Zing, 28 October 2006
India , New Delhi

Time is running up...

New Delhi, my last stop in India before heading home. I arrived this morning at 8am after 12 hours of bus ride from Dharamsala. Well, I was told that the bus will drop passengers at Paharganj, as usual it didn't. We were dropped somewhere 20km from Paharganj. Thanks to my asian feature, a Tibetan monk helped me with the rickshaw negotiation. Tibet has always been on the top of my want to be there list and after my short stay in Dharamsala, I think it is on the top of the list now [Patricia and David, I will defintely visit you in the near future!] Oh, and I think I have forgotten to mention in my last message while I was in Dharamsala, a monk invited Luca and I to his little home for tea. It was latte rather than tea, I reckon. But the experience was heart warming. And the monk spoke Mandarin! We had a decent conversation over the latte where he told us about his life in Tibet and how he walked through the Himalayas for 28 days before reaching India. And a little insight about meditation. For me, the feeling was different to hear it from a monk who had experienced it personally as compared from reading it from books. I will always remember the short acquaintance with the monk.

This morning I had to make a trip to the Jetairways office as my ticket home has to be reissued. So I took an autorickshaw to the place; on the way, the autorickshaw was stopped by a Delhi Tourist Police patrol car. I thought it was a routine check of license, just like what I have seen in Agra. But the police officer came and asked me where I was heading and how much did the driver asked for? In the end, the police told me that they will drive me to my destination. I have no idea what had happened. Anyway, I had a free ride. I think next time I will stop a police car rather than a rickshaw.

After buying India's special curry (it is quite dear...) and Darjeeling tea, I decided to take the rest of the day off and pamper myself. So I went to do mani and pedicure. The price was extremely affordable and the service is of course not as good that those you will find in Singapore. And I tried on their threading service, girls will know what it is. It only costs SGD0.50 and it was a painful experience

Anyway, here I am... relax and all ready to go home. I will miss India... I dont think I have taken a lot of photos with my digital camera but it is alright.. I have used the most powerful lens in the world - my eyes - to capture all the moments and the most powerful memory - my brain - to remember the moments!

Ciao ciao India!