Actually, I do not have a serious problem with curries or spicy foods. I can tolerate it and unlike some lovers of Indian food, who I know are attracted to India for its culinary delights (amongst others), I did not come here for the food.

Glad we got that one out of the way.

I did a fair bit of reading about India before I came here (in hindsight, probably not enough) and was convinced that it would not be as intense as most foreign visitors tend to describe it. I believed I’ve seen my fair share of poverty, that my Jo’burg street wisdom would make me assertive enough to not fall prey to dodgy locals who like to take tourists for a ride, and that I would be able to deal with stench, filth and dirt as long as I had enough hand sanitiser on me.

I was wrong.

India is going to take a lot of getting used to.

The India that I have seen so far is filthy and strewn with litter, because there are no dustbins in the streets and every once in a while you are confronted with the most terrible stench. It really is overwhelming. In the midst of infinite chaos and filth, the people are extremely friendly and inquisitive and in two moments of weakness I agreed to let random strangers walk me somewhere they thought I should be. Apparently that’s is the last thing one should do here, but by the time 7000^th person strikes up a conversation, one tends to give up and go with the flow.

When I checked in at my backpackers in New Delhi (which is a story in itself), the receptionist immediately remarked that the four days I planned to stay in Delhi was going to be too long. I shrugged off his remark, took a cold shower and left the backpackers to explore the surrounding neighbourhood, where I rarely had the opportunity to walk on my own for longer than 15 seconds.

“Where are you from?”

“First time in India?”

“Can I walk with you?

“Can I practise my English with you?

“Welcome to India.”

“Where are you from?”

“You have girlfriend?”

“Why you not have a girlfriend?”

“First time in India?”

“Can you buy me some rice?”

The tourist pickup lines are endless. As I already mentioned, I agreed to let one of these random strangers walk me to a Department of Tourism’s office to get a better map and he got me there without any snags or catches – I probably would not have found the office without him. The man who assisted me at the tourism office (who was just as inquisitive as everyone else) also said four days in Delhi were going to be too long.

To make a long story short, I left the tourism office with a plan to leave for Jaipur the next day with a driver called Ram, who took me on a day long crash course through Delhi where we nearly crashed a couple of times. We went to Humayun’s Tomb, India Gate and the Houses of Parliament.

(I will squeeze in other attractions like the Red Fort when I am in Delhi for a day and a half before I leave for South Africa at the end of the month.)

Ram was going to drive me to Jaipur as well, but had car trouble and was replaced by Lal, who happens to be a much better driver than Ram, nice as he is.

Lal, who is completely infatuated with Ganesha, the elephant-like god of spiritual and material prosperity, took offense when I refused to go on an elephant ride, so I reluctantly agreed to do it. I really felt sorry for the elephant and the way it was treated and the ride was uncomfortable. And why ride elephants when you can ride horses?

So I am in Jaipur now, which already has a better feel to it than Delhi, in spite of the fact that it seems to be just as filthy with lots of cows and pigs in the streets digging through the rubble for some snacks and random people in the street trying to lure me into the street out of the hotel lobby when I stand too close to the entrance.

We managed to visit the Royal Gaitore yesterday, and I also got a henna tattoo there.

I will be staying here for three nights before leaving for Agra.

Please be nice, India. I have another 28 days left here.

I trust I will find beauty in your chaos.