Well I'm out of India...
I'm happy and sad about leaving India. Sad that I didnt get to go south as I had intended, sad that I didnt get to Rajasthan as per my revised plan. I ended up riding straight from Agra to Delhi to catch a flight here to Bangkok, Thailand. I'm also sad that the green line on my map now has two very big holes in the trip home. In all I think I've only covered about 1000km in India - and thats not much of India.
On the other hand, its nice to be away from the cold and very humid weather in that part of northern India.
cold and wet - until quite late each morning - Northern India(not that hot and humid has ever been a favorite of mine either). It's nice to get away from the dirt too - everything in India had a thick layer of dust on it - which seems amazing considering the monsoon season has only just finished. All the leaves on the trees, every surface you touched was covered so if you touched something you got covered in it.
Unfortunately, my week long stay in hospital in Agra didn't clear up the bug i caught, so I really do not feel much better than several weeks ago. I'm hoping the warmer weather here in Thailand will help. So for the moment I'm spending a few days getting some R&R in the tourist filled Khao San Road. I'll head north on the train after Christmas to resume my southward journey from somewhere near Chiang Mai - a very popular part of Thailand that I've not been to before.
Delhi like all big cities was interesting to come into with no maps nor any idea where you were and where you needed to go. I - for the first time ever - bought a city map from a book store after i'd given up trying to find a tourist office to dispense one free. (I couldnt even find a posh hotel, which historically have been very good at giving me maps free without me checking-in - I think they all feel sympathy for the poor cyclist). Eventually I found Connaught Circuit, I'd heard that was the central part but had no idea what it was ( a large circular one way road ) so didnt know I had already crossed it earlier. Here I did manage to find an out-of-price-range hotel - How much out of range they would'nt tell me - I asked how much a room was, and they wouldnt say - they just asked how much i wanted to spend. (If you have to ask the price - you cant afford it) These people did give me a free map and showed me on the map the area of Pahar Ganj the place where all the "in budget" hotels are. As is most often the case, the cheap hotels are near the railway station and yes there were plenty to choose from. I went a bit up-budget at about $9 Aussie dollars per night in Delhi and had my own bathroom, double bed and TV (with pay tv channels that seemed to dissappear from time to time so I dont think they were quite kosha). My time in Delhi included a couple of rest days and a couple of days riding around exploring the touristy and not so touristy bits.
One of the Old Delhi gates / Raj Ghat - cremation site of Mahatama Gandhi / Auto Rickshaws everywhere
Haircut, Delhi styleThe electricity in Delhi is like everywhere else in India off for at least some of the time every day - usually several hours. Being a more upmarket hotel they would generally start up the generator within a few minutes. Good for someone resting and doing nothing than scanning for english on the TV. Watched a few movies which tended to have english subtitles as well. (probably so the locals can get used to the accents and improve their english skills.)
There is always a lot of interest in the bike - particularly in India where no bikes have gears (for the most part you dont need them unless you are up in the Himalayan areas). The locals would often ask if the bike was indian. After all, it is a steel frame (small tubes) and painted black just like 99% of the Indian ones. I manged to go through all of india using the excuse "I'm not sure in Rupee's, I got it in Australia" when asked how much it was worth. Doing a conversion from some form of dollar to rupee never seemed to occur to them, which I was thankful about. I'm not as inventive as some when asked questions like that. The swiss rider Roli I met a few times in Turkey & Iran always had a good answer - usually including a ridicularly cheap price when asked that question.
Packing the bike in Delhi I was a little worried about. India manufactures its own bikes - so they dont get shipped in boxes from other cheap S.E. Asian countries like all the bigs international brand bikes do to the rest of the world. But in the end I did find the local bike bazaar and for 150 ruppee helped a man pull a new Indian bike out of a box so I could take the box with me. It turns out that bikes made near Chennai do get boxed before being shipped to Delhi. The box was actually the best one I've ever had. Most indian bikes are 28 inch wheel bikes - like mine and although this bike box had a 26" wheel bike in it the box was the same size they'd use for the large ones. It made packing just a little easier with a bit more space inside the box.
On the way to Delhi airport - the bike box hangs out the side, the panniers in the back and on the back seat. Me sitting on scrunched up legs on top of the back seat.The major forms of public transport (other than bus & train) are Rickshaws and Auto-Rickshaws and Taxi's tend to be very small, so I opted for an auto-richshaw (like a thai Tuk Tuk) to the airport - that way the bike could hang out the sides - no doors to get in the way like a small taxi would have. It was a little chilly since i was heading to the airport for a flight at 1am. But with a couple of pannicky roll starts at traffic lights half way there I got to the airport and onto my flight. (after paying excess baggage for the first time ever - One of the problems with an airline like the india "Jet Airways" is that it is a discount airline and hence more strict in any policy that involves passengers paying extra. I was quite surprised to have free meals and drinks and in-seat video on demand - so they arent a "no frills" airline).
In Bangkok I arrived at the new BKK airport (new since I was here a few years back) in the early morning, had to wait for ages for the bike to show up at the oversize luggage counter then headed for Khao San Road in peak hour - but in a taxi - I was originally planning on staying in china town like I had a few years ago - away from the touristy strip, but I figured plain food would be a lot easier in the main tourist precinct of Khao San Road. I am still very careful with the way I eat and am very much looking forward to being well again.
I enjoyed my little trip to a Bangkok supermarket the other day, getting all sorts of things that I've not seen since Europe, fruit flavoured Yogurt and the like. It was just like a supermarket back home - except for not being able to read the labels - pictures on packaging & see through bags are a great thing. The last time I saw a supermarket like this was back in Croatia, and prior to that in the Tesco stores the Czech Republic, and thats a long time ago. I am determined to never enter a McDonalds or similar during this trip (not even as tourists often do to use the loo) but western style supermarkets I dont rule out. It can be really nice for a change to have such choice.
Here I spend my time on the net or reading - yes me reading - I picked up a copy of the John Grisham novel "The Firm" to help me fill the time in Bangkok, but it isn't lasting very long. I'm more than half way through and I only bought it yesterday. Having done the "Palace" and other tourist traps last time I was here I am trying to rest more and therefore havent unpacked the bike. For the next few days Khao San road is home.
A very Merry Christmas to all and I will be in touch again next year, from somewhere up north of here.
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