Well, this last month has been a bit of a whirlwind to say the least. From the highs of having visitors and the excitement that brings, to the sadness of a loss we knew was coming but was heart-breaking, nonetheless. But first the positives and the story of the busy month that was….
I am used to being alone in my apartment here in Delhi. It is just large enough to be spacious, but not too large to be cavernous. I feel at home here, and it is my refuge from the hustle and bustle of daily life in India. So having a full month of other people living here with me was a change to my normal, somewhat peaceful, routine. In a good way.
Jen arrived on the 11th March for two weeks, with a rough plan to have a first week with a spot of tourism ourselves, and the second week to both be mostly working and just getting on with life in Delhi as normal; Jen working remotely, and me actually having a work conference here for most of that second week. This also meant having other visitors in town – we had dinner with Stephanie and Jonathan from Gatwick on the Tuesday in fact, and I knew a few other people here who I met up with in the days. From months of solitude and expat camaraderie only, to suddenly having a city full of people I knew!
In parallel my friend Will (of former Indian backpacking fame from 20 years ago), his wife Helen and their two kids Ben and Clara (“Maisy Mayhem”) arrived on the 16th March for 3 weeks as part of their months long travelling sabbatical, with India being their first stop. There was an overlap therefore with Jen being here and so the apartment had 6 of us all living here together for a period. It was nice to have the place positively buzzing with life after usually being so quiet!
Before Will and clan arrived though Jen and I took a couple of days out to travel to Kerala in the south of India, to coincide with her birthday. A new destination for both of us, and following recommendations from friends – as is the best way in India – we found a good hotel and just spent two easy days relaxing and exploring the historical area of Kochi. So far it is probably my favourite part of India in terms of tourism destinations. Relatively clean (note the word ‘relatively’..), pretty friendly and some nice old style architecture to see. Plus, the hotel was cool, being an old colonial building that had been renovated into a hotel but keeping its original charm. The swimming pool doubled as a water station for a multitude of birds, and hoards of Mosquito’s also seemed to find the place appealing in the evenings too…
The little old town area was small enough to walk around and we soon found a quirky plant based café which served some good lunches, in a nice courtyard vibe. Lunch day one, and lunch day two taken care of.
One evident sight there was the sheer amount of street dogs. At one point a serious discussion was had about adopting a little young pup that seemed to be cowering in one spot having seen her a few times. That evening we were weighing up the practicalities of actually getting her to Delhi, then onwards to the UK, which would have been a challenge but not impossible. However, on day two, the pup had moved on so the plan didn’t need to become a little more serious. Thankfully we had been told that there is a good support network for the stray dogs in the area with food, water and medical aid being given by a multitude of like-minded volunteers. Probably a good thing, as bringing ‘Kochi’ (as we had named her) back would have been hard work to say the least!
Kerala is one of the places I have been to in India that I genuinely intend to revisit. The done thing is to go out on boats around the jungle backwaters there – something we did not have time to do on this trip, but one for the future.
The day after we returned, Will, Helen and co arrived – the “Flanagan clan”! I had arranged for the minions to meet them at the gate and escort them through the terminal to where I was waiting. After a 15 hour flight from Montreal, arriving later in the evening was ideal as it meant they could just come back to the apartment and crash out. Which subsequently happened, following a brief tour of the rooms and the guidance on how to deal with the dishwasher of doom (you cannot touch the metal parts without getting a small electric shock – adds to the character), and the strict advice on how to cope with the water for washing/teeth etc etc.
Thankfully over the 3 weeks (plus a cheeky unexpected extra two days – more on that later), there were only a few ‘tummy troubles’ with Ben and Clara both being affected at different times. Thankfully though it was fairly limited in terms of single days rather than being completely wiped out so manageable and given the potential for illness here, I class that as getting away with it lightly!
Given the length of time they were here my perspective was simply ‘mi casa es su casa’. i.e. make yourselves at home, crack on, and treat it as your place to come and go as you wish. We did manage to get some joined up tourism activity together, and the Pint Room was frequented frequently (along with terrace beers too).
They are a very easy going family and this meant they could sort themselves out well and soon got into a rhythm of life in Delhi, going to the shops, jumping in Rickshaws and negotiating their way around without any bother. It will have been an incredibly valuable experience for the kids – witnessing such a foreign lifestyle compared to their home in Canada. The memories and life experience from such will always be remembered in the distant memories of their childhood when they are older I am sure.
The first weekend, while Jen was also here, we all took a trip out to Old Delhi. An area I had not been to since coming here this time, although Will and I had been there while we were backpacking 20 years ago. Delhi basically consists of OId Delhi and New Delhi, both of which do what they say on the tin. The New Delhi region was purpose built as the Capital city by the British early in the 20th century. It is generally well laid out, with wide streets and a sensible structure spanning out from the capital buildings in the centre. In an Indian context I now find New Delhi relatively calm compared to other cities in India, being more organised and less chaotic in certain ways. I find myself almost breathing a sigh of relief when I get back to here following trips to other parts. Which is such a change from my original times here, where even this modern part of India would have seemed so alien.
Old Delhi however is the polar opposite. It dates back to the early 17th century and has evolved over the centuries into a very characteristic mish mash of streets, with all the Indian hustle and bustle people imagine when thinking of India. Simply put it is hard work, with throngs of people, and plenty of grime and grunge to cope with.
Additionally, it is one of those places where safety is less and strong advice to watch out for pickpockets and the like is given. I am not saying it is a hotbed of crime, and the charm and character of the people there when you look past the first impressions is amiable. We took a couple of cycle rickshaws to explore the inner zones, as cars are not able to reach, and the chap working hard to peddle us around spoke reasonable English and was very friendly indeed.
Plus it is not every day you get to see some sheep in a Rickshaw…
It is my major counsel with India – don’t treat initial impressions as the true story. I am sure the warmth and comradery of the Old Delhi inhabitants is strong and a real sense of community exists. But for ‘white tourists’ like us it is a major culture shock, and should be experienced, despite the challenges.
I actually arranged for Stephanie from Gatwick to go visit it with a guide while she had a spare afternoon following the conference. Her feedback to me; “Well, that was interesting”.
Which is what India is overall – interesting and alien in equal measure for those of us not used to such a lifestyle.
The following week, the Flanagan clan departed for a few days with trusty driver Pawan for a tour round the triangle that is Agra (Taj Mahal), Ranthambore national park (Tiger spotting), and Jaipur (the Pink city), leaving Monday and returning Saturday which was deliberately timed to enable Jen and I to work. Then when they were here for the subsequent two weeks, they could have free reign of the apartment without any need to juggle work and play.
That week Jen and I discovered The Piano Man Jazz Club. This came about as a result of me sitting behind some musicians on a flight a couple weeks earlier, who were doing their very best to ensure everyone on the plane knew they were in a band. This piqued my curiosity to see who they were and finding the clubs info having heard them talking about it – loudly. Needless to say, I’d never heard of the band, but the club looked good and at about £6 entry and a 10 minute taxi drive to get there it was worth a look. Highly recommended and will be going back – small and intimate yet good food and drinks overlooking a small stage area with local musicians performing.
Jen returned to the UK the following day and a few hours later the Flanagan clan returned from their mini trip. We got into the patter of routine for the next few weeks, with them finding a nice balance of just living in Delhi home-schooling the kids and soaking up life here, while also getting out and about to do some exploring also.
The first weekend of April, we all went off to Jodhpur for a few days, with me flying out with them on the Saturday morning and returning the Sunday afternoon due to needing to work on the Monday, with them remaining till the Monday night and taking the night train back to Delhi.
10 hours on a train in a first class private cabin was quite the experience apparently! My 50 minute flight was quicker for sure, but doing a train journey in India is certainly something not to be missed at some point during travels here.
Jodhpur was another place I really liked – very much India but being a city on the edge of the desert with an imposing fort atop the mountain nestled in the centre makes it a unique place to visit. Another place I would go back to again.
Plus, they had zip wires next to the fort, which was rude not to do – quite a backdrop for zipping over the ramparts and the treetops.
Additionally the city has a Stepwell which is basically a deep ornate well area which the locals seemed to finding jumping into a fun (albeit prohibited) pastime…
For me personally that weekend was harder to deal with due to the events going on at home at the same time, but it was good to be keeping busy. Although the timing of going back to Delhi by myself and having Monday 3rd April alone was perfect really as it enabled me to deal with it myself. I worked from home that day too as couldn’t face being in the office knowing what was happening. I’ll talk about this later.
Finally on the Thursday the time had come for the clan to depart for Australia, the next stop on their journey. We all bundled into the car and I delivered them into the care of the minions to assist them with their passage through the airport. It was sad to see them go, as it has been a long time since we last met and likely a long time till we’ll meet again (“Don’t know where, don’t know when..”). The kids had drawn me an amazing picture montage of their time in India which I will keep and frame when I get the chance.
What I wasn’t expecting was to get a call a little later saying there was a problem, as they didn’t realise they needed visas for Australia so couldn’t get on the flight.. Much shenanigans ensued, and they were rebooked for two days later. Hence the unexpected two day extension to the journey occurred, and it meant Will and I had a Friday night Pint Room session which wasn’t in the original plan. Still, they got off eventually and I know they are now safely down in Australia on part two of their journey.
And so now I am back into the routine of my normal Delhi life. I’ve re-arranged the apartment back to suit my solo life here, and even brought the treadmill inside into the living room. It is close to 40 degrees outside now, so I will certainly not be using it if it stays out on the terrace. However, moving it seems to have damaged a sensor as I can’t get it to start now. A repair call out may be in order, which could be an interesting experience here!
Tomorrow night I head off to Europe on business for the coming week, and then I am tagging some leave back at home for the week after. It will be so nice to be home again after all that has gone on these last few weeks.
And so to the sad news. I will not write much on this now, as I intend to pay homage in a more complete way when I am ready. But sadly my little old dog Bailey took his final journey on the 3rd April. He had lived a good and happy life of 17 years and 3 months – a very old age in doggy years. His health had been deteriorating for a while and the time had come. For the last week we kind of knew it was the right time, and as much as I was hoping he would survive until I got back to the UK, sadly this couldn’t happen as he stopped eating and all the signs were he was ready to go. He passed very peacefully with Sally and her Dad with him. I was thankfully alone that Monday evening and spent the time I knew he was going sitting in my bedroom facing the direction where he was.
I had thought to jump on an urgent flight back to be there too, but he turned so quickly it was nearly impossible to do, plus he had reached a phase where he didn’t really know what was going on around him. He wasn’t distressed, just living in his own little world of doggy dementia, something he had been on medication for, for a few years already. As hard as it is I am focusing on his happy life, and the fact that he didn’t pass unexpectedly or prematurely. He is survived by his younger little partner in crime, Barney. And I can’t wait to get home and see him.
Sleep well my beautiful boy. You will always be with me.
JC in India 
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