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Odyssey from Delhi to McLeod Ganj, Upper Dharamsala, India

We initially planned to stay in Delhi for four days to regroup after the long flight over, then travel to McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala, the home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama over the weekend, but first class sleepers were not available at that time. So we left Delhi on the evening of October 20^th, a Tuesday. The hotel staff in Paharganj, Delhi had pre-booked our tickets, as we were unable to navigate the busy India Rail website from home in the narrow window of time available each day. (India is 12-1/2 hours ahead of us).

The extra days in Delhi proved quite helpful, because three or four days after our arrival, both my partner Don and I developed viruses. It’s not uncommon to pick them up on planes - so many hours cooped up with hundreds of other people, breathing recycled air low in oxygen takes it’s toll.

The virus was an unusual one, and manifested itself differently in each of us. On Friday evening, four days before we left Delhi, I sat sprawled in the hotel deck restaurant with my head on the table, waiting for my food to arrive. Tired and still jet-lagged, I felt a bit dizzy; I thought it was low blood sugar, but it was more than that. The virus seemed to be centered in my head, causing a spaced-out sensation, and I ended up sitting carefully on the couch in our room with my legs stretched out. Don, on the other hand, had a head cold to end all head colds, and his nose blowing went on for well over a week.