From Jodhpur to Amritsar

I felt better this morning, but still wasn't 100%. I had toast and hard-boiled eggs for breakfast on the roof.  It seemed like the safest option ahead of two flights. I was joined by a squirrel - luckily, it was on the floor this time and not on my plate! The guy from the restaurant arranged a tuk-tuk for me for 11am. It was hours ahead of my 4pm flight, but it was check-out time, and there was nowhere else in the city I wanted to go.

The drive to the airport took around 30 minutes. On the way, we passed kilometres of wall art. I managed to get a video of a small part of it. Jodphur airport was originally a military air base and only recently started doing commercial flights, so customer facilities are a bit sparse. However, I had a book to read, and the time passed quickly enough.

I had a 45-minute flight from Jodhpur to Delhi, a 45-minute transfer window, and a 45-minute flight from Delhi to Amritsar. They served identical snacks on both flights - an unidentifiable bean roll and a chocolate muffin. I didn't eat the bean rolls 😂. With such a tight schedule, so much could have gone wrong, but in fact, everything worked out well.

Once in Amritsar, I got a prepaid taxi from the airport to my hotel. Immediately, the city felt very different to the other places I have been. It sounds silly, but it felt less friendly, more remote. The taxi driver tried to fleece me before we even left the airport. Needless to say, I was having none of it. He didn't speak to me for the rest of the journey. He dropped me off round the corner from my hotel and didn't even get out of the car to help me with my luggage! Unheard of elsewhere in India.

I have to say that the staff at the hotel were very nice, though, so I hope my first impressions are wrong!Read more