Crazy, crazy Delhi

Well, the sun has set on my first day in the craziness that is Delhi... There aren't many words that can be used to describe it... except crazy! I arrived later last night, at around 7:30pm, where I was to be met by a driver to take me to my hotel. He was about 45 minutes late, and appeared flustered and apologetic. If he had been driving back and forth to the airport all day, I don't blame him for being flustered! I thought the traffic in Bangkok was bad... There was a young American bloke staying at the hotel as well, having a few days in Delhi and Agra after being flown (business class) to Bangalore for work. I ended up flying to Delhi from KL on Air Asia Premium class, because bizarrely, the tickets were the same a regular fares at about $170 for a six hour flight. Admittedly it's not the full business class experience, but the lie flat (on an angle) seats were awesome and such a comfortable way to travel. Too bad the cheap tickets weren't there for the return leg.

Today I have been out sightseeing. I started the day with a potato curry for breakfast at the hotel, the Hotel Tara Palace, which is in the Chandni Chawk area of Old Delhi. There is a rooftop terrace with great fews of the Red F0rt and the Jama Masjid mosque. I wandered over to the Red Fort after breakfast for a look around, and ended up getting cornered by a guide who wanted 200 rupees (a couple of bucks...) to take me on a 45 minute tour, so I agreed. It was money well spent as there's bugger all signs or information. Lots of see and photograph, and the SD card has been given a bit of a workout! I wandered back to the hotel, getting humbugged a lot by people who wanted to sell me USB sticks (times are a-changing) for a bit of respite, then decided to walk down to the mosque. On the way, a bicycle taxi driver asked me if I was keen on a tour, and I decided to give it a try. He only wanted 150 rupees for a 90 minute tour. It ended up going for four hours, and not surprisingly, he was keen on a bit m ore than a 150 rupees, which I was happy to pay considering he had to drag my lard arse around the alleyways (and motorways... an experience on a bike taxi, I can tell you) of Old Delhi.

The power keeps dropping out a bit... I will post this now just in case.