March 20, Tuesday

March 20, Tuesday

I was awake early but lazed around in bed until it was time for breakfast.  Got dressed and went out to find a tuk-tuk to take me back to The Meridian Hotel, where the Chinese Visa office is located.  I was there by 9:30 and only had a few minutes to wait before I saw one of their agents.  He reviewed by documents and advised me that I was missing a photocopy of my Tourist Visa for India.  “OK, but that wasn’t listed in your printed instructions.”  Also, he advised that I was missing the flights from India to Nepal, Nepal to Hong Kong and Hong Kong to Beijing.  “That wasn’t listed on your instructions either” I replied but smiled so he wouldn’t get pissed-off, and showed him the instruction sheet I had been given.  He informed me that I needed to get back to their office before noon to submit my application.  Luckily there was an “internet” office within The Meridian Hotel who were nice enough to let me access my e-mail and print the missing electronic tickets; cost me $5 but it was worth it.  By 10:30 I had returned to the visa office, deposited all the required documents, was told to come back the next day between 3 and 5 pm to pick up my visa, and I was back out on the street looking for a tuk-tuk to take me back to the hotel.

A tuk-tuk drives up and a lady starts to get on when as a man gets out of it.  Talk about coincidences:  it was the same man I met 2 weeks ago when I left the visa office with the instruction sheet.  He was the one who told me it was too far to walk to get to a travel agency and had referred me to the agency where I ended up booking my Rajasthan excursion.  He recognized me as I recognized him and I gave him a rundown of the trip I had booked and taken with Delhi Tours.   He had his own tuk-tuk parked across the street and drove me back to my hotel.  The trip should only have cost about 100 to 150 rupees at most, but I gave him 500 rupees in thanks for the great advice and referral he had given me.  He gave me some of his business cards to give to anyone from Canada who would be coming to Delhi.

I updated my blog for Jaipur and Agra and by 3 pm decided to go out to find some nibbles, juice, and water and maybe find a restaurant.   Just a few blocks away is a market area where they sell clothes, blocks and blocks of vendors, but not one of them selling refreshments.  I did find a small store on one of the major streets and purchased some almonds, raisins, cookies and chips,  but they did not have any juice for sale.  They told me in which direction to keep walking to find some, and off I went, noticing landmarks as I went so I could find my way back.  Unfortunately the vendors they were referring to were little carts where they made their own;  since I did not know whether they used tap water or bottled water I decided to keep looking.  Finally found to find a vendor that sold Minute Maid juice and purchased a few bottles, as well as some water.   I had noticed a restaurant along the way and made my way back there to check it out.  It was named “Fres Co” a Mediterranean restaurant.  So nice to not eat Indian food for a change;  I ordered pasta with chicken and fresh tomato sauce.  It was SO good !   I had ordered a glass of Sangria to go with that and I was quite impressed by the taste.  Then the waiter stopped by to drop off some freshly shaved parmesan cheese.  Well I thought I’d died and gone to Mediterranean Heaven.   I wasn’t going to have desert, but decided that some fruit would be OK........

.......... so I ordered another glass of Sangria.

OK, OK  and I also had a small sliver of chocolate (no flour) cake with a tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream.  The cake was like a stiff dark chocolate pudding  SO GOOD  (Lorraine and Shirley, I thought of you!)  And the ice cream was home made with small pieces of shredded vanilla in it.  SO GOOD.

When I walked out the waiter told me to come again, and I said I certainly would !

Back to the room by 5:30 for a nice shower, and settled down to try to publish more of my blog.

GREAT DAY !