Namaste from Agra

Unfortunately this is the first time we have been able to update our site, the internet connection in Delhi was shocking!! Third day in India and we have already seen so much. Currently we are in Agra which is home to the famous Taj Mahal and Agra Fort both of which were amazing. The Taj Mahal looked surreal and it was hard to believe we were standing there....for all who requested it Alanna managed to do her lady Di photo (Ha!) was a bit different to hers....we will post all pics when we find a PC with a USB port!

On arriving in Delhi we were thrown straight into the deep end being taken on a wild goose chase by a crazy taxi driver (you would not believe the manic driving!! had many near misses, there is no way either of us would drive here) who pulled up outside a building (not the hotel that we had asked him to take us to) and told us "this is the government information centre you must go in!"....Luckily Paul stood his ground and demanded that he bring us to hotel....a 20 minute journey from airport turned into 1.5 hour tour of delhi backstreets!!

However we have enjoyed many aspects of the culture. The way of life here makes you realise how fortunate we are at home, poverty is rife and beggers constantly harras you. There is only so many people you can give too, many of these are people who have lost limbs as there is no social security here.

17/01/2007 - We hired a driver ( named Happy - Harpinder) who drove us to all the sites in Delhi (which included India Gate, The Red Fort, Humayun Tomb) of all the three Humayun Tomb (not so well known) was peaceful and tranquil which was so different to the centre of Delhi. Delhi is quite congested and smoggy however it is a must to see and one hell of an experience. We found a nice little restaurant next door to our hotel (lucky) which was cheap as chips good meal for $2.20 (GBP....no pound sign on the keyboard!) Paul loved the spicy food however Alanna has been quite reluctant to try it!! Since then we have been paying more for our meals as we have been taken to tourist resorts instead of more local/cheaper options.

We were advised to hire a driver as the city can be daunting and dangerous for people who are not familiar with culture. This worked out little more than we hoped but we have driver to take us everywhere and have seen so much already...

18/01/2007 - Today we woke up at 8.30am and made our way from Delhi to Agra (5.5 hour car journey...you can imagine how pleased Al was at this prospect!) on route to Agra we saw the real India with camels, cows, monkeys, donkeys, horses on route on the roads plus the living conditions were unimaginable for some people in rural areas. However the country is green and somehow we felt relaxed and secure on this journey, more so than we did in Delhi. We have visited many temples along the way before arriving at the Taj Mahal which was so worth seeing. The views from Agra fort streched out across the city of Agra with the Taj Mahal (breath taking view).

Tomorrow we look forward to a 7 hour journey to Ranthambhore, where we will enjoy a two day safari trek across tiger national park then we move to the Holy City of Pushkar to visit the Holy Lake for one night including 3 hour camel safari(another 5 hour journey Al is looking forward too) finally we travel to the pink city of Jaipur where we will do an elephant trek and Al will hopefully get to see the proper markets (so far keep being taken to high priced tourist markets...today we were randomly dropped at a marble factory to see how table tops were made and then were subjected to a tour to meet all workers and then hounded to buy stuff that could be shipped back to UK...only 250 (GBP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)...Get Real!!!

We have cheated a little bit as we are staying in ok accomodation here....the reason being that I really don't think we could handle a hostel in India, the hotels we stay in are very basic ie. cold running water and not so clean linen, toilet etc.....so we are not yet exp the real backpacking side of it but it does feel like we are.

Are phones are not working here...reception is really poor so we have not been able to get in touch with any of just yet, but we will!!!

Alanna is having a little bit of trouble understanding why all the Indian folk are staring and coming up and stroking her!! Have been told it may be because she is so pale...Paul thinks its because Alanna is the 'white Albino devil!!!!"

Paul thinks he is well in with the locals and has even started to speak to them with an Indian accent which is cracking Al up and am sure Happy taxi driver thinks we nuts!!!!

Weathers nice but not too hot which makes things a little easier in a car all day. We really enjoyed the first couple of days, however as we are trying to cram so much in within the 2 weeks it is becoming quite tiring...Al is still suffering from jet lag and had a whole 5 hours sleep last night whilst Paul conked out for 9!!!!!!!!

Miss you loads, update you in next few days...

Thanks Jaimie and Mummy and Daddy Griff for the messages...please feel free to drop us a message as it is so nice to hear from you all.

"shukriyah" for reading.....

Love

Paul and Al xxx