No travel blog this....

My trip to delhi was nothing short of an adventure. Going all the way to delhi for an entrance exam is itself an ordeal. But the Rajdhani experience and the company of friends somehow compensated for the trouble at least one way. The return was a disaster though.
The AIIMS entrance was a tough fight. I don’t really care about the results, all that mattered is giving the exam. The exam was an eye- opener, I could really gauge my level of knowledge. The trouble began after the exam.

4.15 pm : My waitlisted ticket for the Rajdhani had dropped from 218 to 1 AND STAYED AT THAT. It was highly irritating to see my number waitlisted at 1 and I was even more frustrated when the TC ( THE DUMB GUY) said that I couldnt even board the train. It was a frantic run to the ticket counter to cancel it.

4.29 pm : There I encountered shady touts who were scrambling around whispering “reservation, cancellation, kidhar jaana hai?, confirmed milega”. Not wanting to pay them 500 bucks extra for a ticket , I decided to cancel it myself and stand in queue for another round to book a ticket for my journey back home. That was when I was enlightened by the ticketing clerk that all trains were packed till the next day.

5 :30 pm : Im stranded at New Delhi railway station with my luggage. Ok plan B – Air travel. I started looking for a travel agency. New Delhi – the capital of India has no travel agencies close to its railway station. Only touts hanging around. I was in for a bigger surprise though. I walked for a good ten minutes and found all shops closed ( it was a Sunday) and people getting stranger by the second. The only shop open was a Beer bar. A few paces later a skinny guy approached me “ saab, time pass karma hai kya? Jo chahiye who milega, nepali, telegu tamil , malu, gujju, 15 se leke 26 saal ke umar tak milega, acchi ladkiya hai saab. Dekhne ka paisa nahi saab, bas ek baar dekh to lo” It took me only one second to realize where I was and only half a more to turn around and run. I had unknowingly ventured into a red light area.

6.00 pm : Finally found an agency and booked a ticket, but now he tells me that he wont accept a credit card. I run to locate the nearest SBI ATM and stand in queue (man I hate these queues). I rush back to him only to find the tickets ready but not the taxi to take me to the airport. A good fifteen minutes later , the travel guy arranges a vehicle for me and Im off.

6.40 pm. : I have to reach the airport by 7 pm and the driver is trying to do his best, but you cant really fly out of traffic can you? ( not yet). Just when I was thinking that nothing more could go wrong, the car came to a halt bang in the middle of the highway. A few jerks and pushes later it finally relented and the driver sped off

7.00 pm : I am at the airport on time , but my flight is delayed ( yes I took an AIR INDIA flight). So its another long wait.

9 15 pm : flight takes off.

11 .45 pm : Im out at Bombay airport, where I discover that Taxis and rickshaws charge you a bomb to take you anywhere. More money leaks from wallet.

1 .00 am : Im home and I crash.