BAD IDEA JEANS

(WARNING!! For any of you reading this who happen to have given birth to me - you know who you are - you may want to stop reading here)

The fact that the sun had set did not seem to faze me. After all, I had just booked a train ticket in India - I owned this country! Besides, I had looked at the map and knew "exactly" where I was going.... I crossed the bridge over the train station with purpose and weaved in and out of the deluge of cars/people/bikes/buses/tuk tuks/dogs/oxen/etc that defines Delhi's streets.

I was sure of where I was going, even though there are no street signs of any kind or anything distinctive enough to mark my path. That, and I was hesitant to pull out my voluminous travel guide and get hassled by anyone; this was the first time I was able to walk unhindered and just go with the flow. It was like that first time you stand up on a surf board and ride a wave. I kept walking, distantly hoping I would find my tuk tuk driver from earlier who I very much enjoyed, however improbable it would be. I kept up a pretty good pace for a good 45 minutes to an hour. I probably managed to cover about three to four miles, albeit in who-knows-what direction, as full darkness took over. It was around this time that I realized I had no idea where I was and that my decision to walk this far was not the smartest one I had ever made.

At a noisy intersection (what other kind are there here?) where traffic was piling up, I approached a tuk tuk asked to see if he might be able to get be back to the Wongdhen House. A few things complicated the situation:
1. He did not speak English
2. When I tried to show him on the map, it became quite apparent that he not only was not familiar with the map of Delhi, but also that he was not familiar with "maps" on general.
3. I had no idea where I was or how to get where I wanted to be
4. The light had changed to green and traffic was starting to move and I was standing in the middle of it all.

With these consideration (especially the last one) I decided to take my chances and I hopped into his tuk tuk and we took off. Once we cleared the intersection he pulled over and we tried to figure it out together, enlisting the help from a man on the side of the road. After a short conversation with this man, my driver seemed confident that he knew where he was going... I was less so.

I constantly consulted the map and peered out looking for ANYTHING familiar. This was when I realized I had not taken a comprehensive survey of the area surrounding the hotel, a mistake I was dreadfully regretting. After a little bit we entered a stretch that looked vaguely familiar to me, yet it was obvious my driver had not ventured into this area prior. He pulled over and we asked a couple young guys if they knew where the Wongdhen House was; they were of no help.

The driver was going to be of no use, and I somewhat recognized the area we were in from the ride back from the airport. So I decided my best option was to get out and walk as I was sure I was pretty close. How close? That was another question.

I walked down the alley that looked familiar, this time paying attention to my path at each turn in order to extract myself if I did not find it. This turned out to be a good idea since I was not in the correct place. Besides worrying about sticking out like a sore thumb (being the only foreigner around) and having everyone stare at me, I was growing more and more concerned as it was getting later and later. Though no one had shown any aggression toward me, even with the constant barrage of offers/questions throughout the day, I'm smart enough to know that sometimes the rules change at night.

I exited the alley and headed up the main road. This way if anyone were to happen, at least there would be plenty of witnesses, not that they would necessarily do anything about it. I was relying on the good will of man. I asked some teen aged kids if they knew where my hotel was, and again, they were of no help. Apparently the Wongdhen House is not very well known.

I walked up and down the street, hoping that something familiar would pop out (wishful thinking). Finally, I realized I had the phone number in my book! It costs me $2.50/min to make calls in India, which, at this point was cheap compared to my other option of, well, I didn't know what my other option was at this point, but I knew it wasn't good.

Dialing wasn't as easy as I hoped. I used the country code, but there must be some other regional code that I was missing. Defeated, I turned around and headed back the other way. A bicycle rickshaw driver (about 15 yrs old) stopped and asked me if I wanted a ride (which happens about every 7 seconds in India if you are a foreigner). I asked him if he knew where the Wongdhen House was, and of course he didn't speak English. I asked again, this time slower and more phonetically. He unconvincingly assured me he knew exactly where it was. I hopped in the back and he pedaled off in the opposite direction from where my internal compass said we should be going. But since we know how accurate that is from earlier that evening, I made no objection.

Since the road was split and he wanted to be on the other side, he turned into oncoming traffic (a common occurrence here, but exceedingly more harrowing on the back of a bicycle taxi!). This maneuver, however life threatening, actually gave me a modicum of confidence because it seemed as if he was at least headed SOMEWHERE and not just driving around aimlessly. My hopes increased as we turned off the main road and into the "New Tibetan Colony", where I was pretty sure the Wongdhen House was located. He made two turns down two increasingly narrow alleys and HALLELUJAH there it was!!!

I tipped the driver and entered hoping I wasn't too late for dinner. Not only did I not miss dinner, but also the meal was free! (and delicious!) Earlier that morning when I came down for breakfast I was informed that it was the Tibetan New Year and meals that day were free. Yay! Free food! Free Tibet! (seriously)