Into The Unknown - Asien 2013-14

Sun, 29.12.2013 to Sat, 04.01.2014: New Delhi, mainly cloudy, 20°C

The first part of this report comes with a serious health warning! If you are not absolutely top fit, do not read it. If you have just made your lunch and are sitting down for the next instalment of our adventures, eat first and then wait hours for your food to digest before reading further!! Please do not sue us if you are ill - we can't afford it and it will break the bank!

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I will begin.

New Delhi dropped us to levels of filth and squalor that we have not yet encountered - and that was just the street where our hotel was!!! Even the various slums we have seen around the world are better than this and this is where a lot of the tourist hotels are.

If cleanliness is next to Godliness then Delhi is a hell-hole. Being here is the worst kind of punishment for anyone who has only experienced first world levels of hygiene and the level of filth flies in the face of all the Hindu cleansing rituals that are performed each day!!

I felt as if we had landed on a Hollywood set for one of those end-of-the-world/disaster movies where humanity reverts to its most basic and disgusting level. Even we were in shock and that says a lot!

Our hotel was in the main Bazaar which is on a dirt road in the Pahar Ganj area of the city. There are the usual amount of cows, holy animals, wandering around so you have to be careful to step around the cow pats (or in this case - splats) they deposit.

We may complain about the stray dogs in Mexico peeing on our tyres, but the men here pee everywhere in public. Generally there are only men on the streets anyway, but they pee on vehicles, under vehicles, up against walls - well, anywhere! I don't know why they bother having public toilets because they are not used and the tourists are warned against using them.

Toilet paper is something else that makes us seem alien to the Indians - they don't use it and when we ask for it in hotels, we are invariably given a very small roll - and only one! That is why you need to check the bed sheets in each hotel - they may not have been changed and they may have been used as toilet paper. The stains are the proof of that, as we have realised after asking for clean sheets on previous occasions!

Another problem is spitting - they all spit. Kirsten says the Indians must be related to the Llama but it is the terrible sound of hawking - someone trying to drag up phlegm from the depths - before they spit it out, that makes it even worse. Coupled with the fact that they don't understand personal space, it means that a man will come up behind you, start hawking as he brushes past you and then you have to watch which way he turns his face to spit in case you have to jump out of the way! Most of the time they spit out a red stream which comes from the tobacco that they all chew. It looks like blood and Kirsten has even taken photos of the red stains on walls and pillars - just something else that is disgusting!

At some point it also rained for a few hours and that turned the road where our hotel was into a disgusting muddy mix of cow splats, male urine and dog poo. I think I will throw out my shoes once I leave India - in fact I might throw out the clothes aswell!

If that is not enough, the men here constantly touch themselves - their private parts! As two women we have to be very careful when travelling in this country so when we see so many of the men touching themselves as if this is the most natural thing to do in public, it makes us feel even more threatened! And then they wonder why we really don't want to shake hands with them!!

We also got harassed at every step - a constant stream of people wanting money from us, numerous shouts of "Madam, Madam" or "excuse me" or "You want rickshaw?" They don't give up, even when you say no or use the hand twist gesture which means no. Thank God we're not famous - it would be like this all around the world!

It is a very good job we did not fly to New Delhi as our first stop in India, otherwise we would have gone straight back to the airport and got the next flight out..... Anywhere! Just walking along the street made us feel ill and we are pretty much hardened to this kind of thing.

But the depth of filth and squalor was so low that it became oppressive - it felt as if our very health was under attack and we wondered where we would be able to eat. So we stuck to places where other tourists were and the numerous fast food places in Connaught Place - one train stop away or a 10 minute walk for us. All we could do was hope.

We still got Delhi Belly and quite badly. We knew we would get it at some point because the only way to avoid it is by doing a 2 or 3 week organised trip using the better class hotels so that you are back home by the time you get any stomach problems! Being sick in such a place is no fun!

Our sickness and diarrhoea keeps recurring and, as I write, it is now the 16th January and we have had this problem for over two weeks! But back in Delhi, we were right at the beginning and hoping that it was just food poisoning. So we tried starving ourselves to get rid of everything in our systems.

Needless to say, it didn't work and Kirsten had two "accidents"! (Remember I mentioned the stained bed sheets? Maybe that's from the tourists and I have been unfair to the Indians!!) Anyway, even though I love Kirsten to bits, I couldn't bring myself to wash her knickers for her!! There is a limit you know!

Kirsten couldn't remember ever having such accidents in her life and was going to ask her mother if she'd had them as a child - probably when she was still in nappies (diapers). Not to worry, because the next time this happens she will probably be back in nappies again anyway!! Oh boy, that's a sign of how bad I was feeling when I come out with things like that. Depressing!

Health warning over for the moment. I just wanted to get the worst out of the way so I can get back to my usual style and start from the beginning!

It is relatively safe to start reading from here!

Sun, 29.12.2013: Agonda Beach (sunny, 33°C) −> New Delhi (cloudy, 16°C)

We had a relaxing final morning in Agonda Beach, had our breakfast and packed up to get the 1pm taxi we had organised. We said a fond farewell to Prakash and Shamal and hoped to return after Burma.

It took almost 1.5 hours to drive to the airport and then we had to get our bags through security first without getting them weighed! Not a good idea for us because we were only allowed 15kg per bag.

We got through security who put blue airport cable binders and various stickers on our bags and then went to check in. We weighed 30.9kg so not a bad guess on our part, but we wondered why they use cable binders to secure bags that might be overweight! Seemed to be the wrong way of doing things. Either that, or they're not worried if people have overweight bags.

The flight took just as bit longer than the taxi drive to the airport!! We got a prepaid taxi to our hotel in New Delhi, hoped we could cope with the filth surrounding us, and went across the road to a restaurant called Kathmandu where we had seen other European tourists. We could only hope it was safe to eat there.

Our room in the Sonu Guest House was small and windowless and "India clean", in other words, not very clean but acceptable to us by now. We cleaned the toilet, checked the bed which seemed to have decent sheets and asked for some toilet paper. The usual ritual for arriving at a hotel!

We had booked 7 nights here because we needed to get a visa for Myanmar and the only place to get one in India would be the Myanmar Consulate here. We had already phoned them up to ask about what we needed and had been told we would need proof of flights and the tour plus the name and address of a Guarantor - the tour operator or agent in Myanmar. We would also need two photos and it would take two days. They would not be open on the 1st of January so we would also need to take that into account.

In other words, book everything before you apply for a visa. This may change in the future so check what the current rules are if you want to visit Myanmar.

Once we had handed in our passports we would not be able to leave Delhi as we always need them to check into hotels. We needed to get it done in one go which is why we booked 7 nights here.

Mon, 30.12.2013: New Delhi, sunny, 20°C

Our first problem was that the payment for our Myanmar tour would not go through until today. We'd hoped to be able to go to the consulate today but we needed print outs and proof of the tour. So we'd have to hope that we got an email later and went to check out the metro system here in Delhi.

It wasn't easy to find the nearest metro station and we had to ask several times and Kirsten took photos of all the electricity cables - it is a wonder that anything works here or that we don't get electrocuted every time we use a plug!

We tried to ask about the payment system for the metro, gave up, and worked it out for ourselves! You can get prepaid cards but we decided to buy a token for 8 Rupees each to get to Connaught Place and go to the tourist office there.

Of course we didn't know what to do with our tokens once we had them and worked out that you have to swipe them on the digital display at the turnstile! We could have spent ages looking for non-existent slots!

Down a few flights to the metro, there is a "ladies section" with signs in pink and we got on with the ladies - we like this segregation thing! It was only a short ride and when we got back up to road level, a very nice man took us to the Government tourist office. A welcome first - someone who wasn't trying to get money out of us or take us to a place we didn't want to go!

We picked up info about Delhi from "Smarmy Bill". (Our nickname for him!) He looked up trains for us - we can get tickets from this office - and they were all fully booked. You need to book well in advance here in the north and we will have more of a problem getting tickets for the trains we want!

Hmm - not a good start but he did give us an interesting price for a car and driver tour through Rajasthan. We knew about this option but had decided to carry on using the trains and backpacking but the prices he gave us were worth thinking about - once we'd got passed Smarmy's way of trying to fool us by using different currencies to give us prices for various things and being deliberately obtuse! We really had to pin him down but ended up with an interesting offer that we could consider over the next days.

We went to Costa Coffee for chicken wraps and a decent coffee before walking back to the train station and going through "no entry" signs twice to find the metro station closest to our hotel - which wasn't the one we'd actually used earlier when we'd had to ask for directions numerous times and ended up at a different one!

Back at our hotel, we checked our emails - none from the tour operator for our Myanmar trip. So we phoned him up in Bangkok. He has Shingles! Ouch, that's painful. He said someone from the office should have sent us confirmation etc. and said he'd contact them and get it to us even though he was ill! Poor guy - now we felt guilty!

Whilst we were waiting, we did some washing and hung it out in the bathroom and went back to the Kathmandu restaurant and got some tips for trekking in Nepal from an Australian/German couple who were there in October.

An email had arrived when we returned so we filled out our visa forms as best we could and got everything ready for the consulate tomorrow.

Tue, 31.12.2013: New Delhi, cloudy/foggy, 19°C

We got up at 8am, had a cup of tea and walked to the metro. It's a good job we'd checked everything out yesterday so we knew where to go and what to do. We had a longer journey but it was along the same metro line and only cost 24 Rs for the two of us (20 cents each!) We walked the 3 km to the embassy, went wrong once and had to back track but we still managed to arrive at 9-55am.

On the way we went via Australia as the public footpath was closed and we had to over the grounds of the Australian Embassy!! Maybe we should have asked for asylum from Delhi!!

The visa counter at the Myanmar Embassy was just a hole in the wall where we queued up outside the walls and waited for the counter to open between 10am and 11am. We'd been told that we could pay in cash at a bank but there was an agent waiting in front of us who had about 10 passports and each one had what looked like a cheque for payment.

We realised that, because the counter is only open for an hour, we might not be able to find out how to pay and get everything handed in before 11am. They are closed tomorrow so that would mean we couldn't hand them in until Thursday and wouldn't be able to pick them up until the following Tuesday!

The shutter opened at 10-10am and when it was our turn, I was told we needed a bank draft. There was a bit of a communication problem and the woman kept waving me away saying "Ban Darf, Ban darf!" (That meant we needed a Bank Draft).

Enter Mr Davindra Singh, emphasis on the Mr - a very important emissary for the consulates! He's just a rickshaw driver really, but he took us to a bank that we would never have found on our own because it was in what looked like a school building! Plus it was through an unmarked door where there were two men and we went through an antiquated system of going to the first to get a slip of paper, going to the second to pay and get another slip that then had to be returned to the first where we got our bank drafts. But Mr Davindra Singh, very important emissary, knew what to do. He also knew what to charge!!

He got us back to the embassy at 10-45am and then tried to charge us 500 Rs. I went off to the counter in the wall to sort out the paperwork and get our applications handed in. I got a receipt for our passports and we would have to return at 4pm on Friday 3rd January to collect them.

Meanwhile, Kirsten haggled with Mr Davindra Singh and finally got him down to 300 Rs plus a photo. It was asking for a photo that did the trick. He accepted the price and proudly puffed himself up for that photo - he's a very important man!!

We decided to walk in the other direction to get to a metro but it ended up being too far away so we got a rickshaw back to Connaught Place and went back to Costa Coffee for wraps, coffee and a piece of carrot cake to take with us.

Then we went the wrong way trying to walk back to our hotel. We'd found some great bakeries which we thought were near to our hotel but we were way off! Kirsten got so pissed off with people harassing us, that she told the last one to F off. Well, he was drunk and rather obnoxious! We finally got better directions from some security guards and got back to our hotel.

We must have walked at least 10km today. We went back to the Kathmandu restaurant for a meal but were served by a really obnoxious waiter who reminded me of Fawlty Towers. And then we spent hours trying to remember the name of the actor who played Basil Fawlty. We googled it when we got back - John Cleese. Of course we should have known that - our brains are in sleep mode!

Well, so was New Delhi for New Year as there weren't any fireworks or any type of celebrations. We celebrated just as I walked out of the shower - the first time I've been naked for a New Year!

Wed, 01.01.2014: New Delhi, cloudy/foggy, 20°C

The internet wasn't working in our room today so Kirsten went down to the lobby. We walked back to Connaught Place for lunch at Dunkin Donuts and then spent 2 hours with Smarmy Bill, hashing out a deal for a 4 week car and driver through Rajasthan and Gujarat. It cost US$2200 for the two of us, including unlimited mileage, mid-range hotels with breakfast, two tiger safaris in Ranthambore National Park, an overnight camel safari in Jaisalmer, two train tickets from Agra back to Delhi as we would be dropped off in Agra on the 28th day and all taxes, parking and other charges.

Afterwards, we went to another fast food style place for samosas and tea and then walked around the corner to see Jantar Mantar, listed as one of the sights for Delhi. It means the equivalent of 'Abracadabra' in Hindi and was built in 1725 as an observatory for heavenly bodies. It was very run down and they wanted 100 Rupees for each tourist. We could see it through the fence and it was very crowded - obviously used as a lunch spot for the workers in Delhi. So we didn't bother going inside.

We returned to the hotel to watch Premier League football on TV. It's not often we get the chance to watch Chelsea or Manchester United playing live! By midnight we'd had enough and went to bed.

Thu, 02.01.2014: New Delhi, sunny, 23°C

We had to phone Smarmy Bill up as he'd overcharged us for the Safaris in Ranthambore. He gave the excuse that we had asked for a Jeep tour on our own - yeah right, we'd asked for a "Gypsy" tour that seats 8 people rather than the larger vehicles for 20 people. But at least he offered us the refund in cash when we returned on Saturday to pick up the paperwork and the vouchers for all the hotels.

Then Kirsten had diarrhoea for the first time but we thought it had something to do with the migraine she had last night, as I was feeling all right and we'd eaten the same things. So we went for breakfast at the Kathmandu and avoided Basil Fawlty by sitting at a different table! Kirsten had a cheese and potato omelette and I had muesli with yoghurt and honey.

Kirsten was feeling all right again so we got the metro to go to the Red Fort, a massive sandstone structure that may be only a shadow of its former self, but another sight listed for Delhi. We managed to get there and Kirsten managed to take a couple of photos of the outside but she wasn't feeling well at all. So we decided to get a rickshaw back to the hotel.

A bicycle rickshaw had given us the price of 100 Rs for the journey but Kirsten needed to get back a bit quicker than that so we haggled for the same price in an auto rickshaw. We got in and the driver set off. But then he stopped 100 m down the road and told us he would take us shopping en route! No!! So we started the haggling again. We got out and then he agreed to the original price of 100 Rs so we got back in and set off again.

But he kept moaning that it would be a loss for him to take us to the hotel. I told him that Kirsten was ill and, just in case he didn't understand that I was being serious, I mimicked the actions of someone vomiting, complete with sound effects, to make myself clear! So he said he would only take us to one shop!!

The arguments continued as I watched the road signs to make sure he was taking us back to the hotel and at the same time, got out a plastic sick bag for Kirsten. This was getting beyond a joke. He stopped near the train station and told us to walk!! It meant we still had at least 5 minutes to walk!

We got out and I shouted at him, telling him he was a liar and a filthy cheat and threw 60 Rs on the floor. Disgusted, doesn't even begin to describe it. The only good thing was, that it made Kirsten almost laugh, which delayed the sickness enough for us to get back to the hotel!

Kirsten managed to lie down for a couple of hours but then had diarrhoea again and needed to vomit at the same time so the sick bag came in handy. We stayed in for the rest of the day and I went down to the reception with our folded and used towels, to ask for clean ones. The guy at reception pointed at them and said "They are clean!"

I tried to explain that we had been using them for 4 nights but he just didn't get it! The concept of cleanliness seems to be beyond them. I didn't even bother trying to ask for clean bed sheets that would have really put the cat amongst the pigeons!

Fri, 03.01.2014: New Delhi, cloudy, 20°C

Today, it was my turn for diarrhoea but it wasn't too bad and Kirsten felt better. We were still thinking that it wasn't very serious and would be over soon. Besides, we both needed to be present to pick up our passports from the Myanmar embassy at 4pm.

We took the metro there and walked to the embassy but the window didn't open until 4-25pm, so we had over 30 minutes to wait. But we got our passports along with a visa that took up another full page.

We went to the Kathmandu again for Momo soup (Tibetan dumplings in clear soup) and a chicken stir fry. When we got back to the hotel, I did some washing and Kirsten spent hours looking for a hotel in Agra on Trip Advisor - they are all bad!! She eventually found a new one which we booked online. We'll have to wait and see if that's the right decision.

I didn't have diarrhoea again so we thought the whole thing was behind us. We were wrong!

Sat, 04.01.2014: New Delhi, cloudy/foggy, 20°C

I spent the day going from the bed to the toilet and back. Kirsten had to go alone to Connaught Place to get all the paperwork, vouchers and cash refund from the Government tourist office. She also met the driver and arranged a meeting place for the following day.

But then she got diarrhoea again when she got back whilst I was trying unsuccessfully to vomit. Oh God, this is no fun any more! A brilliant start to the New Year and we have a long driving day tomorrow for the start of our 4 week tour of Rajasthan! Are we going to survive?

29.12. - 04.01.2014: New Delhi