25th July - We changed our method of transport this afternoon and took an Ola (the Indian version of an Uber) to the train station bound for Delhi. The train was bang on time and we took our seats in the best train so far. Apparently, it's the fastest train in India and we got a litre bottle of water, a carton of juice, a small meal and a cup of chai! Not bad service at all. We arrived in to one of the Delhi stations to pouring rain and as usual, "attacked" by tuk-tuk drivers all wanting our business. Heather said no to all of them as the hotel had said just go to the desk and get a pre-paid taxi - determined, despite being told there were only pre-paid tuk-tuks, we eventually found the desk and indeed it was for a tuk-tuk not a taxi. We paid our £1.25 and now totally soaked sped through the streets of Delhi to our accommodation. If we had gone with the tout it would have cost us £3.00 and in a dry taxi!

Our hotel was located in Connaught Place with lots of bars and restaurants - the liveliest we have seen India so far. We took advantage of that on our first night and visited a couple of bars and felt distinctly western again.

26th July - We stepped out on to the wet streets of Delhi with our umbrellas to go off exploring. We were once again surrounded by tuk-tuk drivers wanting to take us everywhere at inflated prices, someone wanting to take us to a travel agent for a metro map, others telling us the Red Fort was closed until 1.00pm so we really should go shopping first - it was a bit of a nightmare. However, we stuck to our original plan and went underground to the Metro and bought a day ticket for £2.00. Great way to travel, all airconditioned, dry and no traffic.

We firstly visited the Red Fort (built 1639) situated in Old Delhi, one of many UNESCO sights, amidst high "Fort Knox" style security. We had a pleasant wander around the buildings (many were closed for construction) and in the gardens, declined the services of a guide and made do with reading the descriptions on the signs. After nearly a month in India we were beginning to get a little "forted" out and had difficulty in retaining so much historical information.

Our next visit was quite a distance away in south Delhi to the Lotus Temple which was an incredible looking building and, although shaped like a lotus flower, has similarities to the Sydney opera house.

Feeling hot and tired we decided to make our way back before going out for a bite to eat later. We only had the one day in Delhi, and probably didn't do it justice as there are so many sights, but sometimes you do just lose the motivation and we are looking forward to more relaxed times in Kerala …….