Amn't up to much today either. My flight is tonight and I don't really have anything left to do in Delhi, bar perhaps going to get a photo of India Gate and possibly some shopping. Although, I have just spent some time adding a new map to my blog! Have to credit Graham with the idea. I'll try to update my map more often than Graham updated his! :)

India Gate

Thankfully the monsoon rains have caused the temperature to drop by a few degrees. It's much more bearable, but it does come with the impending threat of the heavens opening at any moment! Got an email from Grainne & James (who I met in Dublin airport), they've moved on to Bangkok as of yesterday and we're going to try and meet up for a drink when I get there.

I was thinking that the cinema might be a good option today to kill some time and to avoid the heat, as I've pretty much seen all of the sites that I'm interested in here in Delhi. There are some multiplex cinemas here showing the latest blockbusters in English but unfortunately they all appear to be well outside the city centre. Any of the ones in the city centre are only showing the latest Bollywood releases. Not really wanting a hefty rickshaw fare just to catch a film I decided to have a leisurely afternoon with some lunch and possibly a bit of shopping, so I headed to Connaught Place after stopping off at India Gate to take some photos.

Final thoughts on India before I head onwards:

- I'd definitely recommend visiting, although if your reasonably sane I'd say you should probably avoid coming here in the summer months if at all possible, unless you're a fan of oppresive heat.
- If (like me) you just want to see the Taj Mahal you could see Delhi and Agra in a week, although that would be a shame as the country is huge and there is a lot more to see than just these 2 places.
- My main regret is that I didn't get to see some of the other spots in Rajasthan, namely Jodphur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur which sound like they're probably worth a visit. Although you always have to strike a balance between having enough time in each place and seeing as much as possible!
- If you're coming here to India and money isn't too much of an issue, if you don't like the sound of being hassled at airports, train stations and outside your hotel by rickshaw drivers (among others), its probably worth considering hiring a car & driver to take you around for a few days, it's relatively inexpensive to do this. However after my initial annoyances of the first day I've viewed all of that as part of the experience.
- If you see constant electricity, and hot water as essential to any stop in a hotel then I'd suggest that the budget accomodation in India isn't for you! India is very much a developing country, so if you like your creature comforts you might want to come here on a package deal that includes stays in 5 star accomodation. However, if you do that I don't think you'd really experience the full depth of the place.