Leaving India

Tuesday 30^th June 2015

The alarm went off at 6.30am this morning rousing us from our sleep. We packed up the last of our belongings and left for the train station. Luckily for us it was right across the road so we didn’t have far to go.

We found our platform and the train was waiting there for us. We found our seats on the pretty much empty train and Mark went up to the top bunk to lie down while I sat and read my book. When we left Amritsar the sky was overcast and cloudy the sky looked dark and brooding but the closer we got to Delhi the warmer it became and the brighter the sky got. The whole way was a dusty mess though.

Our train left at 7.15am and arrived at 3.05p so we spent most of the day chilling out watching the countryside go past. I was reading a book on my tablet and was almost at the end when there was a plot twist and it turned out the killer wasn’t actually the killer however I turned the page to see what happened next and the story became a book about baseball statistics. There must have been an error with it and I never found out what happened at the end.

We got into Delhi Junction on time even though we had left slightly late which was a surprise. We wanted to be by Old Delhi station in Paharganj as we know the area somewhat so we got a rickshaw there and set about finding a hotel.

For our last two nights in India we decided to spring for something a bit nicer than normal we took the first hotel we found which was a cut above our normal dingy digs and even had a fish tank inside the room!

Despite not really eating all day neither of us was overly hungry and so we mucked about doing some washing and having showers before going out to eat dinner on a rooftop. Once our bellies were full we stopped in an internet shop to print out our flight details and then headed back to the room.

Later on we headed out for a pancake and a cup of tea since we had eaten dinner so early. It was nice to have a good room to relax in and we spent the evening watching TV.

Wednesday 1^st July 2015

We got up this morning ready to tackle the day it was our last day in India and we both had a few final things we wanted to get before leaving. We started the day off with an all you can eat breakfast buffet in the hotels restaurant before heading out into the wilds of Delhi.

Not long down the street we were walking past a public bathroom when Mark stood in a huge pile of human effluence that was bubbling out of a drain. It was a disgusting grey sludgy colour and smelt terrible luckily it didn’t get him too much and most of it could be rinsed off (the rest dried up and flaked off during the day)

We spent several hours on a wild goose chase to try and find a MicroMax store as Mark needed to buy his friend a new phone. We followed google maps and the first store it led us to was actually a house and the second store was a hotel. I’m not really sure how they ended up on Google Maps but they certainly weren’t MicroMax stores.

With two failures under our belt and several hours of walking in the dusty heat we decided to get a rickshaw to Sadar market to try our luck there. The street was rammed with all sorts but no phone shops. We did pass several stalls selling phone covers which I needed but they either didn’t have my model or the covers were horrible. After searching for an age through the market a few people had told us to try Chandni Chowk so we headed there.

We tried to get a rickshaw but they were all over priced so we just walked which turned out well as we found a tool street and Mark bought a whole load of tools he wanted all for about ten quid.

We got to Chandni Chowk but didn’t really find what we were after certainly no phone shops and the stalls that had covers all had the same ugly ones so we continued walking. 

Eventually we came to another market by Jama Masjid (the biggest mosque in India) they still only had the same tacky covers but at this point it wasn’t looking like I was going to find anything better so I got one and a couple of screen protectors.

Since there were no phone shops about we decided to head to Connaught Place to check there we got the metro which was only four stops and was a dream even if it was crammed full at least it had AC. On the way to the metro station Mark stopped to buy spices from a dude on the street who spoke no English. None of the spices were labelled and we had no idea what some of them were but they were only 10 rupees for a bag so he just bought a whole bunch.

We came out into the sunshine and checked out a few stores before Mark found a phone in the price range. Annoyingly we picked up some guy who insisted on helping us (“all free of charge”) despite us not asking him or needing him and making it pretty clear. Once Mark had the phone he wanted us to go with him in a rickshaw (that we paid for) to a government store so he could het “a gift” from the shop for taking us there. By this stage it was after 4pm and we had been walking out in the sun all day and I had no desire to go with him. He promptly packed a sad when we said no and stormed off.

We weren’t really fazed by his little drama and just got in a rickshaw back to the hotel, where we showered and basked in the AC and packed a little bit. It was lovely to be left in peace for a while as all day in the markets men had been gabbing my arse and brushing my boobs as they walked past. At one point a small child ran up and pinched my butt after a bunch of them followed us down the road for ages begging. (And they were all nicely dressed speaking good English)

Eventually I realised I was actually starving and so we headed out for food. Since it was our last meal we went all out and had a huge feast the food was amazing and there was a little ginger kitten hanging about attacking bugs which was entertaining.

We finished dinner and strolled along the bazar road getting the last few things we wanted. (a colouring book for me, some in since for Mark) once that was done we headed back to the hotel where I was up late trying to find cheap flights back to the UK (which I did)

Thursday 2^nd July 2015

We were off to the airport at 7.30am this morning after waking up and packing our last few things. The bin was overflowing with things that we had decided to sack off.

The drive didn’t take too long but when we got there they wouldn’t let me in as my flight was in the afternoon and I was too early. We pleaded with them to bend the rules for us but the security guy wasn’t having any of it so we had to say our goodbyes even earlier than anticipated. Mark disappeared into the terminal and I wandered down to the visitors lounge to kill several hours until I could get in.

The visitors lounge was pretty ok and at least I didn’t have to sit outside in the heat all morning. I started off reading my book, then did some colouring and generally sat about. A man reeking of booze came and sat right next to me despite there being heaps of space he kept talking to me time and time again asking questions and continuously touching my colouring book.

At one point he told me I was colouring it wrong and grabbed my pencils and tried to help at which point I was super firm and told him I didn’t want to talk to him. He went away but came back saying he was sorry for being middle class and not good enough to talk too as his English wasn’t good enough (his English was actually fine he was hard to understand as he was drunk and slurring his words) I ignored him and he sat too close for a while before heading off again

When he came back he had a print out of his flight he sat down and demanded I give him my phone I told him I didn’t have one and he just asked over and over wanting to call his wife as he had missed his flight. He showed me his flight info and he was very late his flight departed at 4am. He told me he missed it because he was drinking with his only son, he then told me his son was four years old which is a bit of a worry.

By this point I was trying to do some writing and he was all up in my face and I told him again I didn’t want to talk to him about anything and I wanted him to go away. By this time several other people were nearby and they were all staring he left and I didn’t see him again.

Time was passing slowly and I needed a wee but there were no toilets in the visitors lounge so I willed time to go by so I could get inside the actual airport. The security man had told me I could go in at 11am but when I tried he said I had to come back at 1pm. It was so frustrating as the visitors lounge was full of annoying men. There were so many available seats and yet I had a constant ring of men about.

I did some more colouring in and read for a while once I had tuned out all the leerers I decided to just wait there until I could check in as I would just have to find a new place to set up camp inside the airport.

By 3pm I couldn’t hold out anymore I went into the airport and much to my relief I could check in and there wasn’t even a queue there was however an idiot of a woman who wouldn’t let me check in as I didn’t have a visa for Malaysia (which is a VOA anyway so its plain ridiculous anyway!) basically she kept saying I needed a visa and said I wasn’t allowed to transit in an airport via two different airlines. She held me up for an age while she rang a bunch of people and then finally was told that UK passport holders are entitled to a three month VOA. (Which I don’t need as I’m just in transit!)

She then stressed to me about 55 million times that my luggage was only checked in until KL and that I would have to collect it and check in for my next flight (well done sweetheart as if I’m stupid enough to think my bag will just magically make it on to another flight with a different airline)

It was quite a weight off to finally be checked in I then made my way through customs where the guy scrutinised my bag in the scanner for an age before letting me go with a smile. Finally I was in the airport I was absolutely staving having not eaten all day so used most of my remaining rupees to get a sandwich and a muffin with just enough left over to get a “cheap” bottle of water at more than double its regular price.

Feeling fed I found a charging point for my tablet as I had already ran most of the battery down reading and shoved my headphones in to watch some TV on my laptop for a while.

The flight to Colombo was pretty empty and I had an entire row to myself which was nice I ate the meal and watched a movie then went to sleep watching the full moon out of the window. Annoyingly due to weather conditions we arrived about 30minutes early which cut into my sleep time and also made the wait for my next flight much longer.

I got off the plane and followed the signs to transit found a board and looked at which gate I needed to be at, I’m not sure if it changed or I just completely misread it but at 12.30am when it was time to get on the plane and everyone was standing up to go through I looked at the flight number and the plane I was waiting for went to Singapore. When finally I found a board I realised I was on the wrong side of the airport and had to mission it getting to the gate in time to casually walk straight onto the bus that took us out to the plane.

As soon as I found my seat I put my headphones in and went to sleep but it wasn’t longer before I was being woken up by the turbulent landing.

Friday 3^rd July 2015

I got off the plane and followed the stream of people heading to the arrivals hall I had to collect my bags and clear immigration before changing terminals and checking in for my flight to Cambodia.

Getting out of the airport was easy but getting to KLIA2 was a pain in the tit there is no free shuttle but I think there must have been once as there are still signs down to it but once you get out to the carpark there is nothing and I was told the cheapest way to get there is by train which was fine it was only 2 MYR but it meant I had to go down ask how much it was then go back up change money then go back down again for someone who gets annoyed with lifts it was a lot of up and downing.

Eventually I had a ticket and was on the platform the train came shortly and only took about three minutes to get to the other terminal. Once there I followed all the signs to the Air Asia counter and checked in but I was too early to check in my bag so after getting a bottle of water I chilled out to wait 90minutes before I could drop my bag off.

Once I had got rid of it I headed through to the gate it was a huge disappointment to find that there were only two options for food past the security and at both the only vegetarian option was cake. I got a muffin the size of my head that tasted as though it was made with hair and glue with chocolate chips sprinkled on top and ate while trying not to fall asleep.

As soon as I could board I was on the plane in my seat and asleep which is how I stayed until my flight landed in Siem Reap. I got off the plane which took an age as I was right at the back and walked across the tarmac to the airport where I had to fill in a medical questionnaire and have my temperature taken before they let me through to the visa desk.

I filled out the paperwork and got in line for my visa despite being expensive (USD$30) it was easy to do and within minutes I had cleared customs and immigration collected my bag and left the airport where a tuk tuk from the hostel was waiting to pick me up.

I got in and took in the countryside as we drove into the city. It was much smaller and much quieter than I expected but I was pleased. Once at the hostel I checked in and had a shower once I felt a bit more human I walked down the road and got a sim card and then went back to the hostel where I spent the afternoon relaxing and googling things to see in Siem Reap

Around 7.30pm I ventured out and got some dinner it was a bit of faff to make sure it was all vegetarian but it was worth it as it was truly delicious! I sat and ate and read my book and then headed back to the hostel and crashed early.