Genesis, Chapter 1, Verse 1
The waiting was finally over for Rory and I when yesterday, 16th January 2009, we embarked on our round the world adventure.
Rory was entrusted with one aspect of this adventure but it turned out that this was one too many. Our flight left Heathrow at 9pm so my companion booked the 10:30am National Express coach from Wymondham. The coach was reasonable and I was impressed by the speed in which it visited every single town and village bus station in East Anglia. We arrived safely and on time at 1pm leaving us 8 hours to kill in Heathrow's very impressive Terminal 5. When he said "Its best to get there early just encase" I agreed, but 8 hours........
After 4 hours the boredom was unbearable so we took a trip to W H Smiths and purchased Travel Scrabble. We debated whether my word Punjabis should be allowed and Rory said If i had a definition for it then I could have the points. "People who reside in the Punjab region of India" was my response and this was confirmed when the plane eventually arrived and I 
found my seat. I was joined by two delightful gentleman who were both of Canadian origin but now resided in Punjab, making them Punjabis. They gave me a crash course in Indian culture and by the time the flight had landed I knew how to eat, drink and greet any man, woman or child in India. Rory's flight was not quite as friendly as he was seated between a Sikh, who decided he had not only paid for his seat but half of Rory's as well, and an old woman who kept burping.
After collecting our luggage we were disappointed to find our hotel had not provided a car to collect us and also the number they provided was non existent. So we gave up and jumped in a rickshaw to Old Delhi to find a new, bigger, better hotel. Despite reading numerous times about the culture shock of India I wasn't quite prepared for what I saw. About 300 yards from the airport we stopped in traffic and a small boy, no older that 5, walked up to our rickshaw wearing nothing but a rag around his waist and started rubbing his stomach suggesting he was hungry while holding out an old
tin cup for change. 200 yards further and a small girl of similar age was selling roses with a similar gesture. I've now been here for a day and this has happened 5 or 6 times already. Rory hasn't had one beg to him yet, I think its because he looks as if he's from around these parts. Despite this the fascinating architecture and people around Delhi absorb you and act as a distraction against the overwhelming poverty. 3 rickshaws later, 2 petrol one pedal powered, we arrived at the Hotel New City. This seemed a nice place and got even better when the electricity came back on.
We have seen various sights in Delhi today including a man fixing electricity pylons on a bamboo ladder, a rickshaw pileup, an entire shop dedicated to car and bike seat covers and a family of baboons on a train line. We have also had the pleasure of eating at one of the best restaurants in Asia (According to Time magazine) for only £3. I think Id better go to the toilet before I pass judgment on the food itself.
