Alex's Asian Adventure

I flew to Delhi last night. This is an event because the flight was, without any doubt, the most fun flight I've been on in my memory. I had an exit-row seat (legroom!) and the person sitting next to me turns out to be a ladies fashion designer from Paris. She's half-Indian, half-Brit. We were the fun-loving section of the plane for sure, and with Air India serving free wine on the flight the conversation went smoothly and much fun was had by all.

On landing, my plane-mate Nupur invited me to go party with her and her friends that night in Delhi. She's staying at a super-posh hotel on the other side of town. I said "maybe"

Joel picked me up at the airport - I finally met the illustrious Joel Schone. He seems like a fun-loving guy, very experienced, knows the way around town. I told him about this plane-mate and I think he was a bit surprised atmy willingness to actually go out given that we got to the hotel at nearly midnight Delhi time. Close to 1 AM I got myself a driver, and went over to see what Nupur was up to. Joel must think I'm a loose cannon - which is probably not far from the truth.

Oh man was she ever surprised that I actually turned up. The party wasn't really much of a party - just her and her friend sitting in the hotel room eating room service food. Mmmmm... But hey, this was a genuine Experience and that's what I'm after. I left pretty quickly and my driver waited for me outside the hotel. Very convenient.

On the way back I told the driver to swing by the airport, hoping that I'd be able to catch Joel there waiting for Katie (who was coming in on a later flight). No cigar. By the time I got to the airport they were already gone, so we connected back at the hotel.

This morning, after a fitful night of not sleeping well given the malfunctioning aircond Katie & I hit the town a bit. We both had errands, most important of which for me was picking up my duffel of expedition gear from Druk. In the process, I make the following observations:

• Indian people are super-aggressive about getting you to do business with them. Much worse than China.
• The pace of life here is very rough & tumble - not chill a la Lijiang or Lhasa.
• Driving is even more nuts than anywhere in China. There are tuk-tuks everywhere. I don't know how drivers survive.
• People here will mislead you and give you wrong directions and don't seem to care that you don't want to talk to them or want their help.
• There are lots of beggars. They are also super-aggressive. Giving them money or food just invites more beggars and sets the wrong incentive.
• There is a Scotiabank in town. This warmed my heart, even though it's a competitor.
• The food is simply amazing. Amazing! I love it.

Incidentally, this morning a very helpful Indian fellow helped Katie & I find some breakfast in our hotel's area. Just now I ran into him again outside my hotel (Katie is out meeting another friend) and we chatted for some time. He's a tuk-tuk driver and he seems to be one of the very few people around who are not super-aggressive about getting your business. We just chatted for half an hour. He and his brother run a small travel shop and work as taxi drivers. He offered to take Katie & I to see the town tomorrow, essentially by private car. I'll see what Katie thinks. He would also be able to take me to Agra to see the Taj when I come back from the trek

One of the things he said is that Delhi is not a malaria-risky. Instead, Delhi has lovearia. Don't be afraid of mosquitos - love is in the air! I am not making this up. It'd be good to verify if what he's saying is true....

On Sunday we are heading to Manali by private landcruiser. I'm super-excited. Beware that after Monday I will almost certainly have no internet access until I am in Leh around July 1st.