside. Down the road was a lovely place called Uzz Uri, we had a gorgeous meal of noodles, curry, spring rolls and vegetable tempura! We splashed out with cocktails too as it was are first night after all!

The next day we got up early in search of the next hotel we booked the night before. Matt hadn't slept at all with a pen knife to hand down his pants. We used Uber to call us a taxi (definitely the best way to travel besides tuktuks). We thought we could drop our bags off at the hotel before sightseeing for the day. Excited that this hotel might be nicer as situated in the city centre, those dreams were crushed when we arrived in the slums of Delhi. Even the taxi driver said 'Good luck' as he waved us goodbye!

We wondered around looking for our hotel which was just the most impossible task through all the hustle and bustle and staring eyes! An Indian man who spoke very good English who assured us up front that he didn't want money, showed us to a tourist information office. On arrival they gave us Chai tea which was a little cup of caramel Christmas! I was all over it!!!

They talked us through a very good plan for our stay in India and gave us a quote with everything included (3 star and above accommodation, all trains, flights, taxis, day trips and taxes). They also ensured they were part of a government scheme to encourage tourists to come to India so we could be confident that we would thoroughly enjoy our trip. I felt this was a big decision to make as it was pricey. After feeling slightly pressured into saying yes straight away, I then backed out and said I wanted time to think about it (and also to research the company). In doing so, the guy seemed very distressed and said that his research guys had already started booking and paying for things once we had agreed. It all got very escalated and ended with me storming out of the shop in tears... it wasn't a nice moment at all. Matt stayed to calm the situation down. Eventually I re-entered the shop and just re iterated I wanted time to think it over. One of their guys then chaperoned us to a lovely roof top cafe for us the grab a drink and think it over. We decided that we weren't too sure about the validity of the company so we weren't going to go ahead with the companies proposal. We got into a tuktuk and headed off to do some sight seeing! Our driver, Shonny, showed us all around the main sights of Delhi at a very good price. He was a great laugh and quite the cheeky chappy! We really enjoyed his company. He was obsessed with this herbs/spice/tobacco powder that they sold on the street stalls. You would chew it in your mouth to get the taste then spit it on the floor leaving a muddy brown stain... not for me but Matt had a bash!

As the day unfolded, we revisited the tourist office's plan for our trip around India. It seemed a great trip where we would be staying in clean and safe accommodation, transport would be sorted and someone to contact if anything went wrong. So far we hadn't had much luck in organising this ourselves and we spent most of our time looking up nice places to stay, only to get there and being disappointed. We spoke to Shonny about it as a seemingly trustworthy local and he informed us that the tourist office was associated with a government scheme to aid tourism. We felt... for some reason, we could trust him so decided that we would go for the plan after all. Sometimes you have to just go for things and hope they work out and that people are honest to their word. I'm more sceptical than Matt so let's see!

We booked our trip! I'm very happy with the plan and we are seeing all the places we wanted to and more... I just hope the price will be worth it!

That night, they booked us into a lovely hotel called 'Hotel Relax Inn' where we got a take away pizzas and an early night! It had been a hectic day! We said goodbye to Shonny who drove off with a whisky mixed with beer in hand... apparently it's legal there...not too sure about that either!