1968 - 2009

Day 80 Delhi

10:22 am. Cafe Barista. Lavazza coffee - what a treat to get good quality coffee; chicken calzone (with cheese), almond muffin. Good service too (unlike Cafe Day across the road).

8:29 pm. All packed - spent most of the day trying to buy a new bag for all my junk. Some last postcards. The one I got in Manali failed - zip broke. Problem is in Delhi either the bags are far too cheap or far too expensive. Went for the latter. Taxi booked to IGI airport at 9 pm - but I'll believe that when I see it actually turn up at the hotel.

10:30 pm. Indira Gandhi International airport- after much hassle extricating myself from the hotel. Based on a sample of five hotels, the Indian hotels seem pretty disorganised. Subway sandwich, coke, crisps with my final rupees. A lot of hanging around until my flight. A comic moment when some USA dude puts ketchup on his chocolate cake, thinking the former was some sort of chocolate sauce (despite red colour!). Will be glad to get rid of the bags. Usual airport dilemma: do I go through security and find there's no food the other side, or stay here where at least there's a Subway? Apart from a few English signs, could be anywhere in the world. And a squashed grasshopper thing on the floor.

On the plane: 4186 miles to LHR. BA0142 departing 2:10 am. 8 hours and 32 minutes to go. Seems funny to have got here by road from Istanbul...

Day 79 Delhi

1:55 pm. Barista cafe, New Delhi (Connaught Place); difficult to find by myself. Basically walked around at random. Finding India a bit annoying: typified thus: 6:50 am and someone was trying to get into my hotel room, then buzzed the door buzzer on the room - why? Later today the rickshaw driver wants to take me to his brother's shop - I go along, not too much else to do - but the place is predictably expensive - I mean silly expensive like $40 for some Earl Grey tea - more expensive than Fortnum and Masons. I tell the truth and eventually get to where I wanted to go (Connaught Place).

Day 78 Delhi

10:40 pm. Text this morning at 10:30 am from T saying she's at the Turtle Cafe having coffee with Mel; quick shower then went across in a rickshaw - cafe is in the Khan Market district, and is really nice. Good cakes and good coffee in a bookshop on three floors. Spent the rest of the day shopping for jeans(!). Interspersed with coffee and tea stops etc. The thing about buying jeans here is that they are all sold in a long size - labour is cheap enough here to have the jeans tailored to fit one's leg length. Tut tut back to the hotel; said my goodbyes and goodlucks to T and Mel. Now back in the Mohan International hotel.

Day 77 Delhi

Hotel lobby - it's 6:31 am, after a (pointless) night spent on the Hot Rock bus. Mosquito net deployed last night. Delhi station is as busy at 2 am as it is at 2 pm - just no difference in the number of people or what they seem to be doing. But there's no truck security during the day. Anyway, I'm here in the lobby, waiting with the keen newbies. The plan is to go climbing at the Old / New rocks here in Delhi. Hopefully might get some breakfast at some point too.

11 am. Bouldering at New Rocks, located in the Garden of the Five Senses at Said-ul-Ajaib. Still not much of a fan of bouldering - just did a couple of problems.

6:50 pm. Moved to my new hotel, the imposingly named Mohan International; in reality a bit crappy but better than the last place. Good climbing to day - New Rocks bouldering - okay but not my cup of tea; thence (after ice cream and Pepsi - whoops there goes my food budget!) we went to Old Rocks at Lado Sarai in Delhi. Very short sandstone cliffs - the sort of thing which looks a lot better in the guidebook than it perhaps is in real life. But it's climbing nonetheless. Climbed the arete - a couple of nice moves near the top. Owen led the arete further right at an impressive E4 6a or so - run out to the first friends (small) at 15 feet. Then the monsoon rains started at 3 pm. I had to scramble back up to retrieve the gear I'd left for a top rope problem. Scary enough trying to scramble back up - but even worse trying to get down - slippery sandstone covered in a flood of hot running water.

Hope to go out tonight to a good food place - called the Big Chill, with T, Mel and a few of the other nice people.

Day 76 Delhi

My last day on Hot Rock today - hooray! Sadly decided to forego the climbing this morning - too ill, although now (it's 9:50 am) don't feel quite so fragile / revoluted. I think that's the first day's climbing I've ever missed due to illness. On truck security tonight - interestingly I am told that it starts at midnight - but my time on Hot Rock ends at midnight.

9 pm and back at the hotel. A good day doing a dot to dot thing in Delhi (the nice bit); where for 'dot' read coffee / tea / cake shop. Avoided the coffee though. Bought some T shirts and cheap shoes. Truck duty awaits - needless to say the idea of spending my last night with Hot Rock sleeping on a bus in Delhi train station lacks appeal. At least it is my last night with Hot Rock.

Day 75 Delhi

Friday I think. 11:20 am. Found a great coffee shop in Delhi - in Connaught place, called Barista - one of a chain I think. Serves proper Lavazza; almond muffins. Very happy now. Especially after yesterday's climbing.

6 pm. Back at the hotel - after a great day with T, Mel, and Geoff; but should keep off the coffee - cannot handle it - I guess since (amongst other things) is probably 3 or 4 weeks since my last (strong) coffee. Saw a lot of kite flying near India Gate. There's talk of climbing tomorrow - at the Old / New Rocks in Delhi (not far away this time, also called Lado Sarai I think). Would be awesome - if the weather is good - it was okay today.

8:10 pm and we are at the Maa Bhagwat resturant. Urine smelling large cupboard would be a more accurate description of the place. T has made further comments about the food quality on Hot Rock - she has explained to Duncan that the budget is not enough. People who are sick (and there are 4 or 5 now in the group), need rice, chicken, clean water: one simply cannot buy this for the allotted 50 rupees a day. Those of us who can / want to, supplement our diets. To put the money in perspective, 50 rupees will get about 2 litres of bottled water. If I survive tonight's meal, I'll be up at 6:30 am for climbing at Old / New Rocks.