It's past my bedtime but it's only 4pm....

Well, here I am! I've been in India for about 12 hours now; I landed at 1.30ish, disembarked at 2ish due to another plane hogging our gate, and got into bed after my transfer at about 4am Delhi time. I've had three hours' sleep since then, and been shopping already! But I'm getting ahead of myself...

The fight was smooth and my seat-mate forthe first leg was nice, despite the fact that we didn't have a language in common. I flew AKL-Hong Kong and she was transferring to Taipei. She brought me snacks, and showed me how to use the remote control thingamywhatsit.

I remember thinking as we flew closer to Hong Kong that I had forgotten how beautiful twilight in the air is. There was this band around the horizon like a rainbow, shading red-orange-yellow-green-violet-and then into the deep blue of nighttime, fading up to black. No clouds, just a scattering of stars, the brightest of which sat just above the wing looking like a hole poked into the blanket of night with daytime shining through.

Anyway, Hong Kong airport was cool. Its tent-like scalloped roof is neat, as was the art, the travelators and cleanliness, and the amazing-bizarre topiaried mandarin trees just growing in displays around the place. The mandarins were perfectly placed, I wondered if they were real! I didn't dare pick one and see, I figured there'd be some sort of fine...

The plane from Hong Kong to Delhi was much nicer than the one from Auckland. I had a whole window-row of seats to myself, too; much better than trying to clamber or acrobat over nice sleeping Taipei lady.

My first sight of India was a cluster of lights in the darkness on the ground. I think the town was called Decca. We flew over it, flew near Agra, and flew over Patna on our way to Delhi. We landed on time and, after few problems my luggage and I were safely delivered. My first thought upon exiting the terminal was "the air smells different here". It kind of smells like your fingers when you've been chopping garlic and onions. That, mixed with spices, effluent, and the occasional whiff of incense. Glamorous and choking.

I found my transfer people, who found my hotel for me*, and I was installed in my room by about 3.30am. Cue waterworks. Heh. There had been a bit of crying before I left, but this was the "Oh shit, what am I DOING!?" kind of crying. I got over it in a relatively short space of time though, and worked out what it was I wanted to accomplish today. With goals in mind I felt a lot better and eventually managed to fall asleep. I woke at seven, having decided to set my alarm for eight and maybe not even get up then...

It turned out it was as well I didn't sleep in. As it happened, I met an English lady called Cassie at breakfast, and we decided to go shopping together. It made life so much easier to have two of us trying to work out where we were and how we were getting from one place to another, rather than just one!

Well, I think that's me. I might go to bed early actually, I'm starting to feel dizzy from tiredness... Must... stay... awake... till at least 7.... urgh.

Tomorrow at about this time I board an overnight train to Kolkata (Calcutta) where I stay for about a week. Bring it on!

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*At this point I should mention that I found it highly amusing to be stuck in a traffic jam on the roads on the way to my hotel. At 3am! In the morning!! And before you politicians go on about Auckland roads, this is different. This was a traffic jam of trucks (still referred to as the English "lorries", although some were actual trucks. Anyway...). It turns out, lorries etcetera aren't allowed on the main roads between 9 and 5. I think it's a goood idea. It was quite something, hoewever, to be in one of the only cars amongst a jam of crumbling, rusting trucks, many sans doors; one even sans half the cab! They all seemed to be well loved though, even though they looked like they blonged on the scrap heap! They were all painted with designs and words. Words along the lines of "Use Horn Please" (not that they had to ask - I think driving here is a sport to see who can honk the most!) and "Keep Distance" and, perhaps most bizarrely, on many rear bumpers and mudflaps: "STOP!"

What's the Hindi for...?

Well, I'm off! See you all on the 18th of September, or thereafter. Keep an eye on this for updates. Is there a pool running yet on how long before I get a case of Delhi-belly? I know there's one on how long before I get robbed... :D

Ninja - WIN!

Purely because they were all still sober at the end of the night (I blame the face masks) I think we have to declare that the ninjas won. There were more of them than I ever expected, although I should probably have known that, given the nature of ninjas.


Honourable mentions must go to Pirate Steven for his "albino parrot", Pirate Heidi for wearing that many stripes, and to ninja Dad for wearing a full-body ninja-turtle outfit on what I swear was a thirty-degree day! (look out all you pople in India, I might melt on you...)

Thanks so much to everyone who came; it was an excellent night! Today I'm off to collect my documents from my travel agent, and then it is two weeks to go...!