i didnt like anything too much...just a few clothes. more "venessa" style...(refer gossipgirl episodes) ....hippie clothes. but then again. you know what Kasol is famous FOR. so all kinds of people who move around there (non locals) are in a semi-trance state most of the time....and what they wear they hardly bother for.
so finally.....a good lunch later, we set off toward the bus stand...our bus left at 4 for delhi.
settling in the bus and all finally when the bus stirred from the stop it was well over 5 30 pm....and so started the long journey to delhi. not so boring....because i had d.h for company :) that guy makes me smile :)
sleeping and talking and laughing...still the journey felt too long....and in the morning hours of 13 june....we reached delhi.
had food at a good south indian restaurant....will input the name here later as and when i remember....it was awesome food.
then had few hours to kill before my scheduled flight. we went to Asia's Largest Mall....the AMBIENCE mall....its is freaking huge! i liked all the brands in there! some of the signature brands that i found in every mall, and then there were some which i just stared at, thinking, OH these people have an outlet here?
this was the only place in the trek where i missed my girls....i wanted pranky, manali, mittal, nizu HERE RIGHT NOW! so i could just flit around the labels and chirp with them regarding those things. one look at vaidi and sid and shiva told me...they'd be SO BORED with the girlie stuff. sportingly they came to a few places....and sportingly, i did not chirp around much. no chance to discuss stuff like colours and clothes and eews and ooohss....with guys. hmmffff.....i have made a mental note to visit AMBIENCE with like....6 hours minimum in my hands....and my favorite girls for company.
Oh we saw KUNG FU PANDA...3D...:) good way to kill 2 hours...and surprisingly, im not a fan of animation movies....for obvious reasons....but i loved this one! :) kung fu panda is SOOOO adorably sweet....ok i am not paid for promoting it so....GO WATCH IT THOUGH! :) :)
after this amazing movie, i finally spotted a subway outlet. i had been lusting after a subway veggie delite ever since the first campsite...so i gorged on one. its sinful....
and THEN....the last step of my journey which would give me a real high....this was what it was all about. doing things on my own. getting on to a flight on my own. pretty simple? yeah. probably some of the people reading the blog might be mentally snickering. but you know what? nobody is born with the knowledge and it can be a little daunting the first time alone. i wonder where my brains were when i took flights with my parents. they did all the pre-sitting-in-the-plane duties while i just walked behind them, donut and coffee in hand, carefree. as a result, i was scared to do it all myself.
and this trip was about facing fears....and going out of comfort zone. so....with a last hug to shiva....i left my gang....and turned toward Indira Gandhi Terminal 3. all confident, ticket and i.d card in hand. security check at the door. i smoothly pulled up a trolley and put both my bags on it. and walked around the airport like a daily flier. best part of it was, my phone was discharged. i walked upto the charging point....it was not working. international, amazing aiport but charging points (i walked upto both) were out of order. great. i asked a worker there...about whether there was an in-port phone booth. had to call mom, she would be worried sick.
found the phone booth and had a talk with mom. regarding flight schedule. then calmly read the on-screen flight details. air india....counter E. went there. checked in my luggage...got my boarding pass. alll was going smoothly, this was going great....then walked around with the boarding pass and hand luggage....bought magazines- a cosmo and another vogue. walked around like i owned the place...i was actually enjoying this part of being by myself on the airport. had some costa coffee....hmm...now i felt like a traveller. within some time, they announced my terminal....i checked it 5 times on different screens. im "monica" for sure. (refer F.R.I.E.N.D.S)...finally went to my terminal....that was three escalators away. read the mag while a van arrived with the air india logo...and my flight was announced.
checked with the security lady twice. about my flight number and my boarding pass. finally...the vehicle took us to the aircraft....i went in, sat down on my seat, smiling and satisfied. i had a window seat...great. i managed to do this on my own...(yeah however easy it might sound....this was the first time afterall). great...all was managed well...and i flew back home....with an uneventful flight. no mental imagery of hijack and bombing and all toher stupid fears that plague me. maybe i read way too much, watch way too much news....i am apprehensive about boarding flights and even getting on to a train.
wait thats not just me....maybe a lot of people share this apprehension.
finally....mom and dad came to pick me up...it felt surreal...i was done with the trek...and they had a surprise new car waiting for me...and FINALLY....finally....i came back home. back to 40 degree heat, back to teeth, dental patients, digging and filling....back to non sloping flat surfaces....back to cement dungeon and stale air...
back to television, movies and old faces.
i will never forget this one....and the beautiful images will last a lifetime....hopefully so will the friends i made .....
a note - love you all people, sp 33...and miss you always.
xoxo
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