Back from India :)
My train to Frankfurt Airport left at 5:56am from Göttingen. Due to some sleeping problems and packing I stayed in Alfeld the night before and my Dad was kind enough to get up in the middle of the night and drive me down there. Not much sleep for both of us. The only positive things on early trains? One gets a nice seat. I had to switch trains at Frankfurt Main Station to get to the airport station. No problem there except carrying my (I thought already small but still) heavy suitcase up and down the stairs. My flight from Frankfurt to Doha was delayed so that I didn't have too much time to find my way around Doha International Airport. But I felt slightly dehydrated and desperately needed some water which I got for 3 Euros. Then hurried to the gate, gulped down my water and boarded the plane to Bangalore. I arrived in Bangalore at 3.35am local time which means I was up for more than 24 hours. At that point I thought that was brutal already, little did I know that my flight back would be even worse.
Romy picked my up with her awesome Walshie sign and we drove through the “deserted” streets. Still packed with cars for me but in the following days I would learn what real Indian traffic looks like.
We went to bed at 5am and got up at 8am. Figured out that both of us get up early no matter what. It's nice to know I'm not alone with this problem/habit.
Sunday was spent at the vet which was surprising for me. Our vets are not open on Saturday and Sunday. We waited for quite a while but certain dog's behaviours kept us entertained. Especially to mention is a dog which constantly had to sniff on other dog's asses. We lovingly called him Sniffer.
On Monday morning at 10am we went to see The Lovely Bones. 10Am? Yeah. To quote Romy “It's all about the new experiences.” Adding to those also my first salty popcorn. Still not a fan of popcorn itself but the salty is definitely better than the sweet sugary stuff we get at our local cinema.
Other Indian experiences included a home cooked meal at the grandparents, visiting a bazaar and getting to the medical store for band aids all by myself without being run over by cars, autos or motorbikes.
Another cultural experience to add to this list is the visit of a theatre play called Robinson & Crusoe. Really funny and interesting play which was adapted in cooperation with Germany.
Also, we spent 3 days in the jungle!
Our little tented hut was called Spotted Dove and was really cute. We arrived there at noon the first day and went onto our first safari at 4pm the same day. It started slow and we got to see some deer and birds. Then all of a sudden our driver started racing through the jungle, which did not have any streets but dirt roads. I was sitting at the very rear of the car and was all covered in dust very soon. All I thought was “We're going to crash! Ow my butt! Help!”
Turned out the other group had spotted 4 tiger cubs! And we were now on our way to them. It was amazing even though they were quite far away. So cute!
Back at the camp we only had light in our hut from 6pm to 10:30pm and hot water from 8:30am to 10:30am. I was so glad I had brought my torch because even during the day it was pretty dark in our bathroom.
When I was in the bathroom the next morning, a huge spider sat under the toilet seat. All I saw were the long legs reaching out at the sides. Ewww! Romy was brave enough to get that thing out on a towel while I was standing in a corner squealing. But Momma Spider was not our only visitor. Later that day while Romy took a shower - I refused to spent more time than needed in the bathroom with spiders and hell we're in a freaking jungle, who needs a shower - she found a frog and a lizard staring at her. They later also led to the following: While I was already in bed cursing the light - since there wasn't a switch anywhere and I can't sleep when blinded by some energy saving bulb - I heard Romy scream in the bathroom followed by a “Dude!”. Me: What's happening? Romy: Frog. Apparently my paranoia is contagious. That night I slept with one of Momma Spiders kids sitting right next to my pillow which I only found in the morning when it was staring at me as I opened my eyes. Spiders really seem so like me.
Concerning all the clumsiness we feared to face, I can report good news. No one got seriously hurt. The cows let us alone and didn't do any chasing. We got almost chased by an elephant but luckily that one was on a chain. We both tripped and hit our heads but other than some bruised no bigger injuries can be reported. I have to add though that Romy's lucky number is 3 whereas I always tripped or hit my head 4 times in a row. Guess Romy is still some numbers ahead of me though.
The flight back was rather annoying since I had a layover of 6 hours in Doha. I had fries for breakfast at 6:30am local time which fits the whole motto of the trip “New experiences”. I was glad to meet Margarethe from Bali who lives in Germany and so had a companion to spend the 6 hours with.
When I arrived in Frankfurt I had been awake for almost 40 hours and just wanted to catch my trains and fall into my bed. Carried all my stuff through the airport to get to the train station. So tired and exhausted. Shortly before my train was supposed to arrive they announced that it was delayed 30 minutes. This meant there was no chance to catch my next train at Frankfurt Main Station in 20 minutes, which was also the last train on this day to go to Göttingen. Panic!!!
My tired brain started to race. Bus? Another train? Certainly not in time to get there. Then it hit me. Taxi! Only thing was I only had about 10 Euros and otherwise only US Dollars in my wallet. Grabbed all my luggage and ran up the stairs again into the airport. Changed my money. Ran further following the taxi signs, up stairs, along hallways, down stairs, outside. Told the taxi driver he had 10 minutes to get me to the station. We flew through Frankfurt and made it in time. Ran trough the station and got the train. Heart racing, head pounding and still sick from the plane because apparently sleep deprivation leads to motion sickness in my case.
When I was home I had been awake for 43 hours and just fell into my bed.
It was a great trip and we had so much fun! India is now definitely #2 on my list of loved countries. Sorry, but South Africa will always own my heart :P
Pictures can be found here
Romy picked my up with her awesome Walshie sign and we drove through the “deserted” streets. Still packed with cars for me but in the following days I would learn what real Indian traffic looks like.
We went to bed at 5am and got up at 8am. Figured out that both of us get up early no matter what. It's nice to know I'm not alone with this problem/habit.
Sunday was spent at the vet which was surprising for me. Our vets are not open on Saturday and Sunday. We waited for quite a while but certain dog's behaviours kept us entertained. Especially to mention is a dog which constantly had to sniff on other dog's asses. We lovingly called him Sniffer.
On Monday morning at 10am we went to see The Lovely Bones. 10Am? Yeah. To quote Romy “It's all about the new experiences.” Adding to those also my first salty popcorn. Still not a fan of popcorn itself but the salty is definitely better than the sweet sugary stuff we get at our local cinema.
Other Indian experiences included a home cooked meal at the grandparents, visiting a bazaar and getting to the medical store for band aids all by myself without being run over by cars, autos or motorbikes.
Another cultural experience to add to this list is the visit of a theatre play called Robinson & Crusoe. Really funny and interesting play which was adapted in cooperation with Germany.
Also, we spent 3 days in the jungle!
Our little tented hut was called Spotted Dove and was really cute. We arrived there at noon the first day and went onto our first safari at 4pm the same day. It started slow and we got to see some deer and birds. Then all of a sudden our driver started racing through the jungle, which did not have any streets but dirt roads. I was sitting at the very rear of the car and was all covered in dust very soon. All I thought was “We're going to crash! Ow my butt! Help!”
Turned out the other group had spotted 4 tiger cubs! And we were now on our way to them. It was amazing even though they were quite far away. So cute!
Back at the camp we only had light in our hut from 6pm to 10:30pm and hot water from 8:30am to 10:30am. I was so glad I had brought my torch because even during the day it was pretty dark in our bathroom.
When I was in the bathroom the next morning, a huge spider sat under the toilet seat. All I saw were the long legs reaching out at the sides. Ewww! Romy was brave enough to get that thing out on a towel while I was standing in a corner squealing. But Momma Spider was not our only visitor. Later that day while Romy took a shower - I refused to spent more time than needed in the bathroom with spiders and hell we're in a freaking jungle, who needs a shower - she found a frog and a lizard staring at her. They later also led to the following: While I was already in bed cursing the light - since there wasn't a switch anywhere and I can't sleep when blinded by some energy saving bulb - I heard Romy scream in the bathroom followed by a “Dude!”. Me: What's happening? Romy: Frog. Apparently my paranoia is contagious. That night I slept with one of Momma Spiders kids sitting right next to my pillow which I only found in the morning when it was staring at me as I opened my eyes. Spiders really seem so like me.
Concerning all the clumsiness we feared to face, I can report good news. No one got seriously hurt. The cows let us alone and didn't do any chasing. We got almost chased by an elephant but luckily that one was on a chain. We both tripped and hit our heads but other than some bruised no bigger injuries can be reported. I have to add though that Romy's lucky number is 3 whereas I always tripped or hit my head 4 times in a row. Guess Romy is still some numbers ahead of me though.
The flight back was rather annoying since I had a layover of 6 hours in Doha. I had fries for breakfast at 6:30am local time which fits the whole motto of the trip “New experiences”. I was glad to meet Margarethe from Bali who lives in Germany and so had a companion to spend the 6 hours with.
When I arrived in Frankfurt I had been awake for almost 40 hours and just wanted to catch my trains and fall into my bed. Carried all my stuff through the airport to get to the train station. So tired and exhausted. Shortly before my train was supposed to arrive they announced that it was delayed 30 minutes. This meant there was no chance to catch my next train at Frankfurt Main Station in 20 minutes, which was also the last train on this day to go to Göttingen. Panic!!!
My tired brain started to race. Bus? Another train? Certainly not in time to get there. Then it hit me. Taxi! Only thing was I only had about 10 Euros and otherwise only US Dollars in my wallet. Grabbed all my luggage and ran up the stairs again into the airport. Changed my money. Ran further following the taxi signs, up stairs, along hallways, down stairs, outside. Told the taxi driver he had 10 minutes to get me to the station. We flew through Frankfurt and made it in time. Ran trough the station and got the train. Heart racing, head pounding and still sick from the plane because apparently sleep deprivation leads to motion sickness in my case.
When I was home I had been awake for 43 hours and just fell into my bed.
It was a great trip and we had so much fun! India is now definitely #2 on my list of loved countries. Sorry, but South Africa will always own my heart :P
Pictures can be found here