Overheating and gasping for water - surely we were back in India, but no... We were still on board a hot, stuffy plane at Heathrow that was delayed because of snow. Five and half hours of waiting on board and we finally got the all clear to taxi to the runway - and then the pilot spotted ice on the wings and the flight was cancelled. By 3am on Monday morning (UK time) we should have been arriving in Delhi but instead we were heading to a nearby hotel courtesy of British Airways. So much for world tour - looks like the only thing we'll be circling is the M25...

We realised we shouldn't grumble though when a fellow passenger told us they'd been stuck at Heathrow for three days. Luckily we were automatically booked on to another flight at 5.30pm, so after a few hours sleep it was back to the airport to make the most of the food vouchers BA supplied us with, and we finally landed in Delhi Tuesday morning.

It was a pleasant surprise when at 10am the temperature is comfortable - even slightly chilly. Nothing like the hot, humid weather we experienced in South India in April. The heavily polluted city would take some getting used to though…

Our hotel, Le Roi, was in a popular backpacker's area in Delhi, called Pahar Gang. It was friendly enough, but incredibly hectic. There were open sewers in the narrow streets (dirt tracks), and we had to dodge cows, touts, chickens and stray dogs to make our way to our hotel.

Thankfully our room was fairly clean and decent with a western toilet (and toilet roll!). For some reason our bed was damp though, and when we asked to change rooms we were told that all mattresses are wet - didn't we know that!?... We were so tired from the delay that after insisting on new sheets at least, it really didn't bother us - neither did the constant dog barking, horn beeping and chugging engines outside our window.

After a few hours sleep, we explored the nearby Connaught Place area and stopped for a sandwich and coffee that evening (No curries yet!) in a chain called Café Coffee Day which is popular with local students. Amazingly the tuk tuk driver agreed to give us Indian rates, turning on the meter for the short journey there instead of demanding a high fee - this NEVER happened on our previous visit to India so we were hopeful we had an air of 'we've been here before, we know what we're doing' about us. On the way back however, we were made to pay five times the amount… Oh well it was good while it lasted!

The following day, we hoped to go to Red Fort - one of the main tourist attractions in Delhi - but it was closed until after Republic Day on January 26th for security reasons (that also explained the heavy presence of police and road blockages around the city). Instead we headed south on the Metro to Qutab Minar, an ancient Muslim minaret. The Metro was as expected - an experience in itself. As usual there are separate queues for men and women (Nat hates this as the women's queue is always the longest!) into the station and everyone goes through airport style security. Everyone is also patted down - presumably to check for suicide vests (!) Once we figured out which platform we needed (and which coach, as some are women only) we piled on to the train like it was peak time on the London Underground - only with every other passenger staring at you like you're an alien! The seats were all taken, but that didn't stop one man who boarded the train and perched himself on top of a stranger's lap without any warning! The poor man who'd been sat on didn't seem to mind at all and they remained like that for the rest of our journey - needless to say we decided to stick to standing in future.

Qutab Minar, and the grounds it's in, was a brilliant relief from the hustle and bustle. Construction started in 1193 when a muslim Sultan (we forget his name - the one with a beard!) defeated the last Hindu kingdom in Delhi - so really it's more a symbol of victory than a minaret and it is well preserved.

As we explored the grounds we realised that although the mornings and evenings were chilly, from midday to around 3pm it was hot, VERY hot - just what we needed for our return on the rammed Metro to Humayun's Tomb. This place was incredible (apparently Obama agreed on a recent visit too!) It was built in the 16th century by the Mughals, so there were lots of arches, domes, and beautiful gardens - exactly what you expect from Mughal architecture and a far cry from our next stop which was the Lotus Temple. Shaped as a bright white lotus flower this building was designed to be used as a place of worship for anyone, regardless of their religion. It was nice enough, but we're not sure about the use of marble floor when you're made to take your shoes off before entering - very chilly toes!

It was a long day, and still feeling shattered from the journey the day before, we decided to treat ourselves (start as you mean to go on!) with a (late) afternoon tea at the most prestigious hotel in New Delhi, The Imperial. We realised just how prestigious it was when we got there, and suddenly worried they wouldn't let us in while we were wearing our sweaty clothes and covered in dust.

Inside it was like we weren't in India. The air was clean, the floor was clean… everything was clean. Luckily we made it in time for a high tea - not quite up to English standards but less than half the price, and the surroundings were worth it alone - and there was no curry jam! Oh and it was unlimited tea, cakes, sandwiches and scones… so of course we ate as much as we could.

After an early night we still slept through our alarm the next day, but forced ourselves to get up and out. Although Red Fort was still closed, we took the Metro to the Mughal mosque which is practically connected. As usual we faced the dilemma with what to do with our nice new walking shoes - as we're usually hassled at holy buildings to leave them with a dodgy looking bloke, among the skanky flip flops, and pray they're still there when we come back. This time we took them off and carried them in. Who knows if that's a sin or not, but no one seemed to mind too much this time.

Next we tried to visit the Ghandi memorial, but we found it was also closed due to the pre-Republic Day security, so we went to a Hindu temple called Akshardham that seemed more like Disneyland. It was really nice though, and we enjoyed a North Indian thalis for lunch.

After that we went to India Gate - and surprise surprise, that was also closed. Although we did catch a glimpse of it from the roadside, behind the rows of armed guards and tanks!! Apparently the security is supposed to make us feel safer but it was very intimidating and a stark reminder of the potential for problems in the capital.

We also popped into a Ghandi museum - which is housed in the building he was shot dead. We visited one similar in Mumbai, which had claimed to have his worldly possessions on display - including his glasses and walking cane - so we were pretty surprised to see this place making the same claim! It was interesting to be there though, and we learned some more about his life, and death.

For dinner we followed our guidebook to a restaurant near Connaught Place. MacDonalds was conveniently placed next door as a back-up (although it was offering McAloo Tikka instead of Big Macs).

We ordered South Indian food (it seems here in the North, South Indian food is really popular). It was a case of pointing at some random Indian words on the menu and hoping for the best. What turned up could only be described as curried donuts for starters, and curried pancakes for main. We weren't so sure about the donuts and considered it a bush tucker trial, but the main was actually quite tasty.

Then it was time for our first night train. We got to the station nice and early to make sense of it all, only to find our train was delayed by three hours. After spotting a massive rat running around our feet in the waiting room, we took for standing on the freezing cold platform. A train pulled in earlier than our newly scheduled train was expected so we wondered if it was ours. After some time running up and down the busy platform we decided it was ours so we tried to jump on but by this point the door was locked and then it started moving too… Panicking we ran up and down trying all the doors and yelling at each other to get on, but the doors were locked - strange as the doors are rarely even closed during the journeys we'd previously taken. Eventually we were pulled aside by a man who told us our train was closed for cleaning. Unfortunately Nat thought he said it was leaving so she legged it down the platform again, leaving a trail of people battered by her backpack to find an open door. Eventually Bret caught up and explained what was happening and we were both left on the platform looking like stupid foreigners for the 30 minutes it then took staff to change the sheets on the beds. No other cleaning appeared to happen.

Now the train is moving really slowly because of fog so it's clear we're in for a heavy delay but we've made friends with some Indian people in our carriage who are feeding us well with lots of tasty Indian treats. We're trying to remember what the food is called so we can look out for it later.

Who knows what time we will eventually reach Varanasi, but we're enjoying the ride there anyway…