We met
up at Copenhagen airport in the morning with the group before checking in. I
had met both our tour leader (Bo) and one of the other participants before;
when climbing Ararat an Elbrus, respectively.
Checking
in was a breeze, boarding went without a hitch and we were soon on our way to
New Delhi via Istanbul. We flew with Turkish Airlines which gave me reason to
worry as they had managed to lose 2 of 14’s luggage when going to Ararat, and
it didn’t help that I had heard similar – and worse – stories about them from
others, too.
Anyway,
off we went to Istanbul where we had a 4 hour layover. We found a café pulled a
bit back from the main area of the airport which meant that our drink break was
a relaxing and calm one. We continued to New Delhi where we arrived according
to schedule at 0430 in the morning. To my surprise – and relief – we all
received our bags. Success!
We were
picked up by a local contact and after a short drive we arrived at the hotel.
We were checked in and had a couple of hours of rest before breakfast and
leaving for at city tour at 1100.
Luckily
the bus we drove in had AC; the temperature was, as we found out later, up and
reaching 40°C with high humidity. That was fun when walking around. The tour
brought us to the Qutab Complex, a ruin of a Buddhist temple with a largest
stone tower (Qutab Minar) in India which is 72,5m tall, a botanical garden
(Lodhi Garden), India Gate and the center of the city. Our lunch was had at a
high-end restaurant in the embassy district. The food was great but it took the
waiters 3 tries to get the bills correct (and the last attempt they relied on
manual corrections with a pen to make it fit).
As the
hotel was located close to the airport it meant that it was a bit away from
anything interesting in the city so that meant when coming back in the evening
from the tour we had our dinner at the hotel. Early departure tomorrow at 0415!
Qutab Minar.
A temple located in Lodhi Garden.
India Gate.
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