Adventures with Delhi belly :(

Well the final meal before our intrepid trip has taken a rather nasty toll on myself and Victoria, and the experience has been rather interesting (in a sick way).
Delhi belly seems to be a unique combination of a stomach that doesn’t want to keep anything down, and a bowl system which doesn’t want to keep anything in. This becomes quite annoying when trying to rehydrate, with only small portions being able to make it through the upset stomach.

Yesterday Victoria and I were restricting ourselves to bed, very nice beds thankfully, sleeping for an hour or two before waking and getting in some more water and crackers. Thankfully an entire days rest has proven quite beneficial since we’re now both walking and talking quite fine.

Just now we’ve arrived at our accommodation in Agra, the ancient capital of India and home to perhaps the most iconic building in India, the Taj Mahal. Agra fort is also on the list of things to see today, which should be far more impressive than the Red Fort in Delhi!
And in case anyone was wondering, Phil and Matt are both enjoying a well earned coffee break.

P.S. Indian train system = awesome 😀

Doughnuts for breakfast

8 degrees, that’s what the troops and I woke up to in our little fortress of a bed and breakfast. Television, a restaurant downstairs and safes that refuse to lock properly, we’re certainly ready for a full day of adventure and intrigue in the old city of Delhi.

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Yesterday’s flight was one of the roughest of the trip (it was nothing for Matt & Phill though), landing with a bump and a full reverse of planes engines. Our taxi driver was ready for us as we left the terminal, a stocky man by the name of Rakesh, who drove us through the bustling streets around Delhi, giving us a few pointers and local information.

However we were probably more focused on the organised chaos that was the driving standards of the locals; they practically kept driving whether there was space in front or not. To their credit they must have brilliant spacial awareness since I didn’t see a single crash on our way in, even as the streets narrowed to little alleys (very much like Italy).

If anyone is considering driving over here, Rakesh did give us three pointers for survival:
1. Have good brakes
2. Have a good horn
3. Pray that you have good luck

I think it’s safe to say we were grateful that he knew what he was doing!
Anyway, we’re off to the ancient Red Fort in central Delhi for a bit of history 😀

A midnight market in china town

Enclosed, claustrophobic and full to the brim with stalls, the night market in KL’s chinatown was absolute madness compared to the days earlier events. Stretched out across the small street were multiple stalls which came together to form two small tunnels down the entire street, shirts and handbags forming the roof of this bizarre market.
Talking of which, you’d swear that Malaysia was suffering a severe shortage of clocks, handbags and shirts from the selection available at most of the stores. But it certainly was great fun pushing your way through the sellers and buyers, taking a glimpse at their wears before walking on. I even had an attempt of buying a watch, though I seemed to have failed terribly in the art of bartering.
Starting at half the sellers offer is not a good start, with Matt having to bail me out soon after.

Dinner in one of the temporary restraunts further up the street was a refreshing break from the crowded stalls with their hot food and cold beer. It’s certainly a far cry from what we expect back home, reminding me more of a school kitchen with it’s plastic tables and chairs. The waiters do have good eyes though, seeing the uncertainty on Victoria’s face (she was choosing the place) and rushing out with menus and getting her to make a decision. The rest of us were pretty hungry so we didn’t mind at all.
By the end of the night I’d bought my watch, even if it still was a tad higher in price than what Matt would have taken it for. I guess I still have much to learn!

Compared to the exciting events of yesterday, today is going to be a far more relaxing with only a few selected spots to visit and the coming Chinese new year threatening to close most things down before it gets too late. But more importantly, we need to get a tonne more of those custard buns before we leave tomorrow! Scrumdilliumptious indeed 😀