Hiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!
First off I want to thank everyone for their many and often incredibly overwhelming signs of affection. These last days I have literally stumbled from one surprise into another, amazed at all the warmth and care coming my way. Don't know where or how I deserved all of it. But one should certainly go away a bit more often… If only to reappraise those close to you ;=)
So how have things come to pass the last two days?
Saying goodbye to my mum and dad after not having slept all night... (So many lil' things to take care of still even in those last moments... Ring a bell, anyone? ;=) …Was a very emotional affair indeed, a lot more than I ever imagined. Then onto the plane to London Stansted. And finally a bit of rest, I had hoped for… None of that! Thanks to Foggy Ole England… After circling Stansted for half an hour we were informed that we would be landing in Luton and that Ryanair would provide us with bus transfer back to Stansted. Adding another 90 minutes of lost time. And I already had little time to spare to get to Heathrow.
Of course I just missed the connecting direct bus to Heathrow by one or two minutes, the following bus arriving but the next hour I hopped in a taxi. A friendly, but rather quiet, and you could've guessed it: quintessentially Indian cabby sped me past the coach, dropping me off at gate 3 well in time. Only non-Indian at check-in. Walking past security and fixed with a taste of the new Gordon's gin, I was feeling a bit more at ease… Had three seats all to myself and apart from being kept by the jingle-jangle of the 3 and 4 year old kids behind me, constantly poking the back of the chair and, the friendly staff waking me up for meals, very tasty all in all… I managed to get some short hours of sleep.
Too exhausted to even consider an attempt at taking a taxi and looking for a place to sleep I just put my feet up and tried to sleep. To no avail. Getting up, finally, having myself a lil' wash at the sink in the men's room. Then took a taxi to New Delhi train station, instead ended up at the travel information center / tour agency and whatnot I'm writing from. Good thing they already fixed me up with my connection to and from Nepal. But being dropped off with no train station in sight in some rundown square tucked away God knows where in Delhi's underbelly, deprived of sleep. Let's just say I was having my initial Indian culture shock zapping me at maximum voltage. Well, it all worked out ok. Have had my first proper Indian meal, toilet experience and got myself a sim card, my Indian number being +91 9990103973.
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| From India - Nepal Oct/08 |
Being confused how friendly, a little gay even guys interact with one another round here, or is it my lack of cross-cultural understanding and/or sleep deprivation? Confounded by not being allowed to tip for my lunch, being handed back two Rupees instead. Strange stuff these Indians are made of...
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| From India - Nepal Oct/08 |
Loads of love,
-hx.
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