The local time when we arrived was 2am. As usual everybody stood up as soon as the plane wheels touched the tarmac - why do people do this? Where do they think they are going? There's a reason the seatbelt signs stay on, stop being so self-important and impatient and wait like the rest of us! Why also do these people who cannot wait to get off the plane then dawdle through the terminal getting in the way of those of us who walk at normal speed?!? Why suddenly is there no rush?!

Delhi is a big airport and by the time we'd completed all the necessary bits and pieces and had the customary frustrating time at the ATM it was nearly 3.30am. Fortunately we had arranged with our hotel for a pick up and it was a relief to see someone holding our names aloft.

The drive to the hotel took a little while and other than a quick chat with the driver was largely uneventful. Once registered at the hotel we went back to bed to try and catch up on sleep.

We woke up at 9.30 and had some breakfast in the lounge/diner of the hotel. We then had a hot water shower (only a little dribble) before being called by telephone by the owner of the hotel and being welcomed by him to his establishment.

We then braved Delhi. Our plan was just to buy our train ticket for Agra tomorrow. We had heard from several sources that Delhi is not the nicest place to hang around so we had planned to spend as little time as possible here. When we leave India to fly to Kenya, our flight is from Delhi so we will have some time at the end to see a bit more of the place. For now it was more about acclimatising to India.

We travelled via the Metro towards the train station which was an experience in itself. Buying the tickets and getting on the train is like any Metro anywhere in the world with the exception of the airport-style scanner. Once on the train and the locals begin staring at you wordlessly do things change.

It's a little unnerving to have these dark-coloured eyes burning into you watching everything you do, and we're uncertain how to react. There seems to be real menace in the stares and as rude as it sounds ignorance appears to be the best way to deal with it.

The number of people in the carriage has to be seen to be believed making the London Underground carriages look half-empty at rush hour and the rugby-style scrum to get out when the doors open remind me a little of running with the bulls in Pamplona.

For all this, we did however manage to get from A to B but our troubles had only just begun. We were looking for the International Tourist Bureau where we could buy our train ticket in the relatively serene environment of an office full of fellow tourists only. We were told by several touts differing versions of the same thing; it's relocated, it's closed, you can't buy tickets there. We had already been warned about these people and were wise to disbelieve them and continue with our battle to find the correct place. It's just so sad that your first impressions of a nation are that the people are not to be trusted and to ignore them.

Finally we found where we needed to be, completed the requisition form and waited in the queue before successfully getting our tickets. Task completed we took a moment to catch our breath and decide what to do for the rest of the day.

We decided to head to the Old Delhi area and have a look at the markets around there. So back in the Metro we went one stop further to Chandni Chowk, one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi.

The area and atmosphere is so hard to describe. It's sweaty, it's dusty, the buildings look like they're about to fall down, there's masses of tangled electrical wires on the corners of the buildings, auto rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, cars and pedestrians vie for space on the narrow streets and there is so much din as hundreds of men and women go about their business.

We walked past hardware shops, various kiosks selling fresh food, the odd dog in the street, stationery shops, optical shops, shoe shops, more food shops before finally deciding it was sensory overload.

We had never experienced anything so full on during our travels, the closest was our experience in Hanoi, Vietnam when you also had to watch your back as scooters honked at you constantly to get out of the way. This though was a level beyond that as there was so much going on around us not to mention the couple of beggars who followed us for a long time silently with their palms out nudging us occasionally.

The difficulty with wanting to leave was that we weren't sure where we had walked. Before finding out we took the opportunity to buy an adaptor plug for our electrical devices (a bargain ₹15 or 18p!) thanks to a local man who happened to be walking down the street past us and who could direct us to an electrical shop. As it was lunchtime-ish we also sampled a bit of street food with the locals - 2 samosas and sauce (₹16 or 19p!) We then asked a few locals where the nearest Metro station was and were instructed accordingly.

It was nice to have our faith restored in the locals and I think India is like anywhere - those that can get anything from you will try and deceive you but those with nothing to gain will be honest and help you as best they can.

We found the Metro and endured the push-shove experience once more before, back at the hotel, we gave ourselves a well-earned rest, still suffering a little from the night flight. The intention was to sit back and enjoy the roof terrace but we never made it that far. After a relaxing afternoon and with the idea coming from the telephone call with the hotel owner we decided to be even lazier and ordered an Indian takeaway in India! Our first takeaway of the trip and the food was amazing!

A few intermittent power cuts made for a stuffy night what with no working fan. At 5.30am the sleeping was over and it was time to check-out. It was disappointing that the receptionist was not his usual chatty smiley self now we were leaving but at least he had prepared a breakfast for us to take with us!

After haggling with a few rickshaw drivers we made our way to the train station. Despite the early hour the roads were what we're coming to learn is their normal busy selves and the train station when we arrived was full of people. We managed to find a reasonably quiet spot and sat on our bags to wait.