17th Feb

Amongst the colours and smells of Delhi and crazy roads with the horns beeping and the cars weaving in and out of each other we landed, after a 12 hours flight from Australia. We were like rabbits in headlights, and more than once we avoided death from other angry drivers (it is exactly how you would imagine it to be!).

On our first day out in Delhi, we decided to book our trains for the north of India as we had heard how difficult it can be to get a train the day before you want it...so unlike Asia!! We were told to head to the Tourist Bureau in the train station. This was easier said than done and after half hour of searching we asked for directions. The lovely man informed us that we were in the wrong place and kindly wrote down the correct address for us (we are cringing writing this!). So we paid the 30 rupees for our tuk tuk and found the Government approved tourist centre. We explained to the guy inside that we wanted to book our trains, and after politely informing him that we didn't want a private taxi tour of Rajastan, he quoted us a price for our train journeys. £250 each for the trains and buses around the north over the 30 days that we would be there. £8 a day, under budget seemed reasonable, and he even threw in a private driver for the day to explore Delhi. We left after leaving a £20 deposit and hopped in the car with our driver, who after 20 mins of trying to pronounce his name, we called Ben. Ben took us on a whirl wind tour of Delhi, stopping at India Gate, Gandi's memorial, Lotus temple and ending at a Hare Khrisnu temple where we were invite to join in on the singing and dancing worship. We did have to look over for guidance when they brought over the tray of fire, where you rub your hands over the fire and waft the smoke over your head to repent your sins....and as Morgane wrote in her journal 'I don't think there was enough fire for Carly'....the cheek.

Today we woke early to head to the train station with a lovely American couple, Christina and Aaron, who were going to take us to the tourist counter at the train station. We had had a pretty sleepless night thinking about what we had booked with our 'friend' at the office so decided to compare the prices at the real office. After chatting with people at the hostel, it was clear that we had been given dodgy information and taken to the wrong office. The guys led us to the correct office, hidden in the depths of New Delhi station...we would never have found it alone! Once inside it took only minutes to realise our mistake in being led to the tourist office the previous day. The lady at the info desk gasped as we showed her our quote and then told us she was calling the police to get us our money back....only 2 days in India and already we are creating drama! First lesson learnt on how things work in India, it turned out it cost only £60 for our travel in North India, not the hefty £250 that the guy quoted yesterday...a lucky escape! To celebrate our lesson learnt we headed to Delhi's famous markets, the Bazaars. Yes, we are back to cheap markets and haggling, it feels like home. God knows what il be like when the Saturday market is on in Nuneaton on my return!

Today we took fellow travellers advice and took a day trip to the famous Taj Mahal. The group included Christina and Aaron, a nearly married couple. Aaron being a scary looking, beard welding skater and Christina a soft spoken, straight talking beauty. They had been our savour the day before. Jane and Ester were 2 solo travellers from the UK. We are in awe of these two ladies, it's scary enough travelling as a pair but solo...you go girls! Finally there was Fredrico, the strong silent type from Argentina. After being persuaded by the hostel owner to take a tour with his guys, we were picked up at 3.30am to see sunrise at the Taj... Another thing to tick off the bucket list.

As per usual, Morgane slept most of the journey while I endured the minus temperatures of the mini bus, little miss sleepy awoke with complaints of the temperature.....I was an ice block at this point. 4 hours into the journey the sun was shining and we still hadn't made it to the Taj. It was 8.30am before we got to Agra and had picked up our guide before disembarking our freezer of a minibus. We excitedly walked to the entrance where our guide informed us we needed to pay for our tickets.....oh no no no no. Again confused looks were exchanged between the group as we had already paid for the tickets back at the hostel. After many phone calls, it was clear the driver had our money for the tickets, marching back up the drive we were starting to question our whole trip. The driver arrived and informed us we had the wrong guide and would go and pick up the right one.....WHAT?! Another scam. After another 30 mins and fending off the beggars at the gates we were met by our real guide. We can't remember his name so for the purpose of the blog we shall call him sleezy Pete. With his slick bagged hair, tight blue jeans and a cirque 1980s top gun bomber jacket. He rarely took his hands out of his pockets and told us off for not listening...those who know me will know I have the attention span of a small child so mainly it was me being told off....! Aaron bought an audio GED and followed behind. We were rushed round the Taj in record time and left knowing the same information as we did before we entered. Visiting the Agra fort followed a similar route so Morgane and I sneakily followed other tour groups to find out information. Sleezy Pete then spent the rest of the day taking us to carpet and marble shops. Interesting to see how they are made but well out of our backpacker budget! At around 4.30 after our free lunch we asked to be taken home, all tired and fed up. The driver this time took the express route which took 3 hours instead of the 5 it took to get there. Once back at the hostel it was clear the driver had tried to pull a fast one. He had kept the money for the express way, picked up his mate who he tried to fob off as the guide in order to keep the money we had paid for our trip. Tired and angry we demanded our money back from the tour operator. As stressful and tiring as the entire day was, we haven't mentioned how entirely beautiful the Taj Mahal is. Depending on the time of day, the Taj changes colour due to the marble. It truly is breathtaking to see and lives up to its title as a wonder of the world.

Our first night train experience takes us to Bikaner. We are leaving Delhi as 2 very sceptical girls not knowing who to trust, not only from our experiences but from those tourists we have spoken to. We even sat nav'ed the journey in the taxi to the train station to make sure he was taking us the right way. We were warned about Delhi and the scams that occur, we are hopeful we have learnt our lesson and have been told the villages and towns we visit in the future are no where near as bad as the introduction we received to India. Onwards to Rajastan!!