Hello again, we are actually now in Calcutta. We weren't very excited about coming here, however we were wrong. From first impressions the city seems to be really easy to navigate with lots going on and limited hassle. In places the streets are really wide, with tall buildings on either side and traffic that appears to pay at least a little notice to traffic lights and lanes. Tomorrow we're going to have a bit more of an explore, hopefully it will live up to initial expectations.

We returned to Delhi for another night and saw slightly more of the city this time. The brand spanking new underground is the most efficient and clean system we have seen in India. There are some amusing notices to passengers such as "Do not ride on top of train' and "No spitting or chewing betel nuts". For those who don't know betel nuts are a slightly narcotic nut, that is chewed with tobacco, then spat out oh so gracefully on the floor. They also turn peoples teeth red and over time erode the teeth to very attractive stumps. Think that's a habbit we'll be avoiding!

The metro took us to Connaught Place, another very well maintained area with loads of shops and of course several MacDonalds. There is a lovely park in the middle with circular streets surrounding it. We only had a few hours left in the capital and wanted to do a little bit of shopping at the Government Emporiums which give workers fair wages and have set prices so you don't have to haggle. So map in hand we set off, and on the way we met an English student on a day off who kindly showed us the way, the building seemed to be in the right place and looked very official so we went in. Inside we picked a few things out and said we'd return after lunch, at this point the shop worker got very shirty saying we had wasted his precious time (there were no other customers) and we wouldn't come back. On the way out we met yet another English student. After lunch we headed back, only to find a third student wanting to show us the way, at last we realised we were being conned, all the students work for private shops and they divert you from the actual government shops. By this point we were out of time so couldn't visit the shops we had intended to go to. Feeling very disgruntled indeed, and a bit stupid, we headed back, passing the shop we had visited who spun us yet more lies until we asked them some pertinent questions when they decided they couldn't understand us anymore. One of the 'students' got a bit of an earful also when he tried to intercept us on the way to the metro. Still, we did get a free cup of tea and a biscuit in the shop.

Run out of time so I'll update this entry again soon!