On the last afternoon there, the
driver came and I said I did actually want to buy a last present and
I'd heard there was a big market. A friend of his also got in the
front and drove. Straight away, I wondered what this was all about.
The driver was being friendly enough though so I let it go. They then
stopped at one of his friends' shops which sold marble ornaments. It
wasn't what I wanted and left the shop straight away. My rucksack was
still in the rickshaw and I was wondering if they were planning to
steal it. I had to try not to let them think I was thinking this,
however, told them I wanted to go to the market and they just took me
to another friend's shop. The stuff was too expensive and I didn't
have that much money on me so I just said forget it, take me to the
bus station. I thought I'd just get something from the airport.
I
got there at 5pm and asked at the first bus, which the man said was
for Delhi. He said it was 150 Rs. So I put my bag on then he called
me back and said it would be another 100 for the bag. I told him I've
never had to pay extra for my bag so picked it up and took it off. I
went to the bus behind it and got on that one without the extra
charge. However, this bus had almost nobody on, and those people got
off to wait outside. I figured this wasn't going to leave before the
other one which was now filling up. It was getting to half past 5 and
I needed to get to the airport. I had no choice but to get on the
first bus again. I sat on the back seat and had to put my bag on the
seat by the window. I expected the conductor to charge me for that as
it obviously meant someone else couldn't sit there. When we left and
he came round to get the money, he sat on the seat in front of me and
people handed him their fares. He didn't turn round and I just gave
him 150 but expected him to ask for the rest. He seemed to have
forgotten about this so he handed me my ticket and went back to the
front of the bus. I was glad to have got away with it without any
hassle.
I
had space to stretch out for practically all of the way, which was
good as it was hot and sticky. I had no idea how far we were from
Delhi but it was taking quite some time. I finally saw a road sign
which said it was still over 90km away at about 9pm! We must have
taken a long route as Agra is not much further away than that so I
started worrying about if I was going to make it on time.
As
we finally reached Delhi (after stopping for refreshments), I looked
in my guide book as we were passing metro stations. Knowing the
airport was in the south, it would be better to get off before
getting to the bus station as that was in the north which would slow
me down more and cost more in a taxi. I scrutinised the book and the
stops and worked out where I was and where would be the closest to
get out. As it was by a metro, I hoped there would be taxis there.
Some other people got out so I did, too and found out there were only
motor-rickshaws. I asked how much it would be to the airport and a
guy said 500. I haggled him down to 450 and just had to take it as it
was now 11pm. The one who drove me looked no older than 16 and I
learned it was 35km to the airport. It was hard for me to understand
just how enormous this city was. The lad drove off along the
motorways and main roads and luckily, the rickshaw was fast. It felt
a bit dangerous travelling through the night with cars and buses
around us and I had to take my hand off the side rail when they got
too close! But, he got me there in good time and I was so pleased
with his service, I just gave him the full 500. He was very happy
when I told him he had done a good job and shook my hand. I then
crammed myself onto the bus to get the rest of the way.
I
luckily remembered I had seen it was Terminal 3 on my email
confirmation and checked in all right. Going through the x-ray
section, they noticed I had my lighter in my bag. I told them the
lighter didn't work and I only used it as a torch. I took it out and
showed that was true. The woman had a look and handed it to her male
colleague, who said I still couldn't take it. He handed it back to
me. I held it and looked at him. Why have you given it back to me
then? I asked. He said I couldn't take it. So what was I supposed to
do with it? The woman looked at me. I looked at them both. I was lost
for words and just put it on the table and said 'just take it, then'
and walked away. Don't even try to understand...
I
had plenty of time in the end, which was a relief and I found some
tea to take back for my dad, which I thought he should like. There
was a bar there showing the Indian cricket so I went and watched that
while I had a beer. That alone cost 650 Rupees, more than I'd paid in
total for the last hostel, meals and drinks!
The
flight was at 2.20 and I got onto it with no final problems and it
was a relief to be on the plane with no mishaps at all. I'd lost
nothing, had nothing stolen, got no illnesses (only the chilblains)
and slept for about 5 hours before landing in London at 6.45am. I
would even arrive home in the morning which was the first time I'd
done that after a flight.
