Finally in New Delhi!

24 hours later camping in LCCT, Swee Geok and I were finally on our way to board the plane to New Delhi. We were so excited yet exhausted from a lack of sleep. Not forgetting that it also meant that we did not shower for the past 24 hours.

Happy yet exhausted and dirty

 



Onboard the plane, we tried to catch as much sleep as possible, since we felt more comfortable than lying on the floor of the airport. When I finally opened my eyes, I woke up to something so beautiful outside the window.

The sun setting from above the clouds

 

Fast forward time and we made finally made it to New Delhi's international airport after an initial flight delay at KL. The next task we had to accomplish was to ensure that we'd be able to make it to the interstate bus terminal to catch the pre-booked 10pm overnight bus to Shimla. 

 

Upon going out of New Delhi's airport, we were freezing! As we spoke, we could see the condensation clouds forming from our mouths. We were finally in Incredible India! It was an unbelievable feeling because visiting a country so culturally and climatically different from Singapore wasn't what I had intended. Yet I was finally in India after having suffered a sleepless night at the airport in KL, having missed my flight. It was exhilirating and exciting!

 

The taxi from the airport to the bus terminal drove crazily. Despite the fact that there were lines painted on the road to divide the road into lanes, nobody once followed them. Horns were blared every now and then. The roads were dimly lit and I was slightly afraid and unsure if the taxi will ever bring us to our destination. I have heard enough stories before leaving Singapore.

 

The interstate bus terminal was a wreck. It was a very simple parking area behind an abandoned building. When the taxi driver stopped at the road right outside the abandoned building, a thousand fears ran through my mind! I have such an imaginative mind that I started wondering if he'd probably just throw us there/maybe there were his friends in that building waiting to do something bad to us. Not being able to speak much English, he kept pointing towards the direction of the building. Not knowing what to do, we smiled at the driver and bade farewell before walking cautiously into the building.

 

The building was dark and there were wooden planks strewn all over the floor. There were spaces which probably used to be doors/windows. Some window frames were left behind without the window panes. It was as if someone tried to destroy the building but decided that it was too much trouble to do so and left it as it was.

Afraid and unsure where to go to, Swee Geok and I stopped our tracks halfway when suddenly an Indian guy, seemingly aware where we wanted to go, pointed downstairs. We took a flight of stairs down and what greeted us was a bustling crowd.

There were shop vendors selling some dough and I suppose Lassi. Everyone took around the shop vendor, taking turns to buy the dough and to dip them into the pots of gravy which were communal for everyone to share. The carpark was packed with buses and human beings. Everyone stared a lot at us because we were the only Chinese around.