India

Never expected to start the year of 2026 in New Delhi but here I was. The airport was quite empty but it was futile to expect the city to be the same. I met my driver for the trip, Ajay Soni, who was recommended to me by my Polish friend, Karolina whom I had just finished the surfing trip in Chiba recently when she visited Japan.

Soni was quite an eccentric character, very talkative and like to share stories about himself. But he was going to be with me for the first half of the trip so I had better try to get along, I thought to myself. We swerved through traffic and got to Qutb Minar which was absolutely packed. Here was the New Year's crowd. Hidden in the sea of people was a secret entrance for foreigners and I was able to buy my tickets and get in immediately. Inside was much more wide, the ruins were interesting but all the Indian visitors were even more so. So many families, couples, and friends have come to this towering structure. I explored and was satisfied, hoping to still get more out of the day but it seems like it wasn't going to be that smooth as rush hour hits and we were stuck in traffic for almost 3 hours. Out goes the Lotus Temple, Yamuna River, and Akshardam, they were moved to tomorrow instead with Soni changing some of the itinerary as well. Not really sure I appreciated that but anyways, I was flexible.

We ended up passing by the India Gate before grabbing dinner. I had my first Paneer Tikka Masala and it was so good albeit very heavy. From there, we took a tuktuk through a night market where my hotel was. The inside was actually really good and I slept well.Read more