ideas for cheap stuff

Thank you for that wonderful post at the airport Kev. Du bist der best!

Quick synopsis of travel: spending last day uploading music to I River you just bought - annoying but necessary (poor Kev spent most of his day doing that for me); last evening, 2 whiskey’s and packing right before heading off with no sleep- probably not the best idea; saying goodbye to family and friends - tough but knowing that the world is round and gravity is an unchangable law not too disheartening as you will see them again; delayed flight coming in, running to next flight, luxury jumbo double decker plane to carry you to Dehli, free champagne to celebrate Lids 25th birthday (she is a quarter of a century and the stuff did go straight to her head) and in flight entertainment (don’t watch Crash on your birthday or on a plane where everyone, good but erstwhile depressing and enlightning but effecting, we were both crying and red faces aren’t too nice), waiting to get through immigration at Dehli for near 2 hours, and then waiting in a car park with mangy dogs while the guy from the hotel pick-up trys to find his car - all of these are the trial and tribulations and alcoholic content of international travel; remember to unhook your hotel phone if you don’t want to be woken at 05:36 by randomer and 09:12 by tourist office trying to organise a tour when you didn’t ask for them to call you - as you need those 8 hours of sleep to function & ensure you’ve no jet lag.

First impressions of India: friendly people but ya have to watch carefully for touters cos it seems everyone is in the business of it! You’re approached all the time but ya have to keep walking or saying no, don’t look beggars in the eye or over tip someone cos they’ll keep hounding you for more business. Traffic is amazing and scary, there just seems to be no system to it all! Lids and I decided to walk to our hotel from the New Dehli railway station, about a 5 minute walk but what a 5 minutes! Trying to get by people, taxis, auto-rickshaws and rickshaws at the train station before braving crossing the street with no pedestrian lights and every other type of transport for the first time is a gauling but exciting experience that has been the most adventurous thing we’ve done, besides randomly picking stuff out of menus for our dinner and supper randomly, which has turned out good thus far, you have to be brave! I think in a few more days we’ll get well used to this. We’re staying at the Hotel Star Paradise tonight and then we’ll see if we like it enough to stay more nights. Lids looked at a cheaper room, which she’s still minged out about. There was shit on the toilet and a bucket for a shower. She wasn’t game for that.

No photos as yet to put up cos the second you take out your camera you’re swamped with offers.