The Sights, Sounds and Smells of Delhi

Arrived tired, but safe. Writing this after two days sight-seeing in Delhi.

So far we we have been really impressed with India. The temperature is warm, but not too hot. Although light for shooting good photographs is compromised by the ever present smog.

The best thing though is the people - the locals we have encountered so far have been really friendly. Everyone seems to be concerned that we have a good impression of India. I also get the impression that people are practicing their English on us. The city itself is huge, too big to comprehend and a third bigger than London. (It makes Manchester look like a little village!) We have seen very few western faces, but have never felt threatened. In fact we feel far more relaxed here than we did in Bangkok a few years back, where there were far more white faces. The people here are very warm.

So far we have seen the Lal Qila, an historic fort, the Jami Masjid, the largest Mosque in India and the Ba-hai Temple. We have eaten lots of good food in restaurants ranging from very very basic to mid-range.

It was lovely to meet my friend Shreya, who I have been working with, who gave us some useful travel advice and treated us to some excellent Indian food (and Kingfisher lager!). We will be returning the favour when she visits the UK.

We have also met a man who has visisted Newport and the roman ruins at Caerleon! Wierd!

The city itself isnt as smelly as some have suggested, although the poverty has been upsetting - and in some cases extreme. A boy of no more than 9 ran alongside our auto-rickshaw yesterday for 1mile, barefoot, begging for food and money. It made us realise how fortunate we are and how lucky we are to live in a society that takes care of the worst off.

After having a long lie in today we are having an early start tomorrow to get in more sights and lovely food. (The grub is so different to Indian food at home!)

Will sign off now. Will write more soon. Love to you all.

James