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If you have every wanted to buy a bunch of peacock feathers glued together, opium flavoured perfume, 'I love my india' t shirts, genie pants, genie lamps, camel bone carvings, pipes of all kinds, amazing food, weird elfish shoes that go up at the front, 50 rupee (less than $2) saris, scarfs of every colour, biggest earring selections I have ever seen, jewellery boxes, juiciest saltanas, bananas lassis, darjeeling tea or bull/dominatrix whips - come to Delhi!
Our hotel is right on the Main Bazaar - a street so bursting with amazing shops of al kinds that you could actually spend a week here and still want more time. For someone who doesn't exactly mind a bit of shopping, I actually feel that I have died and gone to heaven! In this heaven the food is something to dream about for years to come, the women here are so colourfully dressed but somehow manage to pull of what would be considered hideous clashes of colours at home and the men for some reason seem to be stuck in the 50s with old school english combovers being the current fashion...
Arriving in Delhi from Dehra Dun we spent the day recovering from our long train ride. The need to recover may have something to do with our choice to travel sleeper class. We constantly get weird looks when booking trains and "Sleeper class? Oh, you must mean 2AC? No? But sleeper class is not comfortable!" Its actually fine, the not being able to sit up on th top bunk isnt exactly great for my posture but for about $8 for a 25hour trip its pretty sweet!
We may hypothetically being going to the post office tomorrow to send a box (obviously only a tiny one) home with some Indian purchases.... but in our defense, if yousaw this street you would understand! Its absolutely amazing! Although the cries of "Hello? Mam sari?" and "Looking is free" (is it not normally?!), "Lady, look at my shop, very cheaper!" or when we are looking at a shop the tradtional "What do you want?" and you don't doubt that whatever it was, by going to a friends shop, or uncle's (the most popular so far) they will be able to find it!
We have now learnt that:
- you can't book trains on a sunday
- that trains are boked up quite far in advance for all the places that we actually want to go to
- that there are more french tourists here then anyone else and they somehow manage to look elegant even in muddy 35 degree cities
- that paneer lababdar is worth coming all the way to India for
- that its best to carry bananas around to give to street kids who break your heart when they look at you
- that travel agents do not like you booking trains and instead try to force you to hire a car and driver for a "Its no more than what you would pay on a train" rip off fee
- that there is a set outfit for tourist involving baggy pants, usually brown or some other non dirt showing shirt, tevas (that give great tan lines) and some form of anti frizz head bands
But mainly that India totally grows on you and is a place I would recommend to any person who doesn't wear white, loves ordering food without knowing what it will be and has a sense of humour for when things don't go according to plan - as they won't. Ever.
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