Sorry about the lack of updates, but internet access isn’t all that great. I kinda thought that with as much of our high tech that we outsource to this country, it would be better, but no. In fact, I tried using an internet café late yesterday, but the browser was so old, it wouldn’t let me check email or log into my blog. Live and learn.
The trip here was a real pain. After flying from Krabi to Bangkok, I had a 5.5 hour wait until my flight to Delhi. The Bangkok airport is beautiful and huge. Lots of shopping and lots of people watching. When they finally opened our gate, I went to have a sit. I very quickly realized that there were going to be very few women on this flight. At boarding, I counted about a dozen or so. What struck me most was how pushy the guys were. They kept hoarding around me, bothering me, and even touching me. When I couldn’t get them to leave me alone, I decided to move my butt over near an elderly Indian woman and rummaged through my bag for this plain silver band that I stuck on my wedding ring finger. Smart move. She wouldn’t let any of them near me. Between the ring and my sari-clad guardian, I got some peace. I love her! Luckily, I was seated next to a woman on the plane. I think that was by design.
Once I arrived at the Delhi airport, I kinda knew I was going to be challenged. The guys were pushing and shoving at baggage claim, the immigration guy was very unfriendly, and signs were nearly non-existent. I did find the “tourist” counter to ask about getting my train ticket to Agra and a room for the night but all they would do was write down the name of a section of the city and tell me to get a cab. Terrific. I found a pre-paid taxi counter and asked for one to take me to the neighborhood and the guy rolled his eyes. Once in the cab, I explained my predicament to the driver and he understood. It was too late to buy a train ticket (the ticket counter was closed), but he’d find me a hotel near the station.
Once at a hotel, they quoted me a price of 1000 rupee (about $20) and took me to see the room. The even offered to get me the train ticket. After my approval, they locked my bags in the room and asked me to come downstairs to pay. I told the cab driver that everything was fine and he left. Then as I went to pay, they told me that the price was 4000 rupee. I said no, but my bags were locked upstairs and the driver was gone. I was stuck. I decided to chalk it up to experience and not fight too much, cause I was damned tired.
They woke me up in the morning to take me to the station. It was supposed to be a 6:30am train to Agra. They gave me my ticket, I paid them cash for it and was dropped off at the train station by the hotel manager. Once I got my luggage on the curb, I turned to ask which way to go but he was already gone. I found my way to the big sign with train numbers and platforms. My train number was not there. One guy came up to “help” and I found out that my train had left at 5:30. Yes, they sold me a ticket for a train that had already left the station (40 minutes after it had left). Then as it became understood what had happened, I was surrounded by men that kept grabbing me and trying to pull me apart like a wishbone. Another elderly Indian woman came up, yelled and swatted them all and they left. She asked me what had happened and I explained. She then told me to let her son (probably around 25-30 years old or so) take my big bag and they marched me across the street to a tourist office run by the government. She went off on a tirade telling them what had happened and then said goodbye to me. I love her, too! And her son.
Well inside the office, the guy asked me to tell him my story and took down the name of the hotel. He also checked and all trains were fully booked for the next 8 hours. I was kinda stuck in Delhi. That sucks. But then he offered me an alternative. For $800 USD I could have my own private tourist taxi to take me whereever I want to go for my entire stay in India. This included all air-conditioned hotel rooms, road tolls, etc. I just needed to buy my food. He looked at my itinerary and suggested some additional places to visit that I could now do with my own private car. The driver speaks English and would arrange everything for me. He even deducted the cost of my train ticket and the overcharge on the hotel room (apparently, he was certain that he was going to get a refund from the hotel). This even includes all driving around Delhi when I need to get the shopping done and a ride to the airport at the end. 2 weeks with an escort and all my rooms and travel taken care of? I went for it. I kinda feel like a sell-out travelling this way. I wanted to prove that I could do it on my own, but coming from stress-free Thailand to this was a big culture shock and I just wanted some peace.
My driver (Anand) is fantastic. He speaks excellent English and is the nicest guy. He took care of everything yesterday. At one point he needed to get out of the car to deal with a toll guy. I got out of the car to stretch my legs and immediately was hounded by guys wanting to sell me stuff or have my picture taken with a cobra (no thank you). I had already managed to get a couple of hours sleep in the back seat and was in a much better mind set. I got rid of them all very quickly on my own without being overly rude.
When we got back on the road, Anand said, “You did very well back there. You would be okay traveling solo here, but you would leave hating India. This is better.” I think he’s right.
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1 comment:
wow...that sounds pretty awful.
good thing you have the private taxi
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