Sunday 3rd October


Up before the crack of dawn (quite literally - it was 5:30am); my local tuk tuk driver was already waiting for me when I descended at 6:10am, ready for my flight to KL.

I scored an aisle seat on the flight as I hadn't paid to pre-select my seat. Air Asia X (long distance flights) are comfortable, but the seating on these short-haul flights leave a lot to be desired. For a 2hour flight, we arrived extremely early at a full 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Why do flights always arrive early when you have a long wait ahead? (I now had 5 hours to fill in!)

With check-in not opening for another 2 hours, I made a frappuccino last an hour at Starbucks, whilst completing my latest novel (not Shantaram - that's waiting for India). I filled in another hour at an Indian vegetarian restaurant, making use of the free wi-fi.

At 1pm I headed for the check-in counters (not before needing to ask just which counter was for my flight, as the Delhi flight had disappeared from the airport screens). Unfortunately, I was caught up in an 'Indian stampede' of about 50 men. They had no intentions of abiding by the queue either - whenever one of their mates at the counter moved even an inch, they had filled up the vacant spot. The first time it happened, I was completely helpless to stop it, but when a second guy tried it, I stepped in front of him and turned to give him a serve. (Three things I can't stand: strangers touching me on public transport; people jumping queues; and people not walking on the left hand side).

That left me with 2.5 hours to fill, which went surprisingly quickly. Immigration and security was a breeze, and I purchased a few trashy magazines, my first for a few weeks due to the exorbitant prices in Cambodia. Not knowing what to expect in India, I also purchased a few snacks at duty-free and wandered the remaining stores before having a frustrating conversation with Mum and Dad. (It went along the lines of 'Hello' ... annoying airport announcement' ... 'Market' ... annoying airport announcement ... etc.

The actual boarding of the plane was complete mayhem as well. The Indians all tried to push their way to the front and the once board proceeded to seat themselves wherever they wanted. In fact, we were half an hour late taking off due to the seating fiasco. They all had on board far too much hand luggage (I thought Air Asia were strict on only 1 piece!?) which they all tried to cram into the overflowing overhead lockers. There were a few 'Westerners' on board, but it was 95% Indian.


Due to some subtle flirting at the check-in counter, I'd managed to score a window seat. I have a big issue with personal space - having the window meant there would be only one person beside me. Unfortunately it was an Indian man who seemed intent on taking up half of my seat - but everytime he crept into my space, my arm would move up to push him back into his seat. (This may sound childish but I can't stand people invading my space or strangers touching me!)

We arrived at Delhi half an hour late due to the seating fiasco. As soon as the plane touched down, the Indians had all removed their seatbelts, removed their luggage from the overhead compartments and were clamouring to be first out. The poor flight attendant had to keep asking them to sit until the seatbelt sign had been turned off - I felt so sorry for her!! As I exited the plane, we exchanged a look that conveyed a conversation (You poor thing - what a horror flight - thank God it's over).

I wasn't sure what to expected when I stepped into the airport, but I was greeted with a brand new, squeaky clean and modern facility. Immigration was a breeze as there were heaps of counters open, and luggage was already circling the carousel (not mine of course - not when I'm half an hour late and have a driver waiting for me!)

A lot of the luggage seemed to have 'Kabul International Airport' stickers. Seriously, if there's a terrorist attack in Delhi, I think the bombers were on my plane. There were 2 guys sitting behind me that were the spitting image of Imrosi, the smiling assassin behind the Bali bombings. On the plane, whenever I had lent my head against the window, the one immediately behind me would then lean forward and make sleazy kiss kiss noise.

As we exited the secure zone, there were a few chauffeurs holding name signs - but not mine. Uh oh. I wasn't ready to face the transport system of Delhi yet. Thankfully, this was short-lived when I realised that there were hundreds of more drivers outside - apparently, only CWG affiliated drivers were allowed inside.

On the drive to the hotel, I must say I was impressed by Delhi. Far from the dirt roads and wandering menagerie and bustling traffic I had expected, the roads were congestion free (thanks in part to the Opening Ceremony) and everything look cleaned and... well ... normal!

The most overwhelming sight was the thousands of Army, security and police personnel lining the street. The airport must have had at least 15000 personnel, and every 50m along the road was a guard, rifle ready. We passed the swimming stadium which had 100s of Army vehicles parked out the front. It does make you feel safe but you also wander why they need so many ...

Settling into the hotel, I was helped by about 6 different men. I think they were just displaying Indian hospitality but they were just a bit too helpful for me. I arranged for a car to pick me up the next morning at 7:15am and then retired to my room. I didn't get a lot of sleep though .. to focused on tomorrow's activities.