We arrived in Delhi on Sunday, bleary eyed after our overnight flight from the UK. Fortunately we had been gifted the money to book a nice hotel in advance so we were collected from the airport with minimum fuss and driven into central Delhi.

First impressions were not to bad. On the early morning drive we saw cows roaming along the roads, monkeys, lots of crazy looking buses and plenty of tuk tuks and rickshaws.

After a short sleep at the hotel we decided to venture out. The hotel owner advised a visit to The Red Fort followed by a cycle rickshaw tour of Old Delhi and the spice market. He hailed us a tuk tuk and we bundled in.

The Red Fort was OK but we stated to get a lot of attention from touts who wanted to take us on tours and would not leave us alone. Eventually we found a cycle rickshaw who took us through old delhi, stopping at a sikh and a hindu temple to let us look around. It was pretty interesting but also a shock. The filth and poverty was shocking even though I thought before we arrived that I was prepared for it.

That all seemed like enough excitement for one day so the rickshaw driver helped us to get another tuk tuk back to the hotel for a reasonable price. Unfortunately we couldn't seem to find our hotel and ended up walking the smelly streets in the dark. It was all getting a bit scary. After what felt like hours we eventually found it with the help of a porter child from another hotel.

Day two in Delhi was awful. We visited Connaught Place and were harrassed and followed by touts trying to direct us to fake tourist information offices. Not nice when you don't really know fake from real. By the evening we were discussing whether we should just fly out of india straight away.

Leaping forward to now. We are in a small town called Manali at the foot of the himalayas. The bus journey here from Delhi took 16 hours overnight. This place is so nice and relaxed. It is a real hippy backwater with lots of backpackers which is frankly a huge comfort after Delhi. We have been relaxing here for a couple of days now and have booked our bus on to Leh for Monday.

Breakfasts in Manali have been banana pancakes with Himalayan honey. You can't beat them. I am developing my taste for Chai Masala, spiced tea with lots of milk and sugar.

Nick.