How not to see the sights of Delhi

Turn up on major festival day. So we don't get to see the biggest mosque in India, and we don't get to see Gandhi's crematorium park (I'm told it's a must see...) and we don't get to see the government buildings (distant glimpse). We do get to see India Gate however and also the most enormous crowd, lining the largely darkened streets, threatening to derail, as it were, our attempt to get to Delhi junction station for the overnight sleeper.

Indian Railways turn out to be a rather better experience than expected - apart from a no beer rule and the inevitable dodgy toilets - it's really no worse than French motorail (though that was poor), and I'm surprised to sleep through to 8am, scheduled arrival time. Needless to say however the train is running on IST (Indian Stretchable Time) so we have another 2 hours to watch extremely flat and unchanging semi desert go by.

Heat and Dust - and a little less polluted

Arrive into Delhi at midnight - it's still hot, but bearable. Unbelievable amounts of activity still at the airport, dust everywhere, mixing with the exhausts for a distinctive choking cocktail. Good news however is that it's not as bad as previously - as the buses and 'tuk-tuks' (3 wheeler mini taxis) all now use natural gas, plus a metro is being built and Delhi has been demoted from the top 10 most polluted.

Spend the next 15 hours in a bit of a twilight zone of stillness and calm, escaping the heat of the day before anyone else seems to turn up, but finally our group gets together - 11, and you can tell immediately a good bunch to do the first 2 weeks with. Bikes arrive - they seem good - but the heat is fierce (around 30C in mid afternoon) and it's difficult to work out how tough that will make this.

Ready to go (almost)

I am looking at a bedroom still covered in all sorts of odds and ends that at one point or another have struck me as indispensable to take on a 62 day round the world trip, and in the corner a very large bag already crammed full. A new definition of indispensable required...

What do you take? The activities define much of it - cycle helmet, padded shorts (now they ARE indispensable), sleeping bag, fleece, woolly hat etc. Cameras and all the charger paraphenalia we wouldn't have had even 10 years ago. I have wondered a few times over the last few weeks why I am doing this - leaving behind an opportunity to loaf my way gently through the rest of what has been a generally lovely autumnal London this year (though may just be perception because for once I have actually seen it), undoubtedly for bouts of uncomfortable places to sleep, aching limbs, the inevitability of some flight connection or another not working, undoubtedly finding myself missing my family terribly at moments, too much cold, too much heat...

So what am I hoping to get out of it? I ought to be able to answer this easily enough to justify the disruption to myself and others. And I guess the answer is - at the risk of being glib - see some sights and do some things that are truly lifelong memorable, travel long enough to let go of the comforting thought of proximate return home (though I agree, 2 months isn't that long in many ways), justify purchase of digital camera equipment, continue to get fit, do some slightly (but not TOOOOO...) challenging stuff outside comfort zone. (Note to parents and insurance company though - won't be bungy jumping in NZ). Kate says - get some of the travel bug out of the system - though she acknowledges risk that you end up just wanting to do more.

What am I hoping not to get out of it? Food poisoning obviously, 'ticking off' countries (only going to 7), finding somewhere isn't all it's cracked up to be (although I'm going with fairly few preconceptions I think).

And what is 'it' anyway? For those who don't know, a round the world trip for two months between jobs, sort of on my own (sadly without Kate or girls, but including stitching together some organised journeys as well as solo legs). 7 countries - India (cycling in Rajasthan), Nepal, Bhutan (trekking), Australia (Sydney mainly), New Zealand (all over), Bolivia (La Paz area mainly - it's just a few days) and Chile (trekking in Patagonia). Back for Christmas.

The blog is a way of disciplining myself to capture sights, sounds, atmospheres, as they happen before they slip from mind - so, yes, it's for me really. There won't be any postcards though - I'm afraid you'll just to read this instead. I promise to keep entries short (shorter than this) to minimise boredom and a further plus is that they will definitely stop after 9 weeks. First stop Delhi on Friday...