I recently set off on my very first solo adventure overseas, and had the time of my life. I came back from India a changed person, and I know that so much of what I learned about the world, it's people, and myself will stay with me forever and a day. I kept a journal throughout my journey, to remind myself of the stories that were shared with me and the memories I have created for myself, and to help me process some of the craziness, heartbreak and joy that I experienced along the way.
27/11/2014 [Brisbane - Delhi]
I can't believe it's finally here - the day I set out on my grand adventure! This has been a lifetime in the making; a lifetime of wishing and hoping and dreaming, and FINALLY building up the courage to just go. It still feels so surreal to be sitting here in the departure lounge at the Brisbane International Airport all by myself, about to embark on my solo journey.
At the moment, it's hard to describe how I'm feeling. It's a strange combination of excitement, nervousness, disbelief, a little melancholy, and a touch of terror; but all of this is underpinned by a certain sense of pride and achievement. This is a huge step for me - I mean, I do quite a lot of stuff on my own these days, like shopping, markets, movies, coffee. I quite enjoy my own company and have learned to function quite well on my own in most situations - but none of that compares to traveling solo to a foreign country where I don't speak the local language, I don't know another soul, and I stand out from the locals like a sore thumb, being overweight, pale and very very blonde!
Adventure beckons...
28/11/2014 [Delhi]
Well, almost 24 hours after I left home yesterday, I have finally made it safely to my first hotel. The flight from Brisbane to Singapore was eight hours, but for the most part it was quite comfortable. I was seated next to a beautiful girl who was heading to Abu Dhabi, and although we spoke very little, I felt like we instantly shared a connection. There was a sense of friendship between us, even though we were both content to sit in silence, lost in our own thoughts for the most part. I was actually a little sa to leave her when we reached Singapore - I had to transfer to a different flight here, and that was quite an anxiety-ridden experience for me!
Our connecting flight was running a little late, which left me with 45 minutes to find out which gate I had to get to, collect a new boarding pass, and actually board the plane. In an airport like Brisbane, this wouldn't have been an issue... but Changi International Airport is HUGE! So huge, in fact, that I actually had to take a 5 minute train ride to the next terminal, before walking/running right to the very end of this terminal, which took about 25 minutes. This got me to the boarding gate just in time, by the time I made a quick stop for a toilet break and lined up to get through security again.
Although this leg of the flight was actually shorter than the previous one, it felt much, much longer. The plane was very small and cramped, the food was pretty terrible, and the headphones for the entertainment system squealed in my ears whenever I tried to use them. I gave up on trying to watch movies, and read for a while before trying to get some sleep. I as exhausted and uncomfortable after such a long day, so I breathed a sigh of relief upon finally touching down on the tarmac at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.
My relief was short lived however, as I soon found out that my baggage had been delayed and would not be arriving until some time the next afternoon (hopefully!). I was worn out and frazzled and trying to keep my anxiety at bay by this stage, and on the verge of tears; but the airport staff assured me that they would have my luggage delivered to me as soon as it arrived. So I managed to swallow my tears, took a deep breath, and headed out through Customs and into India!
It was quite daunting, walking out of the airport and into the masses of Indian men who were all waving signs with different names and tour companies on them or jostling for attention and business, all pushing and shoving in their efforts to reach the travelers emerging from the airport doors.I started to feel a bit overwhelmed again at this point... I had no idea how I was ever going to find my arranged driver amongst all this chaos! Thankfully, my driver was standing a little apart from all the others, so he wasn't too hard to spot. I almost hugged him with relief when I spotted him!
The drive to the hotel was very interesting. Line-markings on the road appear to be for decoration more than anything else, and there do not appear to be any road rules, apart from having to beep your horn every 2-3 seconds! Every single car, tuk-tuk, scooter and vehicle is battered and dented, and traffic accidents are no big deal. After about 30 minutes, we reached the hotel - and to be honest, I was shitting myself as the driver came to a stop. It was now close to midnight, and in the middle of the night this neighbourhood looked pretty intimidating. It appeared deserted, apart from a couple of mangy dogs wandering around, picking through the piles of rubbish that lined the streets and piled up against the buildings. There were smouldering messes everywhere, which had been fires used for warmth and cooking in the streets earlier, but were now eerily smoking piles of mess under the orange glow of the street lights. Needless to say, I was quite glad to escape into the relative warmth and cleanliness of my hotel... although it was a little bit unnerving to be ushered into a lift which appeared to be held together by several rolls of masking tape and duct tape. Thankfully, we made it to my floor without any issues!
Hot water is only available between 5am-11am here, and I had nothing to change into anyway, so I collapsed into bed almost instantly. I woke up fairly early - probably because of the noise and chaos on the streets below as the city came to life. It's not deafening noise or anything, just a chaotic symphony of cars beeping their horns, bicycle riders dinging their bells, school children laughing and singing as they skip along, people chattering and calling out to each other across the street, and eagles crying out as they continuously circle just above the chaos of the city. I headed up to the rooftop where they serve breakfast, and ended up spending a couple of hours up there munching on a curry for breakfast and making the most of the wifi connection to let everyone back home know that I was alive and well.
After that, I was feeling a bit brave, so decided to wander down the street. However, my bravery was very short lived... mere seconds after stepping out onto the footpath, a tuk-tuk driver began hassling me. I had no idea how to deal with this attention, so was an easy target - he would not leave me alone, and ended up chasing me down the street shouting at me and pleading with me, and even trying to grab me. So about 60 seconds after leaving the hotel, I was back again! I'm not sure that I'll be venturing back outside again on my own at this stage... but I meet the rest of my travel group tomorrow, so I'm pretty excited about that!
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