28 years old and scared of the dark

I arrived back in Delhi this morning at 4am after having just had my first Indian adventure - one that I doubt I'll ever forget. I went to Rishikesh on the advice of my friend Katy. Unfortunately I didn't follow her guidance on how to get there and had one of the worst travelling experiences of my life. Clare's driver, Sunil, dropped me off a Delhi's central bus station in the morning a few days ago - on the way in the middle of 5 lanes of traffic, was an elephant meandering along the road. I've decided it was an omen.


At the bus terminal I was immediately followed by a number of men through the station and there wasn't another traveller in sight. I can't begin to explain what the station is like - suffice to say I was eager to leave after about 30 seconds. A man approached me and told me there was a 'deluxe' tourist bus (lie number 1) to Rishikesh (lie number 2) which took 6 hours (lie number 3). The bus was full of Indian people and there was one seat available right at the back in the middle of the aisle. Before I knew what was going on my bag was on the bus, and I was on my way.

We drove for a few hours slowly as the traffic was bad due to Divali on the weekend. More people got on and stood in the middle of the bus. I was glad they were there because they blocked my view out the front window of the bus. A man on the bus asked me if I was searching for my spiritual guru in Rishikesh. When I said no he looked at me like I was the devil and didn't speak to me again for the rest of the journey.

By the time we get to our final destination (not Rishikesh) it was dark. Everyone was turfed out onto the street which I later found out was just on the outskirts of Haridwar, 25km from Rishikesh. After a few more Rickshaw journeys, and being thrown out onto the street in various random places, I arrived in Rishikesh. I was dropped at the top of a hill and the driver gestured ahead into the darkness. I walked down a long windy road in the pitch black, found the bridge which Katy had told me about and, on the verge of tears at this point, I found a hotel.

The next two days were completely magical days. I met some wonderful people, did lots of yoga classes, walked along the River Ganges and witnessed the Divali festival. You have to dodge the street fireworks but the atmosphere is electric.

I have decided that it's been a good thing to have such a bad introduction to travelling in India alone, because every day since has been a wonderful surprise. I now feel completely energised, and although I didn't find my spiritual guru, I did find a strength I didn't know I had and a respect for the Hindi people who can be so kind and generous, and can party harder than I thought was possible in the absence of alcohol. Speaking of which - Andy's left me a beer in the fridge - time to go.