Get it India

We are sitting in an internet cafe beneath a fan running at 6000rpm and still sweating. This place must be a sauna during the height of summer. Main Bazaar in Paharganj, New Dehli is a surging swarm of people buying and selling. As expected though, being a tourist means the sellers won't take 'no' for an answer - a man just chased us down the street with a multitude of different backgammon boards because I took a cursory glance down at his wares.

The flight from London to Dehli was moderately painful - mainly because we had nasty hangovers, but also because the cabin pressurisation was causing havoc with our sinuses - ears and noses are still popping and dripping. I was impressed by the old lady sitting beside me though, she sat quietly, possibly meditating, for the entire trip with her legs tucked up next to her on the seat and didn't make a noise except once when she needed some help putting her seat back.

We were expecting that people would try and rip us off at every turn in Dehli, and they have been trying so far. From the regulated and recommended 'pre-paid' taxi driver to the again highly recommended man running our hotel - it's all about the commission and getting where you want to go without constant pressure to do something else requires determination and a fairly closed mind to other options. I heard India was tiring to travel through, I just hope it is a little less frazzling than downtown New Dehli.

But in saying all that - it was expected, and we have already been out doing some 'window' shopping along Main Bazaar - it tingles the senses to hear the drums of the Hare Krishnas, smell the curries (and urine), look at the colourful intricate fabrics and be brushed by an autorickshaw as it hurtles through the crowd.

The cows look hungier than I'd expected though. Milling among the taxis just outside the airport, along the highways, through narrow lanes and among the throngs of people on Main Bazaar, these apparently peaceful cows are everywhere and the only time they get touched is an affectionate rub between the horns from a passer by.

The old rule of asking at least three people (or until you get a consistency in answer), doesn't apply here - I can't foresee we will be told the same thing twice, ever. A backpacker network will be harder to crack in a place like Dehli where hotels rather than hostels with dorm rooms is the rule. The plan is to get the overnight bus to Manali tomorrow - known as India's adventure playground it will be nice to be in some mountains for a few days. Maybe it was story of Dean Jones's double century he scored in the Calcutta heat that sits in my subconcious, but I am expecting a very hot and humid time in Kolkata when we finish up in India. So I will be savouring the fresh mountain air of the Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir (weather permitting) for the next week or two.

We have been thinking so much about going home to Australia that this next month will be one last chance (of this trip) to forget about the world of jobs, money and responsibility for a little while before we throw ourselves into the next phase of our lives.