Saturday 26th January 2008

Turns out its not only Australia day but it’s India’s “Republic Day” too. Most roads in Delhi (India’s capital) are closed for a huge military parade so we can’t go to Agra till 2pm when its all over. So we decided to go see the parade after brekkie. Now because all the roads are closed we had to walk but fortunately one little auto made it through the blockades and found us. Unfortunately he didn’t know where he was going so he drove us around in circles and dropped us off a few metres from where he picked us up and charged us 150rp for the tour! So we still had to walk after all. About 2kms. We found the parade sealed off as tight as a drum and had to line up to go through metal detectors surrounded by armed soldiers. When my turn came they refused me entry because I had a camera. Dag nab it! But we wouldn’t give up that easily. There must be another way in. We found a very seedy, dark alley complete with buffalo, chickens, goats, and the ever present filth we’ve grown accustomed to but to no avail. Got lost down a different, seemingly endless seedy, dark alley complete with buffalo, chickens, goats, and the ever present filth we’ve grown accustomed to. Mahalia cried. Time to get out. Found another auto driver, praise God! He got lost too. Eventually found his way back to “the Corus” ½ an hour later and charged us 250rp for his tour. Time to go to Agra, home of the Taj Mahalia. Govind only took 3½ hours but the real news was who we saw in the traffic on the way. 1.3 billion people in India, 100 million cars in Delhi (well that’s how it feels), and the car directly behind us is none other than Craig & Rachel who left Chennai a day after us! And they’re heading for the same hotel as us! Anyhoo, too late to see the Taj, we’ll do it tomorrow. Yummy curry while being entertained by the complimentary hotel magician (my you’re looking wonderful tonight Mr Peter – boom boom). He makes his money by selling you the tricks after his little show. I must confess, he made a killing with me, I bought the lot! The kids are practising as I write. Pete.