Ow, my brain. I had gotten so used to sitting on a chair with a computer and internet for most of my days, with potable water, a fridge full of food two steps away, two closet-fulls of clothes and all the other comforts of the Western world. This new profound pattern shift has been beyond overwhelming for my poor little psyche that was so ingrained in its comforts. I don’t regret anything. Not even the breakdowns and feeling utterly overwhelmed and useless. I feel alive again.
Running on a couple of hours of sleep. I can't think. I am alive. This is madness. Enjoy the disparateness :) See you in my rebirth, dear world. Quote: My friend has this theory that everyone is at their best when they travel. - Anna
So getting there wasn’t as easy for a sleep-deprived mind. After following helpful instructions from couchsurfers for getting to the train. I hopped on the first one there and turns out it was going in the opposite direction from central station. Sigh. Get off. Try again. With all this, I still managed to make it for around 7:40am, while my appointment with Roger and another couchsurfer was at 8:30am. So I went out and walked a bit in the cold drizzly dawn in the old city, taking some photos of the water and buildings before getting cold and turning back.
Soon enough, I met up with Roger and it was so so so incredibly comforting to see a familiar face. It felt like being reunited with family, even though we didn’t hang out all that much in Van. I think just because I was so overwhelmed by this trip, being able to have familiar company was worth more to me than anything. Another couchsurfer, Aanjhan, joined us as well. After I had posted on the Zürich CS forum if anyone wanted to get up that early for a stroll, he answered me because he saw that I was going to India, so we had some interesting conversations as well!
It was certainly chilly in Zürich, but still I was the happiest I had been in a while, even in my baffled sleep-deprived state. Setting foot in Europe again, pretty streets, good company, lots of laughing. After a final photoshoot at the lake, the wind persuaded us to go inside. On Aanjhan’s recommendation, we had a delicious breakfast and shared hilarious travel stories at Odeon café, which has an interesting history. An absolutely delightful morning in the city :)
The departure is the worst. And this one dragged on and on, due to a bunch of preparations and couple of days in transit.
Home, Montreal - 01.18.12 1200 hours
Fast forward a few hours.
Airport. Check-in. Goodbyes. Board. I had a centre seat but all the 4 seats in the middle section were empty so I could stretch out on them :D Soon enough I started a conversation with the passenger in the seat across the aisle. Turns out he was Indian so we had a few good chats about different things, although he was transferring to Istanbul where he was going for work. Oh well, would have been nice to have someone accompany me into Delhi. (Actually, the flight into Delhi and the first few hours here were some of the worst, psychologically, and some familiar company was the only thing I really wanted!)
They were showing a lot of Indian films on the way to Zürich, so I watched I am Kalam, which was super cute! Ali (my flight companion) watched One Day, and he warned me it was depressing (yet still I watched it on the flight to Delhi and regretted it :P)
Tried to sleep a bit, not very successful. In Zürich, Ali went for his transfer and I went into town, woo! The guy at immigration was like:
“So, how long will you be in Zürich?”
“Just 6 hours.”
“Oh. Where are you going after?”
“Delhi.”
(Giving a puzzled look) “India? Why would you go there?”
I had come across enough people with that reaction so I was pretty used to it, but it still irritated me somewhat.
Zürich Hauptbanhoff - 01.19.12 0740 hours
Soon enough, I met up with Roger and it was so so so incredibly comforting to see a familiar face. It felt like being reunited with family, even though we didn’t hang out all that much in Van. I think just because I was so overwhelmed by this trip, being able to have familiar company was worth more to me than anything. Another couchsurfer, Aanjhan, joined us as well. After I had posted on the Zürich CS forum if anyone wanted to get up that early for a stroll, he answered me because he saw that I was going to India, so we had some interesting conversations as well! | |
| Toilet at Odeon Café |
Sadly it was all over too soon and goodbyes never get easier, but it’s moments that happen quite often during travelling unfortunately.
Zürich Flughafen - 01.19.12 1200 hours
Back at the airport, I started to freak out more seriously, asking myself endlessly: “What the hell am I doing?”. I even almost lost my new netbook, on day one! I had used it in the restroom and forgot it on a shelf in the stall. It had been maybe 5-10 minutes when I realised, and the flight to Delhi was about to start boarding. Thankfully I didn’t realise on the plane! And even more thankfully, it was still there when I went back to check!! I was convinced it would be gone. There was a girl in the stall and when she came out I immediately looked to see if it was there. I exclaimed my relief aloud and she said that she actually didn’t even notice it and that I am incredibly lucky. That I am! :D
Delhi Airport - 01.20.12 0100 hours
Cold. Humid. Unknown.
The guy at immigration asked me what is Vizag (the city I was headed to that I put down as address on the declaration form). I explained it was a city near Chennai omg lol. He seemed irritated but eventually let me through. Well, at least you can get into India with a one-way ticket, so my whole story was unnecessary, hurray! Pick up bag. So overwhelmed. And um, my plan kind of stopped there. So I walked back and forth, looked for the sleeping areas, or just a secluded area where I could sit. Hah, forget about isolation in Indian cities! It’s a good thing I didn’t go out of the terminal though (again on advice from couchsurfers, though I didn’t know why initially), because you’re not allowed back in. The security guards with rifles won’t let you :) (There is a visitor entry fee for the airport though actually, but the next morning I didn’t see anyone at the counter where they sell the visitor tickets). I didn’t research all these things so this first part was kind of rough and I’m learning the ropes as I’m going!
Tried to connect to internet but failed (I’m thinking since I tried 3 times it may have charged my credit card that many times too without getting my goods, oh well…). I was just getting more and more tired, stressed, overwhelmed, confused, hungry, in pain (the stomach aches due to the pressurized cabin + stress). I decided to check out the Visitor’s lounge (on advice from an internet forum post I found some while back), and it looked so sketchy; people sleeping on the floor, seats everywhere. So I asked the security guard who was guarding the elevator between the arrival hall where I was previously and the lounge to let me go back down. After seeing my flight confirmation, he mumbled something about wrong terminal. Turns out that was crucial information. I went back down, used the toilet and asked about the price of the napping facilities, but they were full! Oh well, back to the lounge I go.
I really wanted to try to accost someone so I would feel less alone, so I started talking with these guys who were speaking in Spanish. They were from Chile, and going snowboarding in Kashmir! They actually followed what others did in the lounge, just set their stuff on the floor and lied down for a nap. I soon decided to do the same. Hobo-style. It actually made me feel a lot better! I used my sleeping bag as a mattress, my backpack as a pillow, and scarf as a cover (did I mention it was cold in Delhi? Like 5 degrees, it was on the “breaking news”, along with the fog). I think the mix of letting go of perfect solutions with feeling less alone made me feel a ton better. I even fell asleep for some hours…
Delhi Airport - 01.20.12 0800 hours
The following morning, just as they were about to say goodbye, I discovered the Chileans were headed to terminal 1D and my flight was there too, which was in another building! So I tagged along (possibly to their annoyance, heh) because I felt lost and clueless.
There was a shuttle to take you to the terminal, which was 15 minutes away by car! Wow I had no idea about all this previously, so it was lucky I met them! We were told the shuttle was free if you have a flight ticket, so we got on but they asked for money or a ticket, and the guys paid but I got off. I was definitely lost and confused. Couldn’t go back inside the airport where you had currency exchange booths and functional ATMs, got turned back by security who told me to use the ATM outside which didn’t work. Great. Now what? A taxi driver offered to drive me to an ATM and I can pay there. Yeah right :)
Luckily I bumped into some other guys who also got fooled by the useless ATM so I basically asked “can I tag along until we all find money?” XD But they already had a prepaid bus to their hotel, which was half an hour away, but they said the bus was already paid for and I could definitely join them and use ATMs at the hotel if there’s any. (My flight was in 6 hours, so I had the time if need be for these roundabout solutions.) So they asked their guide, who confirmed ATMs at the hotel, but he had a better solution. He actually took me to the booth where you show your connecting flight confirmation and previous flight ticket (thankfully I kept it!) to get a free ticket for the shuttle. Somehow I completely missed this booth before! I was incredibly grateful to that guide!
Vizag - 01.20.12 0800 hours
So after waiting endlessly at Delhi airport due to flight delays because of the heavy fog, I finally got on the flight to Vizag. I was the only white person on this tiny plane; adventure begins now, woo! :D I slept for most of the flight and my body and mind felt dead.
Meeting up with Liz was another incredibly absolutely amazing moment. Soooo excited and super happy! The only two white girls hugging it out at the airport, haha! Then I met her friend and the family she was staying with who kindly agreed to host me for a couple of days. The ride to their home was amazing. I was just absorbing all sights and sounds: bicycles, rickshaws, dirt, dogs, cows, pani puri and so many street food carts, small shops, mad driving, endless honks, tropical heat…
When we got to the house, my brain was just pretty much dead by then. But I was still under adrenaline, so I had a nice chat with Liz whom I felt like I had known forever, and it probably didn’t show at all that we had met for the first time this night, haha!! Then off to sleep. Tomorrow we head into town for awesomeness and then attend a party for the grandparents’ 50th anniversary.
***
I’m probably not going to be able to keep recounting every moment so diligently, hah! Not only because access to internet will be very very limited, but being mostly alone during this sharp initial shift has made me all that more in need of finding a way to express some of the insane emotions I’ve been spiralling through (seriously, I don’t know how much Attivan I went through XD Despite the lack of sleep, the cortisol was definitely through the roof).
This way for photos... Zürich & Vizag
This way for photos... Zürich & Vizag
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