Solo Trip to India and Nepal

We both slept a lot better last night. When we were up and about, we ordered a black coffee and a lemon tea on the room and made our plans for the day.

We took an auto to Connaught Place. It was Fiona's first auto experience and she loved it! We went straight to the Flavour Factory where I went the other day with Mansi. We shared a masala dosa and a tomato and onion uttapam and we both had a sweet lassi. Fiona is getting braver with her food choices, although she's still very nervous about ice 😀. The ladies on the table next to us were celebrating a birthday, so they sent over a piece of cake for us. It was overly sweet and had more synthetic cream than cake, but we ate it to be polite 😊.

After our brunch, we went for a walk around Connaught Place. Fiona got at least a year's worth of good luck when a pigeon pooped on her foot 😂. Being Monday, Central Park was closed, so we walked up to the street where all the state emporia are. They were just setting up a big craft and food fair, so we had some tasting samples. We bought some broccoli chips and some beetroot snacks for the train, and Fiona got some sweets to take home with her.

We then took an auto back to our hotel, where we rested up for half an hour before taking another auto to our cooking class an hour away on the other side of the city. It was turning into a day completely about the food!

We then took an auto back to our hotel, where we rested up for half an hour before taking another auto to our cooking class an hour away on the other side of the city. It was turning into a day completely about the food!

Lubna, our host, welcomed us to her lovely home and garden. We had coffee and snacks, made by one of her two houseboys, in the lounge while we chatted about what we were going to cook. We then took a taxi to Lubna's favourite market to buy some missing ingredients. While we were there, we had some chaat. Fiona was very nervous about eating this street food, but she went with it and thought it was delicious. We also watched a guy making dosa dough.Leggi altro

I had a quieter day yesterday. I didn't sleep well and I was up very early to submit the content I'd agreed to create for GreetHer in exchange for the meeting with Mansi on Thursday.

After breakfast, I popped out for bananas and snacks, and then spent the rest of the day working.

This morning, I had breakfast and then got myself organised to check out and move over to Hotel Perfect in Karol Bagh, the starting hotel for our Intrepid tour. I booked a taxi through Uber, as I had my luggage with me. The hotel porter put my big case on the back seat of the taxi. I wondered why he hadn't put it in the boot, but as it turned out, it was a good decision 😀. My driver had serious road rage from the start. He drove with his hand permanently on the horn and loudly berated every other person on the road. He was an accident waiting to happen! And so it proved. We crashed into an auto alongside us! The side of the taxi was damaged, as was the boot which sprang open and wouldn't close again. Both drivers and the two young male passengers from the auto got out and started having a major argument in the middle of the street. I stayed in the car 😀. After about ten minutes shouting, both drivers got back in their vehicles and continued their journeys 😂.

I checked into the Hotel Perfect. I was a bit worried, but the staff were very friendly and the room was perfectly fine. I settled in and sorted out the stuff I'm leaving here when we go off on tour.

Later, I went out to explore the local area, all the while checking on the status of Fiona's flight. It took off from Heathrow an hour late, but was making up time on route.

I found that our hotel is in the middle of a local commercial area, mainly filled with wedding shops. It was really busy. I ended up having a late lunch in a local restaurant just across the road from our hotel. It was packed, so I took the only free seat - at a table occupied by a group of young Indians. I ordered chicken dum biryani which was delicious, and only cost around £2.40.

Back at the hotel, I decided to try to sleep for a while before heading to the airport to meet Fiona. I think I managed to get a couple of hours. At around 11pm, I took an Uber to the airport, where I had a strong black coffee to keep me awake. Fiona's flight landed at 12.06, just one minute later than originally scheduled. She got through security and baggage reclaim without incident and I met her at around 1am. We took a taxi back to the Hotel Perfect, arriving at 1.45am. We were both extremely tired, so it wasn't long before we turned it in.Leggi altro