Pilgrimage to the Punjab

Tuesday February 17^th.

I am currently sitting in a dingy hotel room in Delhi. I am waiting for breakfast and then a flight to Amritsar this afternoon.

The story started yesterday morning at 4.00am. I was collected by my taxi at 4.30 and had a good trip to the airport. After waiting several hours I flew Indigo to Delhi. At the airport I caught a cab to the Ambiance Mall which is like an upmarket Northland which they didn’t quite get right. Basically I intended killing time for the day before my 10.00pm train. After breakfast there I caught a cab to the wrong train station. There I was convinced by a man that his driver would show me the sights for the afternoon, for a price. We visited India Gate and the Hindu ruins which I can't remember. But I was too tired to be a tourist, so I asked the driver to take me to a shopping Mall near the station so that I could kill some time and then catch the train. He wanted to take me to his “commission” shops and tried several times to get me to go into individual shops. Eventually I got him to go to a Mall where I sent him on his way. It was still only 5.00pm so I stayed there for a while then caught an Auto back to the station. It was peak hour and the trip was horrendous if you worry about those sort of things. More like dodgem cars at the carnival than traffic. The driver was pushing and shoving through the bedlam.

When I got there the information man informed me that the train was already 2 hours late. This would make it midnight before I got the train.

I sat on the station on a bale of cotton for a few hours and read my book but it was looking like the train was not going to arrive at any reasonable time and from what I saw of the trains beforehand, I didn’t relish the possibility of joining the throng and fighting for a metal shelf for a 12 hour trip.

That was when I decided to stay in Delhi and went out and got a taxi to this hotel. Once they get you and they sense that you are vulnerable they get really helpful, for a price.

The upshot is that I get two flights, and two nights for $725.00 with all transfers included.

Not a bad night’s sleep and at least I am not amongst the throng on the station.

Delhi is a terrible place. At night it is a throng of people all pushing and shoving. On the trip from the station to the hotel the driver ran into numerous vehicles to try to get through and force his will on everyone else. During the day it seems more chaotic but at least you can see.