Delhi - India

Delhi has better public security than London !
Your bag and you are checked by security staff probably at every subway metro station entrance. My bag was checked even at Pizza Hut entrance :)
Maybe because of bloody terrorist attacks in Delhi two years ago.

Qutb Minar Complex - UNESCO World Heritage Site:








Asia's largest computer hardware market:



IT shops are located on all floors of these buildings
packed by PCs, gadgets and people.
Last couple of days I tried to bargain for some souvenirs at Indian bazaars, it's very difficult.
Theoretically the real price is one third of price that the merchand asks for.
But I didn't get better than a half at the end.

Tomorrow morning I am flying to London after 60 days travelling and I am definitely different person returning.

New Delhi, Agra - India

I took the train from Chennai to New Delhi(part of the city - Delhi)
The journey took 36 hours, but in air-conditioned sleeper car with one fellow passanger it was quite comfortable.
And as everything in India, the ticket was very cheap(2100 Km for 50US$). I got accomodation in large room with white marble floor, air conditioning, attached bathroom, cable TV and possible food delivery to the room for 12 US$ per day or lunch at the restaurant costs less than 2 US$.

Main bazaar:

turn right from this effective chaos and after few metres you will find my hotel.

But it is not so easy time here in New Delhi. Every ten metres someone approches you on the street with saying "Hallo Sir." "How are you." "Which country?" "Where are you from?" "First time in India?" (Don't answer Yes after the last question otherwise hunting on naive tourist begins : )
The scheme is the same, after couple of sentences I realize that the person wants to take me to his shop, show me some jewellery, souvenirs, tourist tours. Or they want to offer a hotel accommodation, taxi, auto-rickshaw, cycle-rickshaw. After couple of days it begins to be annoying and I am becoming rude and ignorant as other tourists. I do believe that there are Indian people who really just want to speak with you and know you (I have met some) but 99 % of people who approach you are touts or beggars.
It is specially bad on famous tourist places as Taj Mahal.

After tight security
(they deposit my cookies and magazine New Scientist :) and didn't notice Swiss army knife in my backpack)
you see huge mausolem made of white marble and it's experience to walk inside barefooted and touch the stone.




Sometimes tout can enter even your sight-seeing bus. One guy approched me sitting in the bus saying that other people are going to a different place and he will arrange small transport for me to see Taj Mahal and Agra and then buy me a train ticket back to Delhi. This all is included in my already paid tour fee. He took me to an autorickshaw, tour guide person saw it and didn't say any single word. When we arrived to a jewellery shop to book a train ticket I realized that this is a scam. (I've read some India info on the Internet before) Shouting helped, they took me to a next place where my bus should have parked. Thanks God I memorized my bus vehicle number otherwise it would be hard time to find my bus in Agra between many others. Your tour guide can offer to buy a ticket for you, special price 300 rupees instead of 750 ruppes as an entrance for Non-Indians. Normal entrance is 250 but we passed the entrance without buying a ticket yesterday :)
I joined group of 3 Indian IT guys from Bangalore (photos maybe later) in Taj Mahal so they protected me from those artists of scam for a while.



Taj Mahal Roses:

Agra Fort:

On the way back we visited the temple and the birthplace of Lord Krishna.
It was 8pm but still many people there praying and singing.
There are nice colourful and embossed Hindu paintings inside the temple but no photos were allowed and security is very tight as in Taj Mahal.

Chennai - India

It looks like India is Level 2 for backpackers.
There are no supermarkets, no western style fastfoods, lots of people everywhere, no waste bins, tourist office doesn't have a city maps and there is only one public transport if you don't want to study the bus routes system and hang off outside of the bus while in motion:
- autorickshaw:


but those guys have no fear of death and generally
the roads are crowded mostly by autorickshaws and motorbikes
who do not respect any rules or even road lanes.

Sorry there is one rule:
If you approach other vehicle or pedestrians crossing dangerously and unexpectedly always hoot the car horn, so you hear hooting all the time.

local Egmore train station:


in front of Chennai Gouvernment Museum:


stop at Hinduism temple during sightseeing tour:


Me, Pranab (medicine student from Kolkata), and his family(father is doing the photo) :



I met these people in the sightseeing bus.
They were very nice and friendly.

They introduced me to Hindu temple ritual.
We went barefooted(see photo above) from the bus parkplace to the temple, I bought an offer in front of the temple (coconut, banas and flowers), gave it to the monk inside the temple, he took my name and offer and went to a small room to pray, then I received these flowers with dust:



in my right hand and went to walk around god statues three times.

There is a nice long sandy beach area (Marina beach) in Chennai, many people there, but not swimming because of strong water currents.

Singapore

Various temples in Singapore:








World's largest fountain - Fountain Of Wealth:



Orientation is easy in city with such building landmarks:





I was here :)





Almost everything is banned in Singapore:
porn, drugs, overhead wires, satellite dishes, standing water, freestanding billboards, malaysian newspapers, feeding pigeons, oral sex (except as foreplay), homosexual activity, jay-walking, spitting, littering, drinking and eating on public transport.

Singapore

I landed in Singapore yesterday.
I feel like in a Western Europe city, no poverty and chaos on the streets.
There are large shopping malls almost everewhere near my hostel on North Bridge Road.
I don't like shopping and shops but yesterday I spent more than 2 hours walking there.
They have quite competitive prices. I saw lots of cheap computer books. (A pity that I am not travelling by car.)
Multiple shopping houses are connected and covered by glass and tunnels and air-conditioned.
Food in budget asian restaurants is also quite cheep (1 US dollar for chicken curry)

And it's relief from Bangkok hot summer.
Only 27 degrees here. I don't know what season is here because on the Equator aren't seasons.

Bangkok - Thailand

Bangkok is 'Krung Thep - City of Angels' (A. are maybe ordinary people). But devils are next to them. I spent one week in a hostel in Sukhumvit area. Very narrow streets filled with salesmen of everything, specially every 15 meters someone from a black widowed shop offers you a "massage" even in the daylight.

I joined friends from hostel for couple of nights and we went to
GoGo bars(there were also some girs in our hostel group :), pubs and loud nightclubs.
I am innocent. First mandatory night was guided by the hostel owner and staff :)

It was quite a bit different experience after decent hostel barbeque and birthday parties in hostels in New Zealand and Australia :)

Beer or drink cost me in Bangkok bars from 80 - 200 baht (2.6 - 6.7 US$).
The minimum wage in Thailand was 175 baht per day(year 2005).

Grand Palace and Temples Bangkok - Thailand

Reclining Budha (around 15 meters high):

This Budha monument fills 80 % of the temple where it is located.

There is place to walk around, burn oriental sticks and candles and give a small coin gift.

You have to take off your shoes, cannot wear shorts and somewhere photos are not allowed.