The journey from Jaislemer to Delhi was not too bad, slept reasonably well on the train, we even got sheets, blankets and towels. When I arrived at Old Delhi railway station, at which I had no idea I would, I thought it would be New Delhi but this was not really a problem. Someone showed me where the metro was and I must say I am very impressed with the Metro in Delhi, so modern and easy to use and best of all it is air conditioned. Once I arrived to New Delhi metro station I got out into the chaos, pollution, noise, smells and hassle. I managed to find my hotel by asking my way. It was so nice to arrive I was so hot and starving as I hadn't eaten properly for the last 22 hours. Had a Masala Dosa, which tasted lovely. I mangaged to fit in some sightseeing in the afternoon, went to the Red Fort, looked around in the old city a bit and went to Connaught Place wich was very modern in comparison to other parts of Delhi I seen. I found a nice coffee place and had my first proper coffee since Nepal, tasted very nice, I must say.
Rishikesh
On the 6th November I took a bus to Rishikesh. Rishikesh styles it self as the'Yoga capital of the world' according to my lonely planet guide. It was also where Beatles spent 3 months at the ashram of the Maharishi Mahesh and supposedly have written most of the White Album. It also seemed a peacful place to spend a few days and I was planning to do some more trekking in the hills and yoga, so it all sounded like an intersting and peaceful place to visit. However, I ended with a tummy bug and spent most of my time in my bedroom, in which I must say is one of the worst places I stayed in, first I had a tiny room with shared bathroom, but managed to change when I become ill. But the room I got only had a squat toilet, do I need to say more. It just wasn't a very pleasant experience thats all I can say. Anyway it also turned out to be a very noisy placy and not this peacful place I thought it would be, with a lot of chanting and singing Hare Krishna, Hare Hare late at night and starting again 5am in the morning. Somehow it all felt a bit creepy, in the morning it was quite strong winds blowing down the valley and it felt like a dark windy autumn day. During the day there was a lot of noisy traffic outside my room with inpatient drivers constantly tooting. It was a beautiful place and to be fair I probably would have had a very different view and experience if I had been well, it is interesting how you perceive a place depending on you circumstances. I was pleased to return to Delhi knowing I had a flight booked on the 10th November down to Kerala. The bus journey was a hair rising experience with constant tooting and Indian music blasting out of some speakers that had a very tin like sound. The flight to Kerala was difficult as I still felt bad and had a temperature, so decided to go and see a doctor when I arrived in Trivandrum. Some staff from the hotel I stayed at took me to the casualty department at the hospital, I really didn't like having to lie down on the bed with stained pillow case to have two injections (although old staines and presumly washed). the doctor prescribed various medicines, including antibiotics. So now when I am writing this I feel like a new person:-)
