Place to stay

Oct 27th

The Plane to Delhi is full and the sun is setting over Mumbai as we await take off. I once did a personality test on the BBC website. It said I was spontaneous rather than a planner, and one of the things it rather strangely observed is I was in the personality type least likely to read a guidebook. I forced myself to read the guide. It was actually quite useful and informative. I worked out what kind of taxi to get (apparently with a prepaid taxi I was less likely to get ripped off) I had opted to give the Paharganj area a go. The hotel where I am to meet my first excursion group is not in the guide, but I don't think it is far from here.

Quite a journey in the taxi, driving in India seems to rely more on the use of the horn than the brake. Most roads don't have lanes marked and if they do they are ignored. My taxi drivers tactic were to drive in-between lanes and honk the horn furiously, it seemed to work for him. A little girl tried to get me to pay for flowers whilst the taxi was stopped at a traffic light, she pointed at her mouth to indicate it was to pay for food. I didn't buy any flowers I have to be hard.

I got a hotel sorted in Paharganj, which is a seedy hippy market street. It's pretty basic: bed, blanket, but it does have a rudimentary shower and a TV so it's total luxury for Indian standards and it's only 5 pounds a night so can't complain.