Hi Everyone!

Well here is my first blog entry of the trip, i will try my best to keep this updated so you know what I am up to.

As you know i was having huge troubles with my visa before leaving the uK and only managed to get my visa on the day i flew, by the skin of my teeth! Joe did an amazing job getting me to birmingham and then to london, I definitely owe him lots of fish finger sandwiches!

My flight was delayed so ended up lasting about 10 hours, didnt reallly manage to get any sleep so slept as soon as i got into my room. My hotel is down a side alley (where most the hotels seem to be) which has an open urinal at the entrance to the alley, always a nice treat. My room is pretty grotty, the sheets arent clean and I have already killed four cocroaches, but it has a western style toilet and a window (not that you can see out of it) so it seems ok.
After my sleep i wondered around the main street and started to worry about what the hell i am doing here, there were virtually no westerners around and it I couldnt find any place that looked like a decent place to eat. I wondered around for a while seriously wondering if i had made the right choice and in the end found a place that had a couple of westerners in it that had tables and looked slightly less dodgy than some of the others so sat and ate some of the yummiest food! It was rice with kofta (i think) and was delicious, and felt immediately better once i had found somewhere to eat (you kbnow i am always happy once i have eaten)! I started talking to the owners which I was so glad i did as they were really nice and gave me loads of advice and helped me to figure out an itinerary for my india trip! there was no money in it for them but they were just really friendly. for example at the airport I met a dutch couple who said it was really difficult to get trains in india and they booked their ticket to varnesi 5 weeks in advance because that is what you have to do because they are so busy. I started to worry then that i should have planned more and that i would never be able to leave delhi! The guys in the shop told me that is a lie and 10% of train tickets are reserved for foreigners and you will get a seat if you go to the foreigners ticket office in the station, turns out i will be able to leave delhi at some point! I asked about gettin g a local sim card and they pointed me to somewhere I wouldnt get ripped off, which i went to and didnt! In the phone shop I met a couple from south wales and chatted with them for a bit, and agian picked up some great advice, they also confirmed the train travel thing so that is great.

I now have a local sim which means i will be able to call you on it, although it is totally free if we use skype to talk, so make sure you stay logged onto skype so I can call you when I am online. My local number is: 009911426653. Apparently there is a number you can call in the uk first, then key in my mobile and that makes it very cheap for you, 0844 303 7777, then dial my number above. this makes it only 1.5p per minute to call my mobile from you landline. pretty cheap. So now youhave no excuse to keep in touch.

Sorry if my writing is a bit crap theis keyboard is rubbish! it doesnt seem to like the shift or space buttons!
Am going to go to my room now and so some reading and catch up on some sleep, and maybe kill a couple of cocroaches while i test out my shower.

So all in all, after my inital feelings of horror and dread, I am now feeling much better about things and think I will enjoy India after all.

Lots of love to everyone

Ps a prize for the person who thinks of a better word than itinerary that begins with 'I' to mean journey. itinerary sounds rubbish in my title.
PPS I am 4&1/2 hours ahead of the UK