Delhi, the rest of it.

Well, it's been a little while hasn't it...
We're going to pay the price for that on this and the next entry, especially because today's keyboard has the action of a typewriter. So here goes, massive entry no. 2.
Lauren wrote this and I'm typing it up.
-N

According to my to my journal entries it was a bumpy start. The second day in Delhi came bright and early at 2am. After four hours of reading, I woke up to Neal rushing down for a ten am breakie. Even after 3 big meals we are still starving in the mornings! I remember thinking that this was going to be a good day. My loving brother Matthew was sending us to a small swanky hotel in the quiet "suburb" of Friends Colony West. Part of New Delhi and South of busier Old Delhi, this area of town was built by the British and did it ever look it. Space for wide, wide streets and much green space surrounding government house. Clearly Matt knew something I didn't, as per Neal's first post - I was finding Delhi overwhelming and moving south to a quieter area was just what we needed.

(A side note, there are currently 6 typos from this keyboard, I'll go back after)

After an hour long TukTuk ride we arrived and did not re-enter the outside world until the next day. Delicious food, quiet, bathrobes, ayurvedic massages and the end and beginning of two good books, we felt ready to face Delhi again.

Comparing Old Delhi (from the first day) and New Delhi's Friends Colony, Karol Bagh, where we spent the rest of our Delhi nights, was looking quite quaint. With "less" traffic and noise, and a little market to wander through we felt almost like it was home. I was supremely happy we weren't staying in Paharganj, which is the main backpacker's haunt. We found out Saturday it was a place best visited for food and potential shopping. We would sleep elsewhere for now.

(the typo count is now at 10)

My friend Rachel recommended a restaurant to us which we attempted to find on Saturday after our move back to Wood Castle. With our search came a valuable lesson: Never decide to leave your guide book at home even "just this once"... What we thought would be an afternoon of delicious food turned into 9 hours without food or water and 2 lost Canadians wandering around Haus Khaz asking people if thy knew where the restaurant Gunpowder was. Not only did we not have the guide, but we also lost the restaurant's address... Finally, to top off our great day, we learned that at 4:30pm most of the restaurants close before the evening mealtime.
Also, asking to find something in Delhi by name alone is akin to asking someone in Halifax where a perfect stranger lives. Add in the language barrier and you get confused stares aplenty.

(typos now at 18)

We did find the restaurant Sunday and it turned out to be something of a double celebration. Earlier in the day we decided we would tour Rajasthan by hired car. In fact, it was a great day all-round. We visited the Lotus Temple (check it out online, designed by a Persian-Canadian) and watched while the sun set behind it. Happy and full of delicious food (Neal had something he described as Balls of Mutton... and FIRE) we headed back "home" and slept.

(24, and my fingers hurt)

Monday we made our way to the official Indian tourism office, which is a hidden gem. It's tricky to find because there are lots of helpful gents who send you to the "real" office. Which, of course, isn't. Fortunately, both our helpers sent us in the right direction and we shook them off along the way. The agent we talked to in the office was great, he gave us maps and hints on everything we were interested in. He sent us to Destination India Travel Station, a tiny father/son operation next door. The son helped us work out the best way to get what we were looking for, while his father boomed helpful advice over the proceedings and offering delicious tea. At first we wanted to do a lot of the hotel booking ourselves, and tried to just hire a car. He pointed out however, that they use the Lonely Planet as well (our main resource) and have up to date info from their other customers. So, happily convinced we planned it out. Our trip would start in Mandawa, take us to Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Johdpur, Ranakpur, Udaipur, Pushkar, Jaipur, Ranthambore, Agra then by train to Khajuraho and finally by overnight train to Varanasi. As for hotels, we'd be staying in mid-range spots for budget prices, pretty sweet! We'll post about all that when we get to Agra.

After the bookings we met our driver, Mahaveer Singh. He also ran us around for the rest of the day. Utilizing our new accomplice, we went to the state house for Andhra Pradesh (another suggestion by the lovely Rachel). There's a great canteen, where we had a delicious luncheon. After, we went to Humayun's Tomb, then on to Lodi Garden. Great spots, we were photographed by an entire boy's school while in the garden. It started with just two boys who asked, but in about three startled blinks the whole gang was there. After extricating ourselves from them we had tea and went home. Tomorrow after all was going to be a big day!

All our love, hope you enjoyed the pictures,
Lauren and Neal

PS final count: 39 ...ridiclous, and that makes 40