I'm sharing a room at the moment with an Israeli Girl called Yaell (said ya-ell) (spellt fuck knows how) (spellt?? Is that how you spell spellt? Or should it be spelled? No, that doesn't look right either...maybe spelt? mmmm....) Anyway, when we arrived in delhi, we took it in turns looking at rooms while the other watched the bags, and eventually decided on a room that Yaell had selected. While we were getting our stuff, Yaell said "Oh by the way, your my husband and I'm pregnant". "huh?" I said, a little confused. "yeah, I told them your my husband and that I'm pregnant to try and get a room on the first floor, but as it turns out the best room is on the third floor, so i told them i'd manage...". So anyway, I thought nothing of it, until the hotel staff started giving me looks of congratulation and smiling at me to show their approval! When the guy came to bring our bags he said "you husband and wife?". "yeah" we both said. Too late to back out now. "Ahhh, that's very nice" he said, and smiled at me knowingly.... I should probably add at this point that Yaell is rather big boned, and I am, well, just bones really, so i guess the idea of her bones and my bones boning must have been rather amusing for them..... ;) Anyway, the story is still holding up, and I think it's gonna get us moved to a different room today as ours is too hot. Not good for the baby.....

I ventured out today. At least i tried. It took me about 6 attempts to get going. First I forgot my hat. Remember we stay on the 3rd floor, and there's no lift. So then I forgot my sunglasses. Then i went all the way to the train station to reserve my ticket north, but after joing the que, I realised I'd forgotten my Passport! So I went all the way home, got my passport, and forgot my hat again. Then i forgot to take enough money. By the time i actually got my train ticket i was completely knackered, but I still decided to go and explore Old Delhi. So, I walked about a kilometre along a busy road before realising I was going in the wrong direction. By this time i thought "fuck it", and changed my plan to accomodate the new direction. So, following the roadsigns, I started heading for "Connaught Place". After about another km, I'm still on the main road, and no more signs. So, I stop and ask a young looking guy for directions. He doesn't really know, but we start chatting anyway and he tells me he's a doctor (well, medical student actually, but they always say doctor don't they) and him and his 3 colleages are conducting some survey of dispensarys in Delhi. I meet his friends, and they insist I join them for a cold drink. By this time I'm almost dying of thirst and my bottle of water has almost reached boiling point, so i agree enthusiastically. About a 30 minute bus ride later we eventually arrive at the tomb of some King/Emperor/important bloke with nice gardens. But not a cold drink in sight! The drinks shop is "closed for repairs". Oh well. After failing miserably to convince the man at the gate that i am indian and should only pay the 5 rupees local price, i am forced to pay an extortionate 100 rupees. Now, the lads (they're all about 22 years old) have told me that they're all single, and that this park is particularly good for cruising chicks. At least thats what i thought they said. It turns out that what they actually meant is that this park is particualrly good for ogling other peoples chicks. Throughout the park couples jostle for smooching space under trees and behind pillars. It's quite bizzare, as there seems to be some kind of standard procedure at work here... each couple is sitting in almost exactly the same pose: guy sitting with back against tree while girl lies in his lap and looks up lovingly into his eyes.... It's almost as if they're all competeing to see who can look the most loving couple! Anyway, 3 of the lads set off to stare at other peoples girlfriends, while I stay behind with the fourth and chat. He tells me that he doesn't go in for "this kind of thing", gesturing towards the fawning couples. "Why not?" I ask. He proceeds to explain to me how the sole purpose of this life is to "sit in ones soul" and find god, and that any other activity is basically a distraction from this purpose. This doesn't just mean smooching. This means any form of social interaction is a distraction from the individual search for enlightenment. He aslo explains to me how a particular Yogi whos name I forget (apparantly he's very famous) attended a seminar in The States a while back, and "proved" that The Hindu Religion is "superior" to all other religions. I tried to point out to him that the whole concept of "proving" the validity of a religious concept is ridiculous as it is impossible to produce facts about feelings and internal experiences, but he kept insisting that it had been proved! Eventually i figured out that he actually meant that he had proved that Hinuism was older than all the other religions, and that they had all in some way descended from it. I tried to point out to him that this didn't necessarily make it "superior", as many times something new derived from something old is considered a newer, "superior" version of the old, but he still insisted that there was conclusive eveidence to prove that hiduism and the concept of dharma was "better" than all the other religions.....

It really is quite fascinating. Indians consider thier land as the place where people spend their final lives before they finally become part of "god" again, or however you want to put it, and that india is spiritually far superior to every other country, and is the teacher of the world in spiritual matters. But all this importance rests on the acceptance of Dharma, which all the other religions, apparantly decended from india, have (as far as I can tell) discarded. (I think Buddism still has a similar concept). If you don't believe in Dharma and Karma, then the Indians stance seems far from enlightened. From a christian perspective their stance is cold and heartless. Helping others to help one's self was hardly Christ's message... or was it? Actually, come to think of it, it probably was. Help the meek and go to heaven. Oh well, here's a new idea. help the meek because you can! Become a Billyist! LOL! Sorry, Billyism is a one man religion, so keep your hands off!

Ok, enough seemingly deep yet pathetically flawed nonsense from me for one day..... see you all in the mountains! :D