Delhi, India ...

It's hard to know where to start on this one. Delhi was an interesting place. I'm not sure I got any great photos as it was hard to capture the actual happenings. I was trying to comprehend it myself never mind through the eye of a camera. Considering my hotel room was a bit of a dump, I slept great the first night. In the morning, I was a bit overwhelmed at the thought of what was waiting outside the doors of the hotel.

The lobby had a tourist office, so I went there first to inquire about a city tour. He told me that a bus would leave in twenty minutes. I thought this would be a good way to meet some others, so I decided to join. It was only 200Rs.

I had to wait for about an hour in which time I picked up the Indian News. One thing of interest was the section that contained faces of badly injured or deceased people. It stated where the accidents had occurred and estimates of ages. They had no idea who these people were and wanted someone to identify them. Wow. Empty eyes staring at you is hardly a way to start the day.

A guy on a motorbike picked me up to take me to the first destination. I had a half hour to look around and was then asked to return to the bus. The bus was about thirty years old and it seated eighteen. Seventeen of those seats were occupied by men ... all from different parts of India.

The tour was pretty cool. It took me to places I would've have gone had I been on my own. The following day, I went back to two of the places I wanted to spend more time at. I also did a bit of shopping. The hassling became pretty tiresome.

The city streets were dirty with huge piles of garbage everywhere. I did venture out a few times on the public metro system. It was cheap and a great way to see different parts of the city. One thing I did notice about Delhi was the security. For each person that got on the Metro, they were frisked and all bags were checked.

Armed guards were everywhere. The streets were cleared on two separate occasions due to the president coming and going. His car was accompanied by seventeen others. One minute was loud honking and the hum of traffic followed by whistles and sirens and men with big guns yelling. When the locals started running, I followed as I had no idea what was happening. All traffic was stopped and all the people in the streets were put on the side streets behind armed barricades. Besides the distant sirens and whistles came the sounds of the birds. We were waiting over a half hour each time.

I spent three days in Delhi which was more than enough for me. The food was probably the best part! Next stop ... Agra. I booked a morning train which was to take three hours. It took six. I am beginning to learn that waiting is key here in India.

Other things of note ... the streets of Delhi seem to be dominated by men. It certainly strikes me as a man's world. During the bus tour I saw a big billboard. One third was a big picture of some guy, his name was under the photo. It looked as though he was running for mayor. The other two thirds of the sign, in big bold red letters read, 'I hate working women'. That about says it all.