Group hug

Oct 29th

 

I leave the Paharganj at 11:30 unaware that 6 hours later it will be bombed. After an eventful put put ride that involved several detours for the driver to ask for directions to "Hotel Goodtimes". I get to the hotel only a few minutes late. Some of the others are there and the hotel is surprisingly swanky, it's a real upgrade from what I had been used to (a decent lav and loo paper!) However I do have to share a room with another guy called Ben, who is to be my roomie for the rest of the 15 day trip. Fortunately he turns out to be a really nice chap about mid to late 20s and a primary school teacher by trade.

The rest of the group are: a young Irish couple with a case of Delhi Belly, who opt to miss the trips that day, two couples in their 40s from New Zealand and two girls travelling alone Andrea from Switzerland and Caz from OZ, they are paired up like me and Ben.

It's a really nice bunch and even the introductions bit when we say our names and why we are on the trip(?) is pretty painless. To be honest I'm glad to be amongst people again, I have realise than in general travelling alone in a foreign land is not that much fun if you don't have anyone to share the experiences with. We take a trip to the first fort/temple thing and it's quite good fun another busy market on the way up to the steps to the temple that are covered in beggars. There is a tower to climb with a great view over the city.

Its a packed day with visits to lots of sites in Delhi that gives a pretty good flavour of the place and Heather our American group leader does a great job, bless her, of dealing with all the sorting of rickshaws/taxis etc... so a lot less hassle. We have to really fight our way through the busy markets, the Diwali festival is coming up and there is just a sea of people buying stuff. Other highlights of the day was chi in the backstreet of Delhi a sort of spicy, milky, sweet tea. The spice markets from which we all came out coughing and sneezing from all the chili dust. My particular highlight was travelling on a rickshaw with Ben and our driver had a fracas with another rickshaw rider after he had collided in to our wheel. Our man had the other bloke by the throat, brilliant entertainment ;o)

On the way back in the Metro Andrea gets a call from her brother asking if she is ok, it's then that the news filters through about the bomb attacks in Delhi (one of which happened in Paharganj where I had left that morning.)

We find out a bit more at the hotel from the news and it's all a bit scary as we are not quite sure whats going on, who is bombing who, what is the motive etc... and were we in any danger.

As it happened most of us still decided to go for a curry and more importantly a quick beer. Went to a pretty fancy joint (this is a much better area) and had an absolutely stunning curry (mutton handi marsala - goat I think!) and the cold beer was soooo good. Strange day.

As a side note, no real word from anyone to see if I was dead, apart from my sibling(s), it's seems I was totally successful in breaking up ties back home... oh well