Cows and Getting What You Want... An Introduction to Delhi

So here Charlotte and I are, evidently still both in Delhi despite our best efforts to get the hell out (well, the best efforts obviously didn't extend as far as actually going to the train station and booking a ticket, but we did think about it before opting for the internet cafe instead - standard). This place is magnetic. The sights and sounds and smells are intoxicating and, though I had an "I want to go home" moment last night fighting against jetlag and the four walls of a hotel room, now we have switched hotel (to an area inhabited by people rather than solely rabid dogs and "tourist offices") to the main backpacker area and, while the backpackers we have met so far are generally less friendly than either of us are used to (we were spoilt in South America, I think), the local people could not be more helpful. Helpful to the point where a lot of the time you have to be quite firm - it's all, "let me direct you to this hotel", "let me take you to my tourist office" - um, no thanks.
There is a wonderful culture here where all the Indian men assume that because you are "just arrived in India" (and I think this applies for however long you have been here, be it a day or six months, as long as you are foreign) they know exactly what you want whereas you must not know at all, because of general Western ignorance. They are trying to help, but it does require a very firm, sometimes rude handling of situations on our part. For instance, our auto rickshaw driver (the driving here is all hideously unsafe, almost as bad as in Lima - everyone just hoots constantly, even if there is no one in the way) on the way to the Main Bazaar tried to drop us first at a tourist office and then at a different street entirely, saying "oh no, the buildings are all old and they are all shut today". By not very gentle persuasion and discussion of cricket we managed to coax him to drive us to the Main Bazaar where, obviously, everything was open and the buildings were no older than any others in Delhi. We also spent two hours in a tourist office this morning being told that we didn't want a bus to Agra, we wanted a 6 day tour costing 192 pounds (as a price guide, you can get a good private room in a hostel, food and whatever you want that day for probably around 11 pounds maximum, even in the most popular areas, so 192 pounds for 6 days was ridiculously excessive). We left without booking anything, and having had an hour of free internet and a cup of good coffee each, so we certainly came out of that "negotiation" the winners.
At the moment we are staying on the Main Bazaar in New Delhi, as I said. Everything smells of weed - all the taxi drivers smoke it which is infinitely reassuring and definitely partially explains the bad driving. It's a haven of tie-dyed hareem pants, wandering cows (one of them peed on Charlotte's foot - not ideal), hotels and mosques (we accidentally wandered into one where people were at prayer today, thinking it was a possible hostel - they weren't totally impressed). Like I said, the sights and sounds are intoxicating. There is poverty, certainly, and beggars, but not the kind of crushing poverty I had been led to expect - no worse than Lima, for example. Most people just want to talk to you and befriend you - "Ah, you are from England? Very nice, I live in Wood Green for three years" - "Ok cool, bye, no we don't want a taxi/hotel/tour thanks". One man went 20minutes out of his way today to take us across one of the more perilous roads to an ATM. As you can probably tell from this disjointed post, I am having real difficulty capturing Delhi. My descriptive writing skills aren't up to the task to be honest. All I can do is give you a few snapshots of our new lives in India, and reassure you all that I am just having the time of my life and it is the most fantastic, fascinating, hilarious place, with the most awesome food ever - the paneer butter masala I had the other night was an intense food experience, no curry I eat in England is ever going to taste that good.
Our plans are constantly changing but I think we are settled on a route now. We're going to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, a Tiger sanctuary (I promise to try not to get mauled by one - don't need anymore cat-related scars on my arms...), camel trekking in a gypsy village, to a yoga festival in the mountains (to hopefully do an intensive yoga course, and also some cookery) and to see Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama lives in exile (hoping to blag my way into a public audience with him where he appears and shakes people's hands - watch this space), down to Mumbai to see Bollywood (I already have high hopes for landing a part as an extra in a Bollywood film, preferably starring that woman who was on Big Brother), across to see some caves, down to Goa and then down to Kerala, finishing up at Kochi. I don't think I missed anything out, but I probably did.
I should probably stop writing now. I think this post has been a bit of a mess really but I just wanted to write a lot while we have time, as we really are going to try and leave for Agra tomorrow or the next day - by bus if not by train. We also want to see the Red Fort and a mosque or two in Delhi, because our sightseeing has been limited to cows so far. And while they are great, they are pretty much the same as English cows.
Miss you all very much. Lots of love,
Amy xxxxxxxx <3