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I got up this morning about 8:00, showered and went up for breakfast at the rooftop restaurant. I had scrambled eggs, toast, potatoes (awesome!) and amazing coffee. One thing Asian countries can do right is amazing coffee! They have a great rooftop restaurant here at the hotel.

Started walking around Paharganj, towards the train station. The touts here are horrible, they try to be your friend, start talking you up, tell you they are practising their english. They then start telling you about all the locals who will try to sell you stuff, especially to be wary of the tourist information centres, the only good ones are the gov't ones. This, of course, happened to me, he walked with me for miles, telling me he's going to take me to a government tourist office to get free maps and stuff. We walked (the long route) to Connaught Place, where we stopped in a front of a tourist office, and he told me I could get all the information in there. He then said he had to go home, he had to get ready for class or something. I went in, knowing they were trying to sell me something. I did get a map of Delhi from him, though.

As I left the tourist place, the guy came running after me, wondering what the problem was. I pretty much told him he could go know, I didn't need him anymore. I turned around, I kept walking, and I ran into him at least two more times......he would acknowledge me and smile. Bugger!

Of course, during this time, all the shop vendors stand out their shops, asking you to come in and "just look". The shop vendors are ok, at least they aren't "lying" to you, and they don't follow you around. You're trying to be nice, but it's hard.

I got fed up and walked back to the hotel and vegged in the restaurant with a bottle of water.

About 1:00, figured I'd try to go the train station to get a train ticket to Agra for tomorrow morning. I got inside where all the taxi drivers are, was within 25 feet of the building, and a "friendly local" asked me where I was going. Of course, the instance you look like you don't know what you're doing, they jump on you. I told him I was going to get a ticket to Agra. He told me I needed to go to Platform 1. Ah ha! That's right, my Let's Go book says go to the train station, there is a purchasing office upstairs at Platform One, for tourists to use. Maybe I finally got a real friendly local! He walked me away from the main building to a small building across the street, and I was getting suspicious. We came a to a building that had something about Government of India Train Tickets, Platform One posted on the door. I went upstairs, told the guy I wanted a train ticket to Agra for tomorrow, he got on the phone for a minute, then hung up and told me that it was sold out, I was 92nd on a waiting list. He then asked me what my plans were, and he ended up trying to sell me a car trip (with tour guide, hotels, food, tours, etc.), about 17 days, for over $900 US. He was quite the salesman, had all the brochures of the hotels, they were all nice hotels, swimming pools, etc. But I told him that was way to much, no thanks. He then asked me if I would be interested in a bus to Agra, I asked how much, he said 900 rupees. Yikes! He told me it was A/C. Told him no thanks, too much money and left.

Completely frustrated, I headed back to the hotel. The hotel is on the only respite from the constant touts and noise of Delhi. The hotel has a tourist agency in it, so asked about a bus to Agra. 280 rupees. So I bought one. 280 rupees, I think that's even cheaper than the train (according to my Let's Go), so it's all good. Bus picks me up tomorrow morning at 6:00am.

Went back up the restaurant and ate. Talked with a German guy about renewable resources, the Berlin wall coming down, George Bush (and Americans in general) bashing, etc.

AFter that, about 5:00, I was wiped. My brain is still in Moose Jaw time, about 4:00 in the morning. I went up to my room, listened to music, laid down, and eventually fell asleep.

About 11:00pm, I woke up and used the internet. Pretty soon I'll be off to AGra.

Backpackers are "different" here than elsewhere. They totally dress like locals. They try to "fit in", unlike other SE Asian countries, where tourists are just tourists.

Delhi is bad, in terms of touts and crap. Way worse than any other SE Asia city I've been. It's wears on the patience and frustration sets in.

I'm hoping that I get to a place where it's not that bad relatively soon.

Also, got an e-mail from Rynette this morning. They were down in Goa (told me it was beautiful, I should go), and they were heading to the Taj Mahal tomorrow, then flying to Nepal. I'll see if I can meet up with them for a short time there. If not, oh well.