Well, its only been 2 days, but what a two days!
After a relatively easy introduction to India in Mumbai, my next stop was Delhi. I had pre-booked a domestic flight on Air Deccan - one of India's budget airlines - so I wasn't too worried about getting up here. In the meantime, I made my first friend (a milestone) at Mumbai airport. 'Sam' from Goa, who has been working on a cruise ship for the last 4 years. He was cool, and recommended it as a good way to get paid to see the world. Now I have two reasons to go to Southampton! Anyway, I was expecting the flight to Delhi to arrive a bit before 6 so that I would still have some sunlight to search around for accommodation. Unfortunately, being a budget airline, it was inevitably delayed by more than an hour. I ended up arriving well after dark, and not wanting to brave wandering the streets of Delhi after dark, I went to the Tourist desk at the airport to try to pre-arrange something. I had my page from the lonely planet with accommodation in Pahar Ganj and some of the places sounded ok, but i wasn't able to get through to anyone on the phone. I ended up opting for a room recommeded by the tourist desk. I spent the last of my rupees on a pre-paid taxi (not a single one left) and went on my way to my random hotel. I got there and signed in before I'd seen the room (never a good idea), but when I got up, I knew I wouldn't sleep if I stayed there. To give you an idea, the room was about 10feetx10feet with no windows, a window pane out to the corridor with nothing but a couple of wooden slats covering it and I could hear everything that was happening in the neighbouring rooms. After spending some time deciding whether to risk ruffling feathers by leaving, I decided I couldn't stay, but I didn't have any rupees to jump straight into a tut tut. So I ended up walking up some random street in the dark with my pack on my back and my day pack slung over my front trying to find a money changer. A nice old man pointed me in the right direction (way back the direction I had come from) and I got $50 changed and jumped into the first tut tut that went by (a tight squeeze with a big-ass pack). I told him to take me to one of the hotels I had picked out of my lonely planet page, but he was obviously on the take from a number of hotels in the area because he'd stop at every street corner and offer me an alternative. We ended up getting to this hotel but, whilst quieter than the last one, wasn't what I was hoping for (at this point I decided that the problem was me and not the accommodation - I just wasn't ready to brave India's budget rooms on my own). I got back in the tut tut and asked to driver to take me across town to the tour's meeting hotel in Karol Bagh. After being told there weren't any singles, I decided to stop the fucking around and paid far too much for a double.
And that was my baptism of fire in Delhi.
Things quickly improved. My roommate for the tour (David, a Canadian) woke me up the next morning (yesterday morning) to store his bag in the room, and asked if i wanted to come along with him and two other guys on the tour (Peter and John, two middle-aged guys from Cairns) to do a bit of sightseeing. We spent the day doing fairly standard sort of shit - tombs and forts and ruins and the like - but at the very end John got pick-pocketed and lost his wallet with $150 cash and a credit card. Last night the entire group got together for the first time. Its a pretty good group - a good mix of ages and nationalities - oddly (or not) enough, I'm the youngest in the group. The only two Americans in the group are very un-American, so we've been blessed. Today we did some more fairly standard shit - mosques and temples and markets and the like - and I had my first encounter with leprousy. Horrible shit. Old Delhi is absolute fucking chaos - you couldn't even try to understand.
Anyway, in about 4 hours the adventure begins we get aboard an overnight train to the Ganges where we start our two day boat ride to Varanasi. I've taken some good photos (like the pot growing on the roof of the mosque) but haven't even attempted to upload any via these Indian computers. People may have to wait till I arrive in London before I can upload any of them, but we'll see how we go.
I could go on and on, but I've already made a short story long. Looking forward to relaxing a bit over the next couple of days. Next opportunity I'll get to write anything will be thursday night, but if shit-all happens on the river ride, I won't even bother.
I would appreciate responses to these posts. Otherwise I can still be contacted (sms only) on my mobile.
After a relatively easy introduction to India in Mumbai, my next stop was Delhi. I had pre-booked a domestic flight on Air Deccan - one of India's budget airlines - so I wasn't too worried about getting up here. In the meantime, I made my first friend (a milestone) at Mumbai airport. 'Sam' from Goa, who has been working on a cruise ship for the last 4 years. He was cool, and recommended it as a good way to get paid to see the world. Now I have two reasons to go to Southampton! Anyway, I was expecting the flight to Delhi to arrive a bit before 6 so that I would still have some sunlight to search around for accommodation. Unfortunately, being a budget airline, it was inevitably delayed by more than an hour. I ended up arriving well after dark, and not wanting to brave wandering the streets of Delhi after dark, I went to the Tourist desk at the airport to try to pre-arrange something. I had my page from the lonely planet with accommodation in Pahar Ganj and some of the places sounded ok, but i wasn't able to get through to anyone on the phone. I ended up opting for a room recommeded by the tourist desk. I spent the last of my rupees on a pre-paid taxi (not a single one left) and went on my way to my random hotel. I got there and signed in before I'd seen the room (never a good idea), but when I got up, I knew I wouldn't sleep if I stayed there. To give you an idea, the room was about 10feetx10feet with no windows, a window pane out to the corridor with nothing but a couple of wooden slats covering it and I could hear everything that was happening in the neighbouring rooms. After spending some time deciding whether to risk ruffling feathers by leaving, I decided I couldn't stay, but I didn't have any rupees to jump straight into a tut tut. So I ended up walking up some random street in the dark with my pack on my back and my day pack slung over my front trying to find a money changer. A nice old man pointed me in the right direction (way back the direction I had come from) and I got $50 changed and jumped into the first tut tut that went by (a tight squeeze with a big-ass pack). I told him to take me to one of the hotels I had picked out of my lonely planet page, but he was obviously on the take from a number of hotels in the area because he'd stop at every street corner and offer me an alternative. We ended up getting to this hotel but, whilst quieter than the last one, wasn't what I was hoping for (at this point I decided that the problem was me and not the accommodation - I just wasn't ready to brave India's budget rooms on my own). I got back in the tut tut and asked to driver to take me across town to the tour's meeting hotel in Karol Bagh. After being told there weren't any singles, I decided to stop the fucking around and paid far too much for a double.
And that was my baptism of fire in Delhi.
Things quickly improved. My roommate for the tour (David, a Canadian) woke me up the next morning (yesterday morning) to store his bag in the room, and asked if i wanted to come along with him and two other guys on the tour (Peter and John, two middle-aged guys from Cairns) to do a bit of sightseeing. We spent the day doing fairly standard sort of shit - tombs and forts and ruins and the like - but at the very end John got pick-pocketed and lost his wallet with $150 cash and a credit card. Last night the entire group got together for the first time. Its a pretty good group - a good mix of ages and nationalities - oddly (or not) enough, I'm the youngest in the group. The only two Americans in the group are very un-American, so we've been blessed. Today we did some more fairly standard shit - mosques and temples and markets and the like - and I had my first encounter with leprousy. Horrible shit. Old Delhi is absolute fucking chaos - you couldn't even try to understand.
Anyway, in about 4 hours the adventure begins we get aboard an overnight train to the Ganges where we start our two day boat ride to Varanasi. I've taken some good photos (like the pot growing on the roof of the mosque) but haven't even attempted to upload any via these Indian computers. People may have to wait till I arrive in London before I can upload any of them, but we'll see how we go.
I could go on and on, but I've already made a short story long. Looking forward to relaxing a bit over the next couple of days. Next opportunity I'll get to write anything will be thursday night, but if shit-all happens on the river ride, I won't even bother.
I would appreciate responses to these posts. Otherwise I can still be contacted (sms only) on my mobile.
posted by YT at 5:38 pm
3 Comments:
Hey man,
Good to hear you've having a good time, and spending so much money. Good to get the spending impulses out of the way before London I suppose. Went to the Linklaters information session yesterday. Don't like my chances of joining you in the UK tho, grades aren't up to their standards (need mainly distinctions).
Tommy.
DR. J's Weekly Update:
Thought I'd write about all the terribly exciting events which have happened over the week since you've been away....
More news next week .
Anyways, I'll keep it to that before I make you jealous of all that you've missed out on. Hope the Ganges was good and your wish of contracting malaria (because it's an "experience") came true - if not, you still have South America to contract something you can tell your grandkids about.
There's debate about whether you'll last the whole year overseas before you catch the lazy "Fuck it" disease, but I've instructed Hana to make sure you don't return before October 20 because I don't finish my thesis until then (and I don't want you in the country for my birthday).
Hope a monkey hasn't stolen your camera and you'll get a chance to upload some photos soon so we can say "oooo" and "ahhhh" or "sucks to be in India, what a dump".
Adios,
Johnny
Dezmond as some call me or David Derham, quite precariously i was named. Anyways i am here to have my say about YT's adventures and must ask a CRUCIAL question to YT and to all: What would the Aquisition be if it was aquised and if the outcome was achieved then what would the accused have acquired? Answer that and ye shall be king. But a more applicable question: What was aquised, Who made the aquisition, and who is the accused? Ponder this one well, for it could mean life or perhaps death one day. Thankee Thankee for letting me take up your time. And yes i AM annoying
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