Master Parker's final entry before his & Nikki's mums swift exit back to the UK! Thursday 3/4/08 Early breakfast again, and left the hotel by 6.30am to get to the bus station in time to catch the 7.30 'local bus' to Delhi. Total journey time was about 6 hours, including a brief rest-stop about half way there. Interesting to note that the closer you get to Delhi, the more notice people take of the rules of the road - it was rather nice to see lines on the road that appeared to mean something, and an orderly queue at the traffic lights. I'd almost forgotten what 'normal' traffic looked like! Taxis took us from the bus station to the Hotel Perfect ('Satisfactory' would be a better idiom!) where we checked in then wandered down the road to find a local bakery/deli that we had heard about. Grabbed an interesting lunch, which we then ate standing at high tables on the premises. Back to the hotel for the afternoons entertainment - a tour round the narrow streets of Old Delhi, which weren't as frenetic as we had been given to expect, nor did people pester us too much. Quite refreshing really! Abhi demonstrated his 'lack of awareness' during this outing by taking us to a small mews of 'traditional houses' then proceeded to stand in front of an occupied (but rather open-to-the-elements) 'pissoir' to tell us all about it. Not conducive to the ladies paying attention to his every word! Taken then to a shopping area, but opted to visit a coffee shop first, with a brief wander round the shops and market later. Adam got extremely excited when a money-changer appeared to offer him about 100 times the true value of some spare cash from Vietnam. Unfortunately he didn't have the cash with him at the time, so more of that later! Four of us in a tuk-tuk on the way back to the hotel - bit of a squeeze, but we got there. We all went out for a final group meal at the 'Crossroads' restaurant and had excellent food and a really nice evening to finish off the official tour. Friday 4/4/08 Leisurely start, then up to the rooftop restaurant for breakfast and the formal 'end of trip' meeting that turned into a bit of a non-event. All four of us opted for a lazy morning, so met up again about 1 o'clock to go for lunch, after which we captured a tuk-tuk and set off across town to visit the Red Fort. We went inside in glorious sunshine, but realised when we were well into the grounds that we were not going to escape a soaking as the sky was suddenly black and leaden. Made a dash for the museum, but they wanted people out as the power went off just as we arrived so we left quickly and ran for a large open-sided (but covered) area we had already visited. Got there just in time as the heavens opened, and we stood shivering and watching a downpour of monsoon proportions for over an hour. Left as soon as we felt we weren't going to get totally soaked, but by the time we got outside it was the rush hour and there wasn't a tuk-tuk to be had anywhere. Finally the driver of a small minicab saw our plight and offered to drive us back for the princely sum of 250 rupees (about £3) which by local standards was a fortune, but we felt it was well worth it. Most of the group that remained met up and went to the restaurant above the well-loved deli, which turned out to be a slightly disappointing fast food outlet, but we decided that it was easier to stay than to waste more time looking any further. The menu turned out to be quite varied, and the food satisfactory and cheap so everyone found something to calm the hunger pangs before wandering back to the hotel. Saturday 5/4/08 Very slow start this morning, but eventually got our act together and the four of us plus Kate found a couple of tuk-tuks and agreed a price for a set route that we wanted to go round. Firstly we went to a large mosque we had seen when we visited Old Delhi. Unfortunately I hadn't considered where we were going, and had to be given a skirt to cover my exposed knees - very bad planning! Adam and Kate ventured to the top of one of the towers whilst Sue, Nic and I sat quietly in the shade at the bottom putting the world to rights, and driving the beggars away. Back to the tuk-tuks and on to India Gate (which is very like the Arc de Triumph in Paris) for a 5 minute photo opportunity before we moved on to the Humayan Tomb. This was a truly beautiful place that pre-dated the Taj Mahal, but was built in a very similar style (except it was in sandstone and marble, and had no towers surrounding the mausoleum). The grounds were tranquil, and hardly anybody seemed to know of its existence, so we had the place pretty much to ourselves. The tuk-tuks took us back to Connaught Square shopping area for a few last minute purchases (and a late lunch). Adam returned to the money changer - hundreds of thousands of 'dong' in hand this time - to find that the decimal place had moved a couple of points from the previous quote, and the money was now effectively worthless (as he had suspected all along) so no deal was done. Back to the hotel to pack bags, then out for a final meal - minus Adam, who had suddenly succumbed to a violent attack of Delhi Belly and had to cry off at the last moment. Bags were then packed, final farewells said, and then Sue and I departed in the early hours to return home whilst the intrepid travellers continued their journey.