Monday & Tuesday January 27-28 —Day 14 & 15
(Overnight train back to Delhi)
Today was the last full day of our trip. I went out to
breakfast with the group and had a delicious pineapple lassi (with fresh
pineapple) and a Nutella banana pancake. The pancake was rolled around a warm
banana then drizzled with Nutella. Not a bad way to start the day!
After doing some last minute shopping and browsing through
the markets, we headed back to the hotel, played some cards and relaxed in the sun.
The night before, our tour guide surprised us and told us
that we’d be going to an Indian wedding reception on our last night here! So
after packing up the last of our bags (and I swear, my bags gained at least 10
pounds on the trip!), we hopped in our mini-bus and headed for the reception. As
awkward as it was to be the white foreigners coming into a person’s wedding
reception, it was a great way to end our trip. As soon as we walked in, we were
surrounded with food. A popcorn machine on one table, a cotton candy machine on
another….waiters coming around with tomato soup. And the women in their beautiful
saris and salwar kameezes were another sight to be seen! Beautiful pink and
gold saris, high high heels, and all the gold jewelry you could imagine! If I
have a few million dollars lying around when I get married, I definitely choose
to do an Indian one!
After saying goodbye to one of the Australian couples on our
trip, who were going to do some more traveling around before heading home, we
headed to the train station and prepared ourselves for a long overnight train
experience back to New Delhi.
We ended up getting seats/beds in a 3-tiered, overnight
train. Not the most comfortable sleep I’ve had, trying to scrounge up to the
top tier but managed to sleep a few hours. When we got back to Delhi, I took a
nice hot shower in the hotel, had some breakfast then said my goodbyes to the
group. Since I had accumulated so many gifts and bags on my trip, I decided to
take a car back to my flat. I thought I would have an easy car ride back, but
I’m in New Delhi after all! The driver had me stop at two shops, not for a
commission but apparently for petrol (gas) coupons. I was too tired to care or
to argue with him at that point, so I just went along with it. By the time I
got home, I tried watching a movie, but only got 30 minutes into it before I
fell asleep for the next 8 hours!
This trip was exhausting but one of the best trips I’ve had.
Travel always makes for a bonding experience and this was no exception. As a
solo traveler, I could’ve gotten stuck with some not so nice people on my trip,
but I lucked out and was able to share my two week trip around Rajasthan with
some remarkable people. We all had gotten close over the past two weeks and it
was sad to see everyone go. I’m going to miss them!
Hearing about everyone’s experiences and stories has really
made me think about life, but in particular, my bucket list. Being surrounded
with world travelers certainly helps when you’re trying to plan your next trip!
As for my next trip, I’m thinking a trip around Europe for a few weeks :)
