Monday, November 28, 2005
I arrived back in Delhi this morning, by overnight train. Apart from the very loud gang of guys who invaded the car about 1:00am, the ride was uneventful. You don't really sleep soundly, though. And - the train arrived at the Old Delhi station instead of the New Delhi station. So I had to figure that out, then take a bicycle rickshaw for half an hour or so to get to my hotel.
But it really felt like an effort today. The Nikon service center location for my broken camera was fairly convenient, but it wasn't open at 10:30 (although the sign on the door said it opens at 10:00). So I went to confirm and buy my flight tickets to Guatemala for December 12. The British Air office was really hard to find, and then there was a 40 minute wait to talk to anyone. But the ticketing was OK, even a little less than when I reserved it in Africa. But they wouldn't take my debit card, and I was depending on that. The only option was to use an ATM. No problem there, except that the daily limit is 12,000 rupees, and at that rate I would have to stay in Delhi for 4 days to accumulate enough money. But... I did have those Tanzanian shillings I didn't have time to exchange before I left Africa and couldn't exchange even in Dubai. But in a stroke of great luck, the Punjab National Bank will exchange them! And I have about $500 in US dollars. Putting it all together, I can pull it off tomorrow morning and still catch the afternoon bus to Dharmsala (another 12 hour ride). Except that the bus doesn't always run and I won't know for sure until tomorrow morning. If it doesn't run, I can take a train plus a 4 hour local bus after a 4 hour layover at the Dharmsala end, but that sounds like a horror.
Then back to the Nikon center. They were open, but he wanted two days and $100 to fix the camera. I talked for awhile, and he worked on it right away. Took about an hour and only $72, so that was a break. But the camera still didn't work. So he worked on it again and everything seemed OK. Until I tried to take a picture an hour later, and nothing would happen. Back to Nikon yet again. Now the switch is broken and it will take him until tomorrow to fix it.
So - Tomorrow I get up to hit the ATM, then go to Punjab National to exchange my various shillings and dollars, then take my pile of rupees to British Air, before going to Nikon again, and then checking back with the hotel to see if the bus is running.
This is a vacation?
But it really felt like an effort today. The Nikon service center location for my broken camera was fairly convenient, but it wasn't open at 10:30 (although the sign on the door said it opens at 10:00). So I went to confirm and buy my flight tickets to Guatemala for December 12. The British Air office was really hard to find, and then there was a 40 minute wait to talk to anyone. But the ticketing was OK, even a little less than when I reserved it in Africa. But they wouldn't take my debit card, and I was depending on that. The only option was to use an ATM. No problem there, except that the daily limit is 12,000 rupees, and at that rate I would have to stay in Delhi for 4 days to accumulate enough money. But... I did have those Tanzanian shillings I didn't have time to exchange before I left Africa and couldn't exchange even in Dubai. But in a stroke of great luck, the Punjab National Bank will exchange them! And I have about $500 in US dollars. Putting it all together, I can pull it off tomorrow morning and still catch the afternoon bus to Dharmsala (another 12 hour ride). Except that the bus doesn't always run and I won't know for sure until tomorrow morning. If it doesn't run, I can take a train plus a 4 hour local bus after a 4 hour layover at the Dharmsala end, but that sounds like a horror.
Then back to the Nikon center. They were open, but he wanted two days and $100 to fix the camera. I talked for awhile, and he worked on it right away. Took about an hour and only $72, so that was a break. But the camera still didn't work. So he worked on it again and everything seemed OK. Until I tried to take a picture an hour later, and nothing would happen. Back to Nikon yet again. Now the switch is broken and it will take him until tomorrow to fix it.
So - Tomorrow I get up to hit the ATM, then go to Punjab National to exchange my various shillings and dollars, then take my pile of rupees to British Air, before going to Nikon again, and then checking back with the hotel to see if the bus is running.
This is a vacation?
