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Hey guys, just a quick one but I thought "why not" when the internet is 25p an hour!
I am LOVING India so far, but it is completely mental. Got here very last last night after a very long journey (interesting fact though, Incubus were playing at Singapore airport on the smallest stage ever, I missed them by like an hour as had to get my flight but I could have actually told Brandon Boyd how much I was in love with him when I was 17 and then slated him for not playing any of his old stuff at Leeds in 2005...)
My taxi journey was deeply amusing given that the driver spoke very little English but insisted on making conversation, which resulted in us both laughing very hard because it was IMPOSSIBLE. The conversation consisted of "Husband?" "Yes" (I have been told to say this, they're no so big on the non-marital relationships)"Son?" "No son" "You housewife?" "Yes" (explaining the impending legal career may have been a bit much. It was funny!)
My hotel was literally amazing, so much luxury for so little money! Slept soundly all night and I am crossing my fingers I've beaten the 7 and a half hour time difference already. I was the only white person at breakfast and I ate curry, it was immense! Spent about an hour getting an Indian SIM card - the bureaucracy here is ludicrous, he had to copy my passport and visa and I had to fill in some forms, I had to provide a passport photo and then he was on the phone for ages validating it. He wants me to go back later to provide my room number but he can get screwed, there's no way I'm doing that! I also had to get my passport and visa copied to use the internet in this shack that passes for an internet cafe! Anyway, my new mobile number for those of you who want it is +919961470792. I tried calling my mum earlier and the first time, despire the +44 code I put at the beginning, a very confused Indian man picked up! Hilarious!
There are no traffic rules: you are only sure of surviving if you are very lucky. Motorbikes drive on pavements to avoid traffic jams, people veer everywhere, no one stays in lane, and people beep their horns CONSTANTLY. Mark told me that Delhi is more mental than this - if that's the case I'm so glad I came here first! I once got told that 7 people per day are killed in car accidents in Delhi. I didn't believe it at the time, now I'm amazed it's not more.
AJ is right, there is a lot of poverty and a lot of wealth and it is hard to get used to - everything is after NZ. People keep coming up to me to shake my hand and welcome me to India, it's crazy! I'm going off to buy some clothes now, a bit of bartering in the shops. I'm very excited. I can understand why a lot of people don't like India and I'm extremely glad I'm travelling with a group, I would be terrified alone. But so far I can't wipe the smile off my face, it's so amazingly different and in many cases absolutely hilarious! I am meeting the rest of my tour group tonight and really hope they are nice.
Thanks so much for all your messages. Ele - sorry seeing your friend was a bit of a nightmare, hope you got it all sorted in the end... I would definitely be up for Aylesbury if it's convenient, but I know I'm being a pain by not knowing dates yet. I will let you know as soon as I can. Missing everyone loads, I would love to have you all here to see this. But I'm excited to be coming home for a little bit in 4 weeks xxxx
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