Hello again. I've finally found some time to sit down, look back on the last few days and make sense of the scribblings in my notebook, so I'll try and get as much down as I can in the time that I have. I feel I have neglected my blogging duties so I think I'll establish a routine in order to avoid the mammoth session which is to follow. Hope you enjoy.

DAY 2 - DELHI

Our second day in the city was naturally much less frantic than our first. We had learnt a lot, and although we were still familiarising ourselves with the pace of our new environment, we felt in control and carried a healthy air or calm with us as the day unfurled. We awoke after an interesting night's sleep which was punctuated every now and again by the sound of a cow mooing in the alley next to our room, a problem that was only rectified when the animal finally decided to get some rest himself. We had a nice breakfast in the same cafe that we had eaten our dinner in the night before which was situated conveniantly across the road from us. We sat in the same spot and watched the day pick up momentum as shops opened, market stalls were strategically positioned and crowds filtered into the Main Bazaar, a momentum that only slowed when the late afternoon faded into evening. We quickly noticed how we attracted much less attention without our bags and watched hostel owners standing outside in anticipation, waiting for the first fresh tourits to arrive. It was comforting to know that we were no longer the centre of attention, something that made the day much easier. We decided to leave Delhi's main attractions until we next visit the city a few days before our flight to Bankok. Instead, we decided to go to the beautiful Lodi Gardens, an idyllic haven of romance for lovers but still enjoyable for two young lads with a strictly platonic relationship. Before we got an auto-rickshaw there, however, we witnessed an amusing row between two rickshaw drivers, an older guy having a go at a younger driver who had accepted our price for the journey, presumingly outraged at his lack of respect for the profession in accepting such a low rate. The younger guy remained relaxed and found the situation amusing, eventually conceding to the other man, reluctant to waste any more time fighting over our custom. It was the first time that we were exposed to the visable generation gap in this country. Another amusing moment occured as we were wandering through the gardens, enjoyaing the amazing tombs of a couple of Lodi rulers. Out of nowhere, a very young beggar girl flew past us, cartwheeling and flipping across the grass with incredible grace. Needless to say, we were impressed with her refreshingly novel approach. Very young beggars, some just toddlers, are very common in India, something that I find quite distressing. We went on to visit the India Gate, a giant Arc de Triomphe style memorial, which was interesting, the remnants of the Republic Day festivities still evident. Whilst we were there we were swamped by a group of very charismatic schoolchildren who asked to have their picture taken with us and hugged us enthusiastically. It was our introduction to our new found celebrity status, something we have got used to, many Indians intruiged by the English, approaching us as they might a film star. It was nice to attract some attention that wasn't focussed on flogging goods. We also enjoyed our first sights of camels and the magnificent elephants of India, especially James, who was seeing these amazing creatures for the first time. We met a nice Sikh rickshaw driver who expressed his interest in England whilst driving us to the Presidential Palace and drawing our attention to his "naturally air conditioned" auto-rickshaw. Eventually, he offered to take us to a carpet emporium, somewhere which obviously offered him commission. We declined, but he shocked us in stating that he would scrap our fair if we simply went in and pretended to look around as he got a litre of fuel if we did so. We respected his honesty and business instinct so obliged, bidding him farewell on good terms, both of us gaining from the relationship between rickshaw drivers and trade. We decided to move hostel to Ajay's, which offered more space and a nice cafe where we had an evening snack before heading off to bed early in order to prepare our re-entry into the chaos of the city, backpack and all, in order to catch our 6.15am train to our next stop, Agra.

DAY 3 - AGRA

Our morning train to Agra was a very enlightening experience, opening up an India which we won't be seeing in most of the areas we are visiting. A few minutes after rolling out of Delhi we came accross rows of shacks next to the railway line, littered with men sitting around fires next to idle cows. We quickly moved on into the countryside, dotted with intermittent sights of worn down farm buildings and industrial factories, along with the occasional mud hut. We watched the sun rise over rural India - a pink glow emerging over fields, shafts of light breaking through the trees on the horizon. We were introduced to the villages and farms that occupy the vast majority of the country, a world away from the energy of Delhi's bazaars and it's constant sensual curiosities, life moving at a slower pace, ambling farmers commencing the day's work through morning stretches and groans. Stations along the way were filled with families huddles around fires with their few belongings and children lining the railway lines, searching for scraps. People here casually stroll over the railway tracks and sit over the station ledge with a nonchalance that suggests that our yellow lines and warning signs are a simply waste of time. India's fusion of tradition and modernisation was summarised for me through the contrast of the tradional Indian music being quietly pumped through the train's audio system and such moden(ish) highlights as Wham's 'Careless Whisper' booming from people's headphones. India, it seems, is full of juxtapositions which only help to contribute to the fantastic chaos of the place. We arrived at Agra at about half 8. We booked ourselves into the Raj hostel at a mere 125r each and spent some time on it's incredible roof terrace with a gret view of the Taj Mahal, a few seconds walk away. We also enjoyed our view of the general area - monkeys playing in the urban sprawl, beautiful mosques, families relaxing on their roofs etc.. Agra has a tradition of pidgeon training, the trainer (Kabootar Baz) directing the flock through the sky. There were always four or five flocks dancing in the sky at once and it added to the beauty of the atmosphere. Children in the area greeted us as the afternoon wore on. The city, we found, was way more chilled out than Delhi and much easier to relax in. After visiting the Taj Mahal, a truly amazing sight (photos to come), we watched sunset from the terrace, tangerine shafts flooding through the rooftops, the Taj Mahal and Agra's onion domes glowing a soft orange/pink. Children guided pidgeons through the sky as the sun dissappeared over the horizon, yelling excitedly. Groups of tourists and locals gathered on terraces to watch the spectacle whilst music boomed from an unseen building. We had a beer and enjoyed the day's close as a chant from a temple echoed through loudspeakers across town.