New Delhi 24 September 2024

Heeeey Ann!

I threw myself straight into the adventure. "Don't go out alone after dark" was apparently something I didn't understand...
Being surrounded by 10 barking dogs after recently reading the book Shantaram, where the main character gets attacked by dogs, made me think twice though. With a guard accompanying me, I finally managed to get some street food. Maybe I should have just crawled into bed instead. After all, it was already past midnight.

As I said—now I'm in India. Last time I wrote, it was April and my trip was still just a dream. Then summer whizzed by, and suddenly I found myself panicking about packing and handing over work duties, etc. Funny how packing is always so tedious, even though I love to travel.
Anyway, with two heavy bags and a kind neighbor, I headed to the airport early Monday morning. Östersund to Stockholm was the first leg. Then over 5 hours of waiting at Arlanda, which I spent having lunch with a friend and making a few phone calls to sort out some things before leaving the country. Shortly after 4 PM, I was off to Doha and finally New Delhi, where I arrived on Tuesday morning. Everything went well, and both my bags and my wheelchair arrived, although I did start to get a bit worried for a moment.

When I had a layover in Doha, I never got my wheelchair. Instead, I was wheeled around in some big contraption that only had small wheels. So I couldn't move it myself. That kind of thing wears on me. It might sound silly, but losing the freedom to go where you want and instead being dependent on someone else... Well, good thing the wait in Doha wasn't too long. Anyway—not getting my wheelchair at the gate in Doha made me start wondering where it had gone. When I then got both my bags in New Delhi but not the chair, my thoughts started spinning. You can imagine the joy I felt when the assistance guy finally came with my chair.
After getting an Indian SIM card and some Indian currency, the pre-booked taxi took me to the hotel. It wasn't just a matter of driving up to the entrance; no, the car was thoroughly checked for bombs before we were allowed to enter the premises.
Once in the room, I threw myself onto the bed without doing anything else first. So nice to lie in a bed and sleep. The past three nights had been a bit iffy in that regard. A shower and some other bits and bobs later, it was past midnight. That's when I decided I wanted to eat something.
I went down to the reception but found nothing edible. I remembered from the taxi ride that it wasn't far to a street that I guessed had shops, so a short walk should be fine.
Everything was calm and quiet. It was warm and very humid, with a slight smell of garbage. A little further ahead, I saw a dog lying in the road. As I approached, it started barking. Not so strange; he was probably wondering what kind of strange person I was. I ignored it and moved on, but pretty soon another dog appeared, and another... In the end, I heard barking dogs everywhere, and I had about 10 large barking dogs surrounding me. They didn't show their teeth, but it still felt unsettling, and I wasn't that hungry anyway.

I turned back toward the hotel and hoped they wouldn't sense my fear. Shortly, a guard appeared who shooed them away. Then a few more guards came (or I don't know what they were). I told them that I wanted something to eat. So it ended up with one of the guards accompanying me. He spoke hardly any English but took his role as a "bodyguard" very seriously.

A short walk later, and the street was teeming with people. I was probably the only tourist... My "bodyguard" asked what I wanted to eat. How was I supposed to know? Even if the menu was in English, I didn't know what the dishes were. And when you're as short as I am, it's not easy to reach the high counter, get someone's attention, or hear what they're saying.
After just a short while, a young girl came up and asked if I needed help. She ordered something for me (tasted like chili con carne with some fried bread). When the food came, no one wanted any payment. And since I hadn't managed to exchange for smaller bills, I just thanked them and returned to my room where I ate the food.

Back at the hotel, I had three people making sure I got safely into my room. They tried to explain that next time I could just dial "0" and order room service, but then what would I have had to tell you, hahaha. I'll try to reassure you and others by saying that I won't do something like that again. We'll see if I can keep that promise.

Well, now bed awaits.
(Sorry, but I couldn't manage to include any pictures....)