Countdown to home

Back in Delhi and the heat is a killer. In my week up North the temperature has risen sharply: it is now 35 degrees as I type. I am also back in my tiny cell which seems smaller than ever after my four room grand 'delux' suite in the mountains. Still, packing will be easier for the home run.

There is a pool, as seen in the selfie on my balcony. Completely unusable unless you want to swim with monkeys. The staff can't keep them out and watch with bemused frowns as the primates splash about keeping cool whilst the humans fry.

spot the swimming pool 

Yesterday's route down to Chandigarh airport was a four hour scenic masterclass in the beauty of nature. Spring has come to the Himalayas, the slopes ablaze with colour, the silvery tips of the high peaks glistening in the pure blue sky.

Delhi - Old and New

Delhi 's faults, its smog,smoke, dense population, deprivation, etc etc are now magnified by the soaring heat. The touts and scams are as bad as ever. Even  my prepaid taxi from the airport tried to take me somewhere else/ask for money and this is the system monitored by the Police. ..ah well, just one more day to avoid being mugged/robbed/getting food poisoning/swine flu etc etc and I'm coming home!!!

Today I sharpened my elbows and my nerve and got stuck into the bazaars. Literally, the ground was melting, the rickshaws one giant traffic jam in the main Chandri and Chawri markets. Nervously protecting my still vulnerable hip I hurled my rucksack before me to clear my way and managed, eventually, to shop. I've been looking forward to a manic spending spree courtesy of a sudden increase in luggage allowance but when faced with hundreds of stalls crammed into sauna like alleys I was overwhelmed with choice and it took me ages to make any decisions.

Loaded down with purchases I fought my way onto the manic metro to the sanctuary of my little room.  I cannot wait to come home, to see my beloved family and to sink into the comfort of my own bed. But this trip has been one hell of an experience!  Heaven too, creating memories which will stay with me for ever.

at the Jangar Minar , an ancient observatory set incongruously in the centre of Delhi

There is 'something' about India. I can't define it. The myriad of complex cultures,   societal practises from the ugly to the sublime,  the class/caste system, the multiple religions, faiths...everything is as much as a conundrum as it ever was. The simple truth is , despite everything that I hate here (and even after their sacred cow tried to kill me)...I love this country.

My last reflective evening in the Delhi sunset

Sun setting over Delhi temples and domes - taken from my window