Tour de New Delhi

Our 18 day tour of Rajasthan is finally over and we have returned to the place where it all began, Delhi. The chauffeur driven expedition was very well received by both Rory and myself. However, I feel we were both extremely glad to see the back of Parker. I think if he had attempted to use me in one more tourist commission scheme, I would have been forced to suffocate myself with the flashing Shiva doll on his dashboard.

"The worst thing about having a driver was the driver."

Today we decided to go for a stroll round New Delhi. This is the part of the city that was founded by the colonial British empire and today the home of Delhi's more wealthy businesses & inhabitants. We purchased a day pass for the underground and were very impressed with how clean, reliable and efficiently run the whole system was. These are words that are seldom used when describing anything in this country but Delhi's metro could genuinely teach the London underground a thing of two. The main purpose of this outing was to find an electrical retailer so that I could purchase a new camera. But rather unexpectedly, it turned out to be a nice little insight into modern Delhi and a side of India we had not yet explored. Instead of the tightly crammed market streets that we have been used to, New Delhi has an assortment of large western brand name stores and restaurants. As a tourist I much prefer the other side of India, the dirty, crowded, noisy, animal filled side. New Delhi is too westernised and fake for my liking, if I wanted a Star Bucks I could just go to Norwich. But then, I'm sure I could find millions of Indians that would happily swap.

On the way back to the hotel I commandeered a pedal rickshaw. After a bit of persuasion, the actual driver jumped on the back alongside Rory and I took to the streets of Delhi navigating my way through the busy traffic. I couldn't stop laughing as I weaved through the cars, trucks and bikes, narrowly avoiding the obstacles as I peddled. I got the feeling Rory wasn't enjoying himself quite as much under my control. The Rickshaw I borrowed was possibly the only one in Delhi without a bell or horn so I had to settle for shouting "Beep" when bemused pedestrians crossed my path. The driver still had the cheek to demand 20 rupees at the end of the journey, no wonder their economy's flourishing.