1. - 22 December 2001: Start of trip to Southern India

Arrive Delhi at 2300hrs by Air France. This has been a troubled flight plan. We were supposed to fly with our miles via Sabena, which had a direct Brussels-Chennai flight, but Sabena went bankrupt a few weeks ago and we had to re-route ourselves via Delhi. It’s a waste of time and money but we have no choice.

As we leave the arrivals area the usual mob of unlicensed taxi drivers, porters, fake guides etc. assaults us in the dark humid Indian heat. The stink of latrines and waste is a very unpleasant first impression one gets when landing in this major capital city. Anyway, we don’t have to suffer much of it as we are welcomed by our agency and transfer to the nearby Hotel Radisson, very high standard.

Southern India will have to wait for us until tomorrow!