Friday 8 November 2013

Nov 13: INDIA Days 14 - 15 Nov: And then there were three!...

Thursday 14 November

This morning Debbie and Andy left for the airport (more hugs and kisses!) - again quite sad as we'd all had such a good time together.  Anne had already left earlier to catch her plane to Calcutta - we had said our goodbyes the previous evening.

So that was it - our group had now dwindled to three - me, Grandad Mike and Naomi.

We then said our goodbyes to Badam who was also at the end of his trip and off to do his paperwork at the head office in Delhi before setting off to lead a new tour in a couple of days.

He was taking with him the suitcases full of the clothes etc which would be distributed to the charities they had been taken over for.  

Thanks again everyone who collected them for us! 

Before he left we picked his brains for one last time on what to do and where to go for the day.  The three of us decided to take a tuk tuk to the Chandni Chowk  market and bazaars and just wander around there rather than do any serious sightseeing - we were cultured out!

So - the usual bit of haggling and bartering on the journey price (150 rupees in the end) and we were off.  Our driver this time was a large man dressed immaculately in white robe and trousers.  Lots of people wear paler coloured cotton clothes but it has been a source of much debate amongst the group at various times as to how they manage to stay so clean and well pressed in all the dust and the heat!  Anyway - off we went - with our man driving as though he was taking part in a motorbike race with his arms stuck out!  Very funny!

Once again a chaotic but fun trip - and a chance to remember all the different forms of transport we had seen and sometimes used on our travels!...













It was also a chance to be amazed at how quickly we had become used to all the traffic noise, the constant beeping of horns, the smells of earth, food and exhaust fumes, the undertaking, the overtaking, the driving on the wrong side, the swerving round cows,dogs and people and the general dusty, disorganised chaos!...




 



I didn't realise until I enlarged this picture that there were FIVE people on the bike - I thought it was bad enough with four but there's a baby's arm too!

















So off we went again into the hustle and bustle and madness for a last trip to the market and we wandered up and down and in and out of all the small alleys and lanes of the maze of the bazaar.  

If you see something you want to buy here then you have to get it immediately as you would never be able to find the little stall or shop again!


(Un)fortunately for Naomi (our silver/jewellery queen!) we were in the silver district to start with - so we had to pop in and haggle for a few more pairs of earrings.

Great fun!






And once again we marvelled at the wiring above our heads!...


We bought more bits and pieces and spent several hours just wandering before taking an electric tuk tuk back to the hotel.  






After a quick snack (more cheese pakoras - yum!) Naomi and I wandered round our local market - just in case we had missed anything!  

We managed to meet Badam again in the evening as he was back from his work - he has a flat in the area so stays there between trips and visits home.  So we had a final meal with him which was nice.  

Naomi left for her flight at 11pm so Grandad Mike and I had our final night in India and got packed up ready to leave.

Even though we had bought (well me mostly - Gr M isn't very good at the bartering - he always wants to pay full price!) lots of bits and pieces we still had loads of room in our luggage and actually still only managed to use about a quarter of our luggage allowance!

Friday 15 November

The flight back was ok - and we regained our five and a half hours time difference.  I slept on the flight and didn't cough too much - thanks to my wonderful cough medicine which I bought in Delhi.  (Although I did come back with a chest infection as I found out a couple of days later!)



So that's it - home again after a wonderful adventure.  

I hope that the rest of our group have either arrived home safely or are having further great escapades! 

Thank you all for a memorable trip. 

Namaste! x