Day 254 - Last Day in Udaipur - Flight to Delhi
Monday, March 18, 2019.
Today we woke up late, had a late breakfast and thought we could just hang around our apartment all morning. But no, they wanted us to check out because someone else booked the place! I was upset because I thought it was going to be a long wait for our 8:00pm flight. Well, I was mistaken, it wasn't that bad at all.
We finished getting ready and checked out around noon, then we spent about an hour by the front desk checking our email and doing homework. After that, it was time to go pick up Gregory's vest at the tailor. Guess what? it was ready but it didn't fit as well as he wanted, so we had to leave it to get fixed (you can imagine how nervous I was). [Gregory's note: hey, when you order a bespoke garment, it has to be perfect! Otherwise, you buy off the shelf and deal with it. But Lili was afraid it wouldn't be ready in time.]
We walked to a cute cafe on the lake called HelloBoho!. We had a delicious lunch (that took half an hour to prepare) and enjoyed the free wifi until it was time to pick up Gregory's vest. It was ready and he was thrilled. [Gregory's note: they even put on matching buttons! More importantly, Lili was relieved.]
I wanted to stay in the tailor shop because he had a nice couch and air conditioning but we still had to get some food for the plane and withdraw more cash. I don't know why I relaxed so much, but we stopped in many stores doing our last shopping so I freaked out when I looked at my watch. It was time to go back to the palace and get a ride to the airport. I didn't realize we were that far but it seemed further than before. Maybe because I was anxious to get to the airport.
Once we got to the hostel, we still needed to get a tuk-tuk to bring us down to the main road where we could actually get a car. I asked the guy at the front desk to call someone because we were just standing there and time was passing by. I get upset in situations like this -- we had so much time, but we left the last details for the last minute. I mean, why didn't we tell these guys that we needed a tuk-tuk at a certain time? [Gregory's note: because they wouldn't have done anything about it until we were standing there asking them to call a tuk-tuk. Does Lili think she's in the US?] In any case, the tuk-tuk came at 5:30 and drove us down for the last time (Thank God) through the super narrow roads. [Gregory's note: and I filmed my last episode of Streets of India: Fury Road.]
The tuk-tuk dropped us at another market and I got excited to see so many more options for skirts and bags. While Gregory got Uber, I browsed in the stores until Sunshine pointed out a beggar with no arms or legs. I told Sunshine to please not point out things like that because they affect me deeply. I started to cry and told her to bring him money. She was hesitant. She asked, "How is he going to grab the money?" I said, "With his mouth."
When she walked over to him, I saw the man didn't know what to do. I thought he was going to open the mouth to take the money. Instead, he opened his blanket revealing his intact arms and legs. He grabbed the money with a perfectly good hand. Lesson learned. [Gregory's note: I'm still wondering what lesson she learned!?]
Today we woke up late, had a late breakfast and thought we could just hang around our apartment all morning. But no, they wanted us to check out because someone else booked the place! I was upset because I thought it was going to be a long wait for our 8:00pm flight. Well, I was mistaken, it wasn't that bad at all.
We finished getting ready and checked out around noon, then we spent about an hour by the front desk checking our email and doing homework. After that, it was time to go pick up Gregory's vest at the tailor. Guess what? it was ready but it didn't fit as well as he wanted, so we had to leave it to get fixed (you can imagine how nervous I was). [Gregory's note: hey, when you order a bespoke garment, it has to be perfect! Otherwise, you buy off the shelf and deal with it. But Lili was afraid it wouldn't be ready in time.]
We walked to a cute cafe on the lake called HelloBoho!. We had a delicious lunch (that took half an hour to prepare) and enjoyed the free wifi until it was time to pick up Gregory's vest. It was ready and he was thrilled. [Gregory's note: they even put on matching buttons! More importantly, Lili was relieved.]
I wanted to stay in the tailor shop because he had a nice couch and air conditioning but we still had to get some food for the plane and withdraw more cash. I don't know why I relaxed so much, but we stopped in many stores doing our last shopping so I freaked out when I looked at my watch. It was time to go back to the palace and get a ride to the airport. I didn't realize we were that far but it seemed further than before. Maybe because I was anxious to get to the airport.
Once we got to the hostel, we still needed to get a tuk-tuk to bring us down to the main road where we could actually get a car. I asked the guy at the front desk to call someone because we were just standing there and time was passing by. I get upset in situations like this -- we had so much time, but we left the last details for the last minute. I mean, why didn't we tell these guys that we needed a tuk-tuk at a certain time? [Gregory's note: because they wouldn't have done anything about it until we were standing there asking them to call a tuk-tuk. Does Lili think she's in the US?] In any case, the tuk-tuk came at 5:30 and drove us down for the last time (Thank God) through the super narrow roads. [Gregory's note: and I filmed my last episode of Streets of India: Fury Road.]
The tuk-tuk dropped us at another market and I got excited to see so many more options for skirts and bags. While Gregory got Uber, I browsed in the stores until Sunshine pointed out a beggar with no arms or legs. I told Sunshine to please not point out things like that because they affect me deeply. I started to cry and told her to bring him money. She was hesitant. She asked, "How is he going to grab the money?" I said, "With his mouth."
When she walked over to him, I saw the man didn't know what to do. I thought he was going to open the mouth to take the money. Instead, he opened his blanket revealing his intact arms and legs. He grabbed the money with a perfectly good hand. Lesson learned. [Gregory's note: I'm still wondering what lesson she learned!?]
After that, I went to a store looking for the purse that I have been wanting to buy from the beginning of the trip but that I didn't want to carry. I found one and guess what? I didn't have enough cash because I gave it to the beggar. I was upset but Daniel made me see that the beggar needed the money more than I did. I negotiated with the sale person and got the bag for the amount I had! Right after that, the Uber driver was waiting across the street. Gregory ran after the car and I prayed that he wouldn't get run over! [Gregory's note: spoiler alert -- I'm still here, editing. There's so much traffic, the drivers can't go fast enough to do any damage.]
When we all got in the air-conditioned car, I finally gave a sigh of relief. It still took almost an hour to get to the airport, but I knew that this was almost the end of our stay in India.
We made it to the airport on time and I was thrilled to be there. We waited for a while and then they announced that our 8:30pm flight was delayed. I wanted to cry but I reminded myself that it was our last day. My stomach was bothering me as well, so I just wanted to rest and be in my hotel bed!
The plane arrived half an hour late, it wasn’t bad at all. The flight was dicey according to Gregory and Daniel but I didn’t notice because I fell asleep. Thank God. [Gregory's note: I have to admit, it was the first time I have ever been afraid in a plane. It was a little prop-engine, and the way the pilot turned, slowed, and dropped made me keenly aware of the sometimes-unfounded or unearned trust we place in pilots!]
We finally landed at the big New Delhi airport. We picked up our suitcases and went outside to request an Uber. Gregory knows the procedure and we all waited patiently for Uber which takes a while. The driver took us to our hotel, which was located in a huge cluster of hotels in a place called AeroCity. It was listed as a 3-star hotel. In reality, it was more like two! Our room had a huge king bed and a twin bed. We were upset because it was midnight, we were exhausted, and we still needed another bed. The hotel manager told us that three people could sleep in the big bed! I wanted to smack him but instead, we asked for an extra bed, and they brought a mattress that they made up on the floor. We all fell asleep immediately. I didn’t even want to think about what we had to do tomorrow morning.
For pictures please click here
https://photos.app.goo.gl/PjBzoGkT6x3cxn6f7
When we all got in the air-conditioned car, I finally gave a sigh of relief. It still took almost an hour to get to the airport, but I knew that this was almost the end of our stay in India.
We made it to the airport on time and I was thrilled to be there. We waited for a while and then they announced that our 8:30pm flight was delayed. I wanted to cry but I reminded myself that it was our last day. My stomach was bothering me as well, so I just wanted to rest and be in my hotel bed!
The plane arrived half an hour late, it wasn’t bad at all. The flight was dicey according to Gregory and Daniel but I didn’t notice because I fell asleep. Thank God. [Gregory's note: I have to admit, it was the first time I have ever been afraid in a plane. It was a little prop-engine, and the way the pilot turned, slowed, and dropped made me keenly aware of the sometimes-unfounded or unearned trust we place in pilots!]
We finally landed at the big New Delhi airport. We picked up our suitcases and went outside to request an Uber. Gregory knows the procedure and we all waited patiently for Uber which takes a while. The driver took us to our hotel, which was located in a huge cluster of hotels in a place called AeroCity. It was listed as a 3-star hotel. In reality, it was more like two! Our room had a huge king bed and a twin bed. We were upset because it was midnight, we were exhausted, and we still needed another bed. The hotel manager told us that three people could sleep in the big bed! I wanted to smack him but instead, we asked for an extra bed, and they brought a mattress that they made up on the floor. We all fell asleep immediately. I didn’t even want to think about what we had to do tomorrow morning.
For pictures please click here
https://photos.app.goo.gl/PjBzoGkT6x3cxn6f7
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