Liam decided at the airport that he would like to get an upgrade due to us 'slumming' it for the next few months. The upgrade was 50 each but they then gave us a deal and we ended up paying 40 for the two of us for seats with a lot more leg room. I was a bit reluctant at first but I'm very glad as it was very comfortable. The flight was only 7.45 hours, I watched marigold hotel to try and prepare myself whilst Liam watched Brave. We mangaged to get about an hours kip.
On arrival we found out that one of Liam's bags hadn't arrived arrived so it took a while to sort all of that out. We left the airport one bag down and nervous about what was to come.
Our guide was waiting for us, we had an air conditioned car and personal driver who will take us round the whole time. The car to us lot in the uk is an old banger but here it's alright.
It took us about an hour to get to the hotel simply because of the traffic. The traffic here is mad!! I thought going to Italy for example showed how manic their driving was....the Italians are amazing compared to here! There doesn't appear to be any rules to the road, theyre so jammed with cars that there's no set way for them to go. They just go where they want when they want! There were a lot of beggars in the road too, tapping on the windows and surrounding the cars.
We got to the hotel which is probably comparable to premier inn but I think it's classed as an upmarket place here! We have wifi and a tv, shower and western toilet. Liam slept for a while, I couldn't because my mind was all over the place. It's very noisy here, the cars honk their horns all of the time. The driver tells us it's easy to drive here, you simply need 3 things. A working horn, a good set of brakes and for when they're out; good luck!
Later in the evening we went to visit the man who Liam had been emailing to set up the tour. His house was about 10 miles away and it took us an hour and a half. The traffic is unreal! But it's not the boring traffic jams like in the uk...theres always something to look at, or a moment in time where you fear for your life! We saw people wandering through the roads, people sat on the sides, lying down on the pavements, dogs everywhere, food everywhere, rubbish everywhere, piles of debris and mountains of waste. Cars, trucks, bikes piled high with people and materials alike, tuk tuks, rick shaws. We saw a naked man walking around, pigs, cows, monkeys. Let's just say by the time we got there we were already exhausted just from watching!
Mahindras house was basic but nice. You climbed up a very dark set of stairs before you got there. We met his wife and 4 year old boy and sat to talk to them for a while about lots of different things. He told us about how they had signed their son up for 15 schools and none would accept him. If this is the case then you have to pay 3000 dollars to get them into private school. If you can't afford you just don't go at all. He told us about the different hierarchys within the Hindu culture and how his wife is from a different one to him. So when it came to them marrying neither side of the family agreed and strongly opposed. He also explained that there are 33 million gods available to worship, and they tend to chose certain ones that feel the most meaningful to them as individuals. You cant convert to Hinduism, it is the only one where you have to be born into it or not at all.
We shared a meal together of homemade curries, breads and rice. It was all lovely and we all had 3-4 servings. There was an Indian drink made of herbs and rose petal that was very interesting!
He showed us around their home. The rooms are very bare, no wall paper, plasterboard etc. plain stone walls and floor with a few pictures up of family and of religious stories. All 3 share a bed, there is another room but it is full of the little boys belongings, a small shrine and a homework desk therefore no room for a bed.
After a couple of hours we said our goodbyes and again attempted to drive thought Delhi.No, we wernt driving but for how tiring it is we might as well be!
By the time we got back and had showers it was past midnight before we slept and we slept like babies :)
Me: no bites
Liam: 2 bites
