Bombay:
As the line in the Bombay Dreams musical goes "contradiction, city of extremes (any thing is possible in Bombay dreams) this is a city where giant slums nestle next to 5 start hotels and the financial centre of India. Although Delhi is the capital Bombay became a busy port and as result has become a sprawling metropolis. With only a few hours in hand I took a tour from the "Gateway to India" around the centre of town, taking in Gandhiji (the extra ji at the end is a mark of respect), a hindu temple and the great laundry among other sites. The laundry is a maze of small concrete pools each with a ban scrubbing clothes and beating them against the concrete walls. There is a 3 price structure for the laundry...the most expensive service uses clean water, the next down uses slightly dirty water and by now you can guess that the third class service 
charges less than 10Rs to have your clothes washed in the left overs! Although the wealthy people in Delhi have washing machines most people feel that just doesn't invlolve enough elbow grease to really make something *clean*. My guide talked me into taking a a local train back to a place near the airport for equiv. 9p, it was a memorable trip through rail track slums in a carriage with no doors. I did get the luxury though of the 'ladoes only' carriage, less packed out than the rest. From the station on to the airport to Delhi...
charges less than 10Rs to have your clothes washed in the left overs! Although the wealthy people in Delhi have washing machines most people feel that just doesn't invlolve enough elbow grease to really make something *clean*. My guide talked me into taking a a local train back to a place near the airport for equiv. 9p, it was a memorable trip through rail track slums in a carriage with no doors. I did get the luxury though of the 'ladoes only' carriage, less packed out than the rest. From the station on to the airport to Delhi...Delhi:
Delhi is India's capital city and has been for many centuries. The current parliament sits in Lutyens New Delhi (I'm guessing the same architect of Magdalene Lutyens fame!!) which is built on a massive scale at the end of the 'Raj Path' (Kings Way) an Indian equivalent of the Champs-Elisees with India Gate marking the other end.
In old Delhi stands a giant mosque, the bigges in India where we were allowed to climb the 65m minaret (for a small fee) with fantastic views out over the city and the Red Fort, its other main monument. However apart from these two the two most famous places the city is packed with too many breath taking sites to see, a Hindu temple built to honour Gandhi, several Muhgal Emperor tombs and gardens. But the things that really strike me here that you can't read in a guide book is the sheer density of people, taxis, rickshaws, animals, street sellars 
and beggars all in one small place. The streets of Delhi are alive, they are where people live, work, relax, travel, eat, shop and party. Added to this try to imagine thousands of rickshaws, took-tooks, cars, buses, cows, taxis and even elephants (as in the photo!!) all with single minded and determined aim to not stop and you would still need to see to believe the clamour of the streets here. Our taxi driver today told us that to drive in India you need only 3 things: good brakes, good horn, good luck. Most make do with just a horn.
and beggars all in one small place. The streets of Delhi are alive, they are where people live, work, relax, travel, eat, shop and party. Added to this try to imagine thousands of rickshaws, took-tooks, cars, buses, cows, taxis and even elephants (as in the photo!!) all with single minded and determined aim to not stop and you would still need to see to believe the clamour of the streets here. Our taxi driver today told us that to drive in India you need only 3 things: good brakes, good horn, good luck. Most make do with just a horn.A few other things I've notived are that the women, even the poorest and beggars still look stunning in their flowing saris whereas the men seem to have adopted the shirt and trousers look of western dress. They squeeze side-saddle on the back of mororbikes, babe in arms and the beautifully patterned silk billowing behind. Another thing is that there are metal detectors everywhere here, gaurding against the threat of terrorism from pakistan, even to go on the metro or into a park you have to be screened and searched. Occasionaly the detectors crop up in the middle of a busy street, though most people walk round those keen to queuse can take a turn at walking through.
Agra:
I'll try to wrap up briefly with mention for India's most iconic monument (and a picture to prove I went!). Unfortunately the train was full with 100 people on the waiting list (apparently the system is to book 90 days in advance!!) so we were forced to hire a taxi for the day to make the 5 hour drive to Agra, we left at 5am and I'm writing this having just got back at 10.30pm!
I was a worried that such a famous monument could only be a let down, but this time it absolutely was not. The Taj Mahal is much bigger than I had imagined and the water course leading up to it much shorter. Being a saturday it was busy with Indian visitors and we were rare to be white (as we have been all week) and many people stopped us to ask for our photograph...a popular request that seems to only be explained as a joke we don't seem to be in on! We took a stroll around the tomb and the muhgal gardens with a brief look inside, before heading over to the Agra Fort which stands just along the river Ganges from it. The Agra Fort was built before the Taj Mahal but was made into a palace by Shah Jahan, the same that built the Taj. He was also imprisoned in the Fort in a marble obelisk at one corner overlooking the Taj for 8 years by his son after he seized power. When he died he was taken by boat down the river to join her and they are now burried together deep beneath the monument where so many thousands of visitors walk.
It has been an incredible stay here, although hard work at times. Tomorrow we're off to Kathmandu and hopefully I'll find some internet again soon :)
