Travels

We got off the plane and i was expecting a blast of heat to meet me but that didn't happen. We proceeded through what can only be described as an airport that was built in the 60s and hasn't been touched since! We joined the queue of people waiting to get through immigration, which didn't actually take too long. Passports stamped and given the all clear, we were now officially in India!! This is when I expected chaos, people offering you hotels, taxis, good deals etc etc but actually the baggage collection area was very quiet and calm. I was dying for the loo and got a bit of a shock when I went in to see squat toilets, how was I going to use these!??

We collected our bags and I got out 100 pounds worth of travellers' cheques to change. We then proceeded to the exit, wondering where this 'pre book taxi stand' we had read about was. We found it, booked our taxi and headed for the exit... all very civilised so far. Once outside, bang, shock to the system, noise, a different language, ancient cars, rubbish, being stared at, I was in India, this was it! Major shock!! I kept my head down and proceeded to the next taxi stand - where you hand your receipt in, get another receipt and are bundled off with a taxi driver. This taxi stand was guarded by police in very 'grand' uniforms and massive guns.

Anyway, we got into the taxi, some sort of 1960s car and away we went. Immediately, it was chaos, everyone who had a horn was honking their horn and our taxi man was 'hawking' (coughing up phlegm) at every opportunity - something you get used to in India! We got out on to a sort of dual carriageway, where the driving was crazy - like wacky races. We had been going for about 10 minutes when we were stopped at traffic lights. From the central reservation, 2 little kids appeared, no older than 3 or 4, they were wearing rags and covered in grime. They were running around all then cars begging for money or food. As soon as they saw us, they were straight over and my window was straight up! I felt bad but what could i do, it came as a shock to me but I guessed this was the way it was and I would have to get used to it. As the lights turned green again, they disappeared off back to the dust & dirt of the central reservation. A little further along we went past a man walking an elephant along the side of the road and along a bit more we passed another man walking his camel. It was crazy and I was enjoying the sights from the relative 'safety' of the taxi. The roads were crazy and with my window down I could really 'taste' the pollution in the air.

Finally, after about 30 minutes we came to a crowded, dingy street, hiving with people and finally we saw some white people, which made me feel a little more at ease. Within 2 minutes we were getting out of the taxi, we were at our hotel I assumed. We got our bags out of the boot and the taxi driver disappeared into the melee of people. No sooner had the taxi driver disappeared than we were approached by an Indian man with decent English. "Where you go?" he said, "You need hotel?" "We're ok" I replied, we have a booking. "Where at?" "Smyle Inn" I added. "Follow me, I take you." He seemed quite genuine, so we decided to trust him. We didn't have a clue where to start, I knew the name of the street but there didn't seem to be street signs. I finally looked around at the surroundings..... fear and panic set in. The place was filthy, there was cows, dogs, cripples, what looked like hardened travellers' and everything just looked so dirty and disgusting. I already wanted to get out of here!!

We followed our 'mate' along the uneven, jam-packed road. There were cycle rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, people pulling tables on wheels loaded with fruit and vegetables, we were finding it hard to keep up with our 'mate'. Finally, we got to a little side street, "Come, up here." he said. We followed him, the laneway was so dark, as it was so narrow, no sunlight could get in. There was also an awful smell of urine and as I looked up I could see why. There was what seemed to be an outside toilet, men just peeing up against a wall. At the top of the lane there it was, Smyle Inn. We thanked the man for showing us and he proceeded to ask us if we wanted to book a tour around Delhi to see the Red Fort etc. We said no but he insisted on waiting for us at the bottom of the lane. We agreed to meet again in 30 minutes after we got checked in. At least that's what he thought.

We got checked in and shown to our room, which was simple and small. We sat down and took a breath, both of us I think were in a state of shock! This was it, we were in Delhi, India!! We decided to have a lie down and rest for a while. We would give it at least 2 hours before venturing out again, so we would miss our 'mate'. Later in the evening we gathered ourselves and headed outside, looking for somewhere to eat. We took a walk up Paharganj to see what there was to see. After the initial shock, we were able to take it in a bit more. It was so different to what I expected, the smells and sights, i will always remember. We got dinner in a little cafe - fried eggs on toast and after walking around for an hour or 2 headed back to get some sleep.

Finally the day arrived.... Tuesday 4th December 2007! I was up early to make sure I didn't miss Dad, Graeme and Keith before they left for work or university. Found it quite hard saying bye to them as I knew it would be the last time I saw them for 9 months!

I then had a final check through my bag, checking my list, looking in my wardrobe and drawers making sure there was nothing I hadn't thought about, or forgotten. Finally at around 9.30 or so I left with mum for George Best City airport (with Jonathan and Theo in the back). First stop Kane's to say cheerio to Anna, who surprisingly, was really emotional. We got to the airport and checked our bags in, had a coffee and then headed through into the departure lounge. It was hard saying bye to mum but I didn't really know how i was feeling. A mixture of excitement, sadness, nervousness, anticipation and fear! We got through into departure lounge and almost immediately i felt really low! It had finally sunk in that that was it, I wasn't going to see any of my family or friends for 9 months. Thankfully we weren't sitting around for long before our flight was called for boarding. Once on the plane to Heathrow I was fine, looking forward to getting to Delhi and finally being where I had been talking about for months!

Once at Heathrow, we had a long walk to the terminal for our flight to Delhi. It was around noon and our flight wasn't until 10pm, we were hoping we would be able to check our bags in. Thankfully we were able to and the 2 girls working for Virgin were Indian. tehy gave us a few tips and told us not to listen to anyone trying to sell us stuff or don't give in to the cute little kids begging, as they all go home to play their computers and watch TV. Once checked in we sat in a cafe and had lunch and remained there for the rest of the afternoon, spending the time sleeping or reading. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, our flight came up.... 'Proceed to Departures'. Away we went, not knowing that our flight was to be delayed until 12.30am, so we had another 2-3 hours in Departures.... I was getting sick of Heathrow. We may as well have already been in India, as there was flights going out to Calcutta, 2 to Mumbai, Dhaka and another to Delhi!! Anyway, finally we boarded and we were on the plane, next stop Delhi!

The 8 hour flight went ok, struggled to get sleep but got enough to not feel too tired! Finally, after a very long 24 hours or more and after flying over Afghanistan, we began our descent into Delhi.... the butterflies started.... what have I let myself in for? As we came down and the land below came into view, the butterflies grew worse. Everything was so bleak and barren, the buildings looked the same colour as the ground, there was no green, no water, it was desert-like!