Ladies Trains, bowel clenching acceleration and nerves

To help me keep track of what happens when, I will try to do a journal entry every day starting yesterday with my first full day in Delhi. This I will count as day 1. There will also probably be some more prosaic entries like my last few too.

I awoke a lot later than I anticipated, at 10.45, almost 11 hours after I had gone to bed. I felt well rested, but I remember thinking of some advice before I went to bed - if you are offered two strengths of beer, try the weaker one first!

My first destination was via the metro. Surprisingly easy and clean and efficient, but I came unstuck immediately. Several people were coughing at me, saying 'EXCUSE ME' in shrill voices and gesticulating at the signs until I realised that I was in the ladies only carriage. Red faced I fled down the train to some knowing grins.

I got to Karol Bagh, and spent about 40 minutes wandering round. It reminded me of Oxford Street really, the shops were a lot more prosperous than the bazaar. Had no luck in finding the bike area though, so had to hail a tuk tuk to take me to Lalli Singh.

This bike shop is well recommended in the traveller websites and Lonely Planets. In an alley way in a basement, a workshop like every mechanics I have seen, bits everywhere, grease and dirt covering every surface and half a dozen guys working on the skeletons of several Enfields. Mr Singh is a tall bearded Sikh, and was showing some Americans some videos, so I went out on a test drive with one of the mechanics.

The drive through Delhi was pretty hairy. He accelerated at great speed through the traffic, which made me nervous, When we reached the gravel I was in such a state that it took me about a dozen times to kick start the bike. Once on it was ok, but I didn't feel comfortable on the heavy 500cc bike. It would take a few days for the bikes to be ready, so I headed down to the next shop, Tonybikes.

I had been in email contact with Rajesh and Mala his wife before hand and they were expecting me (photo's below) I was taken upstairs into the lo ceilnged office and we went through prices and makes and itineraries, and they showed me photos of the different routes.

Both shops were helpful, but offered slightly different deals, so I resolved to sleep on it and make my decision which to take in the morning. I was also waiting to hear from a friend Dan, who was hoping to come and join me in the next couple of days.

I got back to Parhan Baj really nervous and excited. After many months of planning this, I was almost started. But I felt nervous too at the prospect of taking a bike out, much more than I expected.

I felt a bit lonely too - it is much easier to be full of bravado when you are with someone else. But I knew this would pass too.

I spent much of the evening in my room, watching TV and messing about on the internet. News from Dan in Afghanistan (where he works) wasn't good - he had a bad experience at the Indian Embassy and it would be a week or more before he could get there.

It took me ages to get to sleep. A lot had happened in the day and I had a lot to think about.