India time consists of a lot of waiting

As I'd slept too much in the day and eaten some amazing tandoori chicken late yesterday evening, I eventually drifted off to sleep at 4 am.  Given that my room didn't really have the luxury of daylight streaming through a window, luckily I was woken at 11.30 am by a call from reception checking my check out time.  Thank goodness for the call.  After a leisurely breakfast I wandered down the road to the station just to check the  train departure time,  as when I rang to confirm my room booking at Bodhgaya I was told that the train is often delayed.  Great advice, as it had moved from 4.30 pm back to 9.10 and I had a whole afternoon in Delhi - not the best bonus in this crazy chaotic city!  However i took the opportunity to head out to jamil masjid, the largest mosque in India and enjoyed the unexpected quietness and tranquility of the mosque and chuckled when a family insisted that I was to take centre stage in their photo.   Then off to one of the fifteen world heritage sites in India, Humayun's Tomb. An  Amazing 16th century tomb built in marble and red sandstone, so the day was not completely wasted.  Now have to wait even more as the train is now departing at 10.50.  India time is always full of a lot  of waiting....,

It's great to be back

How civilised, I was met al the airport by a driver with my name displayed on a board. My how my travelling has changed, as I used to revel in the chaos of local buses and trains to get to my first destination.  So, back in Delhi and its brilliant!!! Checked in and slept for seven hours before heading out to old Delhi. There's never a dull moment on the streets; cows, kids, rusty old ambassador cars honking their horns and just hundreds upon hundreds of people everywhere you look.  It feels that everything is bursting at the seams.   An old man came up to me and welcomed me to India .... What a great way to start the trip. Within minutes another guy stopped me to ask if I wanted to take his picture and drink some whiskey ..... It's great to be back!!!!

Greetings from Helsinki !!!!!

Just completed the first leg of my journey and am settled in a cafe in the airport. I've already been in every shop, seen every Moomin souvenir and brushed my hand across the reindeer fur rugs for sale.... Ummm still three hours to go until I head off again, so there's plenty of time for more walking, as my poor back is still sore and there's no chance of an upgrade. I think I will just savour the calm here, as it's all going to change in India.