After my altercation with the hotel management in Delhi I decided that of course I would not be joining them on a daytime tour through the city but more than that, that in fact I had had enough of India altogether and so the sooner I reached the airport the better I would feel.
I took another brief walk with my rucksack trying to find a bus or shuttle service to the airport but as far as any of the locals were prepared to tell me there was none, although I did find a few places that wanted to see me private taxi tours to Acra for a little over 2500, almost half of that of my own hostels.
In the end I chose almost at random one of the many travel agencies price of 250 for a taxi to the airport, which was very much the standard, and after a bit of a wait I ended up sharing with a youthful Afgan guy who had lived in India for the last two years and was now under a US government contract for their propaganda machine over there.
The drive was only about half an hour but by the time we arrived he had told me plenty of how India was a much confusing country, not much worth wasting time with in its core but along its many beaches could be found plenty of idyllic places of both natural and cultural beauty. I would have to take his word for it, as I have no plans to return here, and my view was further increased when I was told that I could not enter the airport until at most three hours before flight time despite having nothing but an expensive newly opened restaurant to visit on the outside.
The five hour wait outside the cafe was long and boring, but not so hot as the weather had chilled noticibly and almost on cue it began to rain lightly but consistently for the last three hours.
Finally my three hours deadline was up and I could go inside, though once inside there was as little to do inside as outside and it was a huge relief when I finally cleared checkin and was able to go to my boarding gate. There was one moment of doubt however, when the check in clerk asked me if i needed a entry visa to visit Dubai, but I did my best to sound confident and said that I didn't, hoping that I was correct and that when I got to the other end I could indeed pass through without any lengthy explanation or delay in the airport.
The flight across was not as basic as some, having movies and tv to watch plus free drinks and a meal, but the flight was long and I arrived much later than I first thought, around 11:30 instead of 10pm. Thankfully my guess was correct and it was nice to be fast tracked past all my fellow passengers who had to cue up for visa clearance and just be waved through to the passport check line, where again I was barely registered before being stamped and passed through for travel.
Once out the other side I changed some money over and then got a airport organised taxi for 33 Dhs, which considering the time was not too bad, and the hotel was only minutes away but on a side street so had I tried to catch a bus or shuttle and then head on over it would have been very tricky to find.
I was very puzzled that despite booking it last August and paying £26 as a deposit to book my room the hotel had no record of my booking and so I had to pay the full balance of the hotel, which meant that I was further out of pocket but possibly this at least is something that I could claim on my travel insurance when I get back.
I was shown up to my room and soon was plugging my stuff in to recharge and falling fast asleep, happy and dry and only slightly miffed that the hotel had no wifi or internet facilities.
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