Delhi Delhi Delhi

To cut a long story short I made it there alive. The flight was really easy, Etihad are prob the best airline I have ever flown with and the flight was trip was over in just 6 hours. As I was flying into Delhi my stomach was doing flips and I was perched on the edge of my seat with my nose stuck to the window and beads of sweat forming on my brow. The stewardess was eyeing me nervously. As we land the pilot informs us that it is a sunny 43 degrees in New Delhi and I have to draw on all my breathing exorcises to calm myself. Leaving customs I stop again and really have to focus and step out expecting to be torn apart by touters and thief's but the place is the picture of tranquility. I go by advice and get a government taxi and as I wait, tense waiting for throngs of people to come running at me any minute but all that come is my taxi and off we go. It is all going too easy and even though we are casually cruising through the Delhi burbs with wild hemp growing all along the road and people gently selling their wares I am still on the edge of my saet waiting for it all to hit. My destination is Pahagranj which is the backpacker center of town and is right next to train station, a famous place known by everyone, everyone accept my driver it would seem and he has to stop at "Tourist Office" to ask directions. So before I know whats happening I'm seating in a tourist office with a smiling man in front of me and no idea where I am. As far as I'm told the Main Bazaar of Pahagranj is just around the corner but I have to book hotel first with him. After calling a few hotels from my guide book that are all full the penny begins to drop and I remember the warning in my book of shady travel agents and I realise I have been hit with scams 1, 2 and 3 already. The Big scam is that they ring hotel but they really ring people in his little cartel that are in on the plot to get me to go to a hotel of their choosing and pay stupid money, one of them even imitates the train station and tells me there are no trains for 3 days. They even take it to the point that they drive me around what they tell me is Main Bazaar and bring into all the hotels there where I'm told that they are all full, So after a couple of hours of this and with hunger and exhaustion from the over night flight with no sleep I eventually give in and book room for one night and luckily it is a clean room. After checking in and dropping off bag I head straight the door with the conviction that I'm going to get to the bottom of this and find out what is going on and where I am. I discover that I'm actually about 3Km from the real Main Bazaar and I decide to hope in Rickshaw and go take alook so I can get my bearings. The tour office sends a young guy with me to guide me and give the run around I suppose. I decide the train station is a good land mark that would be hard for them to fake and firmly put my focus on getting there. I request John to tell driver to go there and off we go. He trys to direct to me here and there saying " why not go here or there" but I just keep repeating "train station, train station, train station". After passing the same block for the third time I start getting a little angry and "train station" is turning into "just bring to the TRAIN STATION!!!!!!!" and John is begging to look a little scared and out of his depth with his client but he trys to hang in there till I really begin to loose it and he decides to try and pawn me off on another tourist office but I hold firm and and my directions are begging to get violent and eventually a very scared john leads rickshaw to an area I have not seen before and then looms the sign for New Delhi Train Station and I loosen my grip little on john's throat. Into the station with purpose and a good feeling at last.After finding my way I can eventually take in Delhi a bit and this city is just chaos, the noise and people everywhere in just frantic.Poor John is still following me. He is worn out and looks very worried as he rubs his wounds, I assure him that I will not let his boss know that he actually took me to station after all and that his secret is safe with me and he lightens up a bit. I offer to bring him for dinner to compensate for almost throttling him and we head down the real Main Bazaar that is a maze of streets, with all little stalls and people milling around. Cows wonder around completely unfazed. After a lovely dinner on a roof top where John and I chat and get to know each other over the din that is constantly coming from the street below its back to the hotel and after over 30 hours of no sleep its blackness.