Day 2 in Delhi

I left work at 7.30 and took a taxi home. There are a whole new set of rules for driving/riding in the dark. If you're in a car then it seems to be mandatory for your headlights to be on full beam, until you're 50 yards from home. And the police don't care either, if you're blinding them. Pushbikes don't even have lights. For scooters and motorbikes, lights are optional. As is driving on the correct side of the road. It's perfectly acceptable to be going the wrong way down a dual carriageway. And I'm getting the whole 'horn' issue too. It's mainly used to say 'get out of my way'. Even if there's a whole queue of traffic, and if the vehicle in front actual DOES get out of your way then you won't be much better off. And the drivers aren't particularly angry when they beep, unlike at home where your blood pressure is usually boiling over when you honk your horn. I love it! You'd pay good money in the UK to go to a theme park for a scary ride, but over here it's just a normal part of life. And there are no accidents (so far) either, so the driving system TOTALLY works here. Especially as there aren't the rust issues that we associate with minor prangs that go untreated...

Anyway, when I finally got to the hotel I did a quick change and went for some food as I was starving. I went to Brix, the European restaurant. They sat me at a counter which goes around the kitchen area, probably for saddos like me that eat alone. It was great, I wrote in my travel journal and read a magazine whilst watching the chefs chop and cook and grill and fry. I ordered a pizza and when it came it was the thinnest pizza ever, in the world. But it was nice too. (Lee would have hated it as its resemblance to a Pizza Hut deep pan pizza was minimal). Anyway, then it was time for the gym which was quite good. Better equipped than the Cheltenham Park Hotel and fairly empty at that time of night. I stayed there til 10 and then returned to my room.

Today, our driver picked us up from the hotel at 8.30 and we got to work about half an hour later. It's been another busy day. From my seat I can see a family of 6 cows in the car park! We had a sweet treat this afternoon, courtesay of Priya who's got engaged. They're called kaju barfi, which are made from cashew nuts and are very nice. Priya's hands have been painted with henna, very intricately, to celebrate, and look very pretty.

Again, can't add photos here (grrr...) so have put them on the flickr account. http://www.flickr.com/photos/hickmanali/sets/72157594395901644/

We're hopefully going to finish by 6pm so that we can go shopping in a mall on the way back to the hotel.