OK, here I am in the capital at last. You will be pleased to hear that the train was 1000 times better than the bus! The carriage I was in had air conditioning and 3 beds, which pulled down from the walls. In my compartment was an Indian man and another was due to get on at a stop at 0800 the next day. We left Udaipur at 1800 and having been told that we would arrive in Delhi at 0600 the next day, was somewhat surprised to find that it was the slow train and would not be getting in until 1400 the next day! The train was very slow and stopped a lot, but after the bus I did not care. My travelling companion was called Akhil Lal and his English was better than most of the people who live in Maidstone!! Not too difficult I know. He had spent 3 years in Wales as a child and his mother is an English teacher, although it was very strange hearing the Welsh lilt from an Indian. By the next morning I had heard his whole life history and learnt more about the culture and traditions of this country than during the previous weeks. His family are Hindu and as such arranged marriages are still the norm, however in more metropolitan cities like Delhi, it is acceptable for males and females to meet and then the parents are asked for their blessing. Akhil has a girlfriend who he has been seeing for 6 years. During this time his parents have never met her, as a girl does not meet the in-laws unless a marriage has been agreed. Her parents are happy with the union, but his do not think she is good enough and he thinks that maybe his father has a friend in the army with a daughter who he would like his son to marry. Akhil does not want to go against his parents as here you are brought up to believe that everything you are and everything you achieve is because of your parents and therefore you should be eternally grateful. He prays every day that they will come round and she has decided to wait, although it caused a problem in her family. It is usual for all the female offspring to be married before the males, irrespective of age, or they are seen to be left on the shelf. The girlfriend has a brother who wished to marry and so her parents had to get Akhil to promise to marry her at some point in the future. Wow, is this complicated and this is an educated family in a big city. In the more rural areas child marriages of 10 and 11 year olds still occurs and dowries are still prevalent, despite being illegal. The birth rate of girls is approx 800 to every 1000 males, as female offspring are seen as a burden still. It was very enlightening to spend this time with someone who is of my generation and lives by very different values and cultures. Anyway, enough waffle, we finally arrived in Delhi ar 1215 the next day, slightly ahead of schedule. Now for the difficult bit, trying to describe to you what arriving here was like. Words cannot do justice to the stench that greeted me upon alighting the train, but I'll give it a go. The platform was covered in people who sleep there and also use it as a toilet and rubbish tip. The overwhelming smell of faeces, stale urine and rotting flesh and vegetables almost made me gag. I think I have a fairly strong stomach, but this, combined with the 37 degree heat, 90% humidity and flies was almost too much for me. Those of you from work will have a better understanding of the general aroma! I tried to run to the exit, pretty hard with a ten tonne rucksack on your back and got the nearest cab to a fairly nice hotel. I even have a bathrobe in my room. Shower and sleep......at last. Tomorrow have booked a car to take me to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, until then. Shes xx