What else have I been up to besides checking out Humayun’s tomb on the weekend? Well, Saturday night I headed to a party with some other people doing internships here. I was able to meet a few Indians and expats alike. Good to know a few more people in Delhi. Also some of them will also be stuck here for New Years, meaning hopefully I won’t be sitting around at home by myself on the big day!

I also was able to learn some of the different opinions people have on Delhi. Many expats who work outside of Delhi are jealous of the ones working here. Delhi’s pollution is comparatively good because rickshaws and buses have all been converted to run on natural gas; its roads, at least in the newer parts, are big and wide; there are a large number of parks and trees in comparison with the rest of India; and despite its huge population, its spread out enough that except for certain areas, you are rarely really crowded.

On the downside, many people, including Indians, find Delhiites to be obsessed with money and status, more than ordinary Indians. Delhi is in some ways India’s New York or London or Paris (although Mumbai I think would take this title in other areas – it’s the financial capital, the movie capital and the fashion capital of India). Delhiites aren’t considered friendly, and are thought to be always in a rush. Now ‘in a rush’ I am not sure I agree with – doing anything here takes ages, I don’t know how anything gets done really as the bureaucracy that surrounds everything, such as buying a train ticket, is something else! If Delhi's in a rush the rest of the country must be moving backwards. But a lot of them aren’t really as friendly as I expected and you definitely do get the money-hungry impression. It gets tiring sometimes to have to bargain for everything and check prices everyday.

Having said that I have met plenty of friendly Indians here so I don't want to make too many generalisations.

My boss is on holiday for the next few weeks, so now at the office its just me and a few other Indians, who do random stuff like making tea or disappearing for hours at a time. I’m mostly working on putting together a new comic on the issue of HIV / AIDS in India. I’m doing a lot of research on the issue, which has been pretty depressing. Although they have handled AIDS here far better than in most other Asian or African countries, the stories of those that have become infected and been ostracised by their friends, families and communities does not make for feel-good reading.

I’m heading to a place called Varanassi this weekend. Its on the Ganges about 12 hours away. Its considered a very holy place to Hindus, who go there to worship and bathe in the Ganges - and they also go their to die. Devout Hindus will often try to go to Varanassi before they die to ensure they will be cremated there. Many Hindus, even those living overseas, will not be cremated at Varanassi but will have their ashes taken there to be added to the river. Good place to die - kind of like Adelaide. Hopefully a bit more exciting though.

Back at home, I hope everyone has a merry Christmas and all that, and trust you're enjoying the holidays.