Brad and I were so lucky to have found a couchsurfer for our first stop in India…New Delhi! It was a good way to ease us into it. His name was Kaushik and he picked us up from the airport, brought us back to his home where we had a yummy breakfast together before separating ways. On the way, we immediately noticed the craziness in driving… people in between lanes, driving on the other side of the road, CONSTANTLY honking… but it didn’t seem to phase Kaushik!
Rickstraw!
Brad and I wandered to the nearby markets to pick up some necessities. Crossing the street was interesting 
It took us a little bit to get the conversion down while we were shopping too, 45 rupees to 1 dollar. We didn’t end up going into the center because we were going to stay a couple days. However when Kaushik got home from work, he told us that tomorrow was the verdict after 16 years of waiting to decide a fight between the Muslims and the Hindus, for a mosque or a temple. Apparently there was super increased security because they were expecting some outrage and crime… so unfortunately we decided we had to leave Delhi tomorrow.
Kaushik!
We DID however make our last night there count, and Kaushik took us to a cool Tibetan joint with cheap cheap food..but a lot of it! Deliciousness! Loads of dumplings accompanied by a super hot chili sauce that Brad had to eat a heap of after losing to a rock paper scissors contest He took it like a champ though! We finished off a great night with Kaushik showing us his incredible magic tricks! Still am amazed and have no idea how he did what he did!!!
Spicy Tibetan food!
The next morning, we woke up super early to catch a train out of Delhi, but it didn’t quite turn out as we hoped. When we arrived, the train station was packed with Indians, all apparently trying to leave Delhi during the Commonwealth Games. We found out the usual tourist ticket office was closed, and we had to go into the city center to get them. And so we did. THEN we found out ALL the trains were waitlisted at over 100 people, and we had to change our WHOLE India trip.
New plans…. Delhi->Udaipur->Jaipur->Agra->Varanasi->Kolkata. It cost more than we hoped, but now ALL of our trains AND accomodation were booked, so i guess it took some stress off, especially since the Indian trains can be a nightmare sometimes! Since our train wasn’t leaving until late that night, we were lucky to actually be able to see Delhi for the day, with a free driver too!
They thought i was famous!
We went to a couple temples and forts, took our first Rickshaw ride, saw our first snake charmer (which i unfortunately didn’t get a picture of), and ate our first official Indian dishes! Girls kept asking me for pictures, and i don’t know if they think I’m famous with my big sunnies, or if it’s just because I’m white! haha! But most of all, we spent the day just watching everything going on around us. Craziness. Traffic. Poverty. Wealth. Kids running in Sprinklers with not a care in the world. Praying. Colors everywhere. Great aromas of street food. Disgusting wiffs of dog piss and sewerage. It was overwhelming.
Relaxation!
When it was time for the train, Brad and I had no idea what to expect….. an unorganized crowd of people? Chickens running through the train cabins? People hanging out windows? Yes…it was like that in the unreserved second class cabins, but luckily we got Third Tier AC reserved seats. So basically there are 3 bunks stacked and another set across from it….pretty crowded but still enough breathing space. Not the most lovely, but definitely good enough. And so we left Delhi, sad to leave Kaushik, but excited for what was to come…especially since we had never even heard of Udaipur before.