Good advice;
I started 'small' found a used Nikon D50 for $350 and right on the heels of that a Pentax K100D Super for $150; both used, both in nearly new condition, both fabulous cameras! I have somewhat outgrown the D50; ISO only goes to 1600, the K100 to 3200 which is better when I want to do night shooting but I'm already pushing the limits of that in my desire to learn and expand!
It is very hard selecting the 'right' camera; there's always one out there that's better with more features. Tough to resist the upgrade bug! Nikon builds fine cameras, you can't go wrong there. I also love Pentax and they do have features Nikon doesn't like in body image stabilization (with Nikon you have to use a VR lens) and perhaps the menus and some of the controls are easier however I'd steer you towards Nikon for one reason; I'd bet locally lenses and accessories are more available that that 'other' brand.
Don't get caught up in the 'mega-wars'; More megapixels isn't always better. Yes a 24 MP image can be cropped and blown up more than a 6MP or 14MP but do you really need that? The other side is photos at 24MP take a lot of space versus 14MP and take longer to render. The 3200 would do just fine I think!