Gotta get outta Delhi

Had it with Delhi. The noise and the air is too much. Kutub and I booked flights to Bubaneshwar on the Eastern coast, with the intention of spending some time by the beach area of Puri. There were a few interesting places we wanted to see around the area and we intended to do some day trips and hang out there for about five days before he headed back to Delhi and me onto Goa.

Flight was three hours delayed, and at the cost of US$250 was a total shock (when I had just paid US$50 for the equivalent flight with NZ).

We arrived in Bubaneshwar and took a taxi to the local bus stop. Kutub and the driver chatted the whole way there and I just switched off. We just had time to clamber aboud the bus to Puri (about 30 km away) before it sped off. Kutub asked me - 'did you understand anything that driver said?'. 'No - of course not' I replied. 'Well, he was criticizing me for telling you that you can get the bus for 20 rupees. He said if it wasn't for me, he could have charged you 500 rupees to get to Puri as you're just a tourist and you can afford it'. 'Whhhaaatt???'. I was pretty angry at this but it's a good example of the way they work here. Everyone but everyone looks at you and goes 'ch-ching!' and all they see is money money money and how much can they ring out of you. That is one of the main reasons why travelling here is so tiring ~ not the bumpy lumpy roads that have you feeling like you been sitting on a washing machine for three hours, not the crap everywhere that you have to step around and not the men peeing at the sides of the streets. Not the noise, the lack of hot water in your shower and not the challenge of finding a clean restaurant for lunch. What makes you so tired is dealing with all the hacks who are out to rip you off. Side-stepping these guys is like avoiding landmines - you know you're going to come across a few and you just pray you can survive the damage they do to your wallet, not to mention your pride.

We had booked a really lovely hotel in Puri with a balcony and view over the almost deserted beach which had large waves lapping it - such a lovely change from Delhi it was worth all the effort to get here.