leaving india
10/1/05 10:40 pm
Waiting for flight
Leaving India is not easy (literally)
Since an immigration officer forgot to stamp my passport, I was denied departure
at the airport. I had to pay a personal visit to their foreigner registration
office. It took me a full half day just to get a stamp. Their attitude were good
enough, but they seemed more interested in playing PC PacMan than stamping my
passport. After I got the stamp, of course, all flight was full, and I had to
wait four more days in Delhi. It was not a particular negative experience. Delhi
is a big city and is not difficult for me to find entertainment for a few days.
Having an extended holiday was actually a mildly positive experience (I still
don't like Delhi much, but the experience itself was positive)
My overall trip was also a mildly pleasant experience, but I can't really say
I like India or not. It is a complicated answer (which only seems to apply on
India). There are just so many aspects of India that I can't really answer yes
or not.
For sure, it is hard to like Delhi.
"It is dirty and people cheat all the time," said the sullen Nepalist taxi driver, "in my country, it is clean and everyone is honest."
I can't disagree with him, but I'm just a tourist, so I don't hate the place like he did, and I kind of like it in some aspect.