Back in India - Delhi and Mumbai

Right, so I finally got round to leaving Nepal. I have to say it was with some trepidation that I headed of to Kathmandu airport, having only heard nightmare tales of strikes and over enthusiastic security checks (not helped by the fact I knew I was carrying naughty Indian currency which you are not allowed to take into Nepal). So I got to the airport far too early as it only took me 5 minutes to check in and get to security, I was even allowed to take my open litre bottle of water (but then it was 38degrees). Thankfully the airport had a large telly and plenty of chairs, so I sat and watched 'Big Trouble in Little China' surrounded by some very confused looking Nepalese people. The airport T.V's seemed to be avoiding the usual News channels.

Got to Dehli on time, got checked to see if I had swine flu. This came as a bit of a shock, as we'd heard about it in Nepal but obviously other items had taken priority in the news. The checks seemed to involve asking if we'd had a fever or a cold in the past week, so I'm afraid to say that I lied on all accounts to the customs officals. Yes I'd had a fever (came with food poisoning) and I've pretty much had a cold since I've been on the Indian Subcontinent (so does pretty much every traveller here due to the huge levels of air pollution) but really not going to tell you that, so I just tried not too sneeze or blow my nose till I was out of the airport.

I have to say I quite liked Dehli (all reports before I got there were of how horrid it is), I stayed in Paraganj (backpacker central) which seemed like a good spot to see the rest of the city from. My first afternoon I pottered about, bought my train ticket to Mumbai, which I was informed about twenty times I wouldn't be able to get and would have to fly, so was pleasantly surprised when without any begging for an emergency ticket, I got booked onto the fast train in sleeper class.

After no sleep what so ever (there was aparty going on in the street next to my hotel), I got up nice and early and went to the red fort. What can I say? Its a big red fort, worth seeing but would be a lot better if you were actually allowed to walk on the walls of the fort rather than just look up at them. I was so smug when after I looked round leaving the fort I got to walk past all the queues of people waiting to get in. I walked round old Dehli for a bit, looking at the sights and completely failed to find the metro stand so caught a rickshaw back. It was my first rickshaw since being back in India, its fair to say I'd forgotten how terrifying they are.

Next day met avery nice man a breakfast, who like me was all a bit tired of sightseeing, so spent the showing me things in Dehli that weren't temples or forts in Dehli. I got lost in an underground market and ate dinner at a cowboy / cricket (in India that makes sense) themed bar which happens to be the funniest and surrealist place I've ever eaten.

Got the overnight train to Mumbai, where the train surpassed expectations by giving me three meals and more exciting Tea Packs, bliss. Unfortunatly I had to share a compartment with a young family whose children didn't seem to be house trained and I kept on having to avoid the wet patches on the floors and seats, thank goodness I'd booked the upper bunk so I didn't get dripped on in the night.

So I'm back in Mumbai, where it is very hot (its colder than Dehli but alot more humid, so feels hotter). Been to a couple of museums that I didn't go to last time I was here and had been getting my last fix of Bollywood before I leave (I'm getting worried it might turn in to an obsession). Also spent some time hanging around in Leopolds having a beer.

Looking forward to flying to Singapore tomorrow, I am quite relishing the idea of enthusiatic sightseeing again. Oh and I've finally relented, as I'm leaving India, I've started reading Shantoram.