Arriving in the grand Delhi airport after two nights of little to no sleep, I went through the very quick and efficient customs process and headed to the AirTel counter to get my Indian SIM card. Here cell service costs a fraction of what it does in the US and service is generally better. There are certainly downsides to the ubiquitousness of cell towers... see http://tehelka.com/story_main45.asp?filename=Ne050610coverstory.asp and http://tehelka.com/story_main45.asp?filename=Ne120610coverstory.asp and http://tehelka.com/story_main45.asp?filename=Ne190610radiation_city.asp for recent exposes on radiation levels in major cities.
After getting the SIM card I went over to an ATM to get out some Rupees. With some extra gear needed for this trip I was a bit overloaded on weight so I had my daypack crammed with heavy items so that the checked bag would get in under weight and not be charged the massive over limit fees. As such I was carrying my laptop in my hand instead of the standard in the daypack. I set the laptop on the ATM machine but in the haze I walked off without it.
After getting to my room, which took a lot longer since the Airport Express Metro is closed for repairs, I thought to check email but realized that would be impossible without the laptop. All my work and the ability to complete that work lay in that laptop and so I began thinking of what to do purchase a new laptop, but then it would have none of the files I needed to work on, etc, etc. The chances of a nice laptop sitting for 3-4 hours without being pocketed were slim, but I had no choice but to reverse the journey back to the airport.
Without the Airport Express Metro, one has to take the normal Metro to the closest station Chattarpur and then figure out how to get the 5 miles from there to the airport. I got a rickshaw that took me within 1 mile of the airport but to 'clean' up the image of India they do not allow auto rickshaws http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FAuto_rickshaw&ei=QomMUM3KIcnKrAeDiIHwAw&usg=AFQjCNGzmM_BaOfAEGiL39O1mUT01BlI5Q into the airport. So the rickshaw wala dropped me at the bus stop for the airport bus.
At this point I didnt know if I had left it at the passport control counter, the AirTel counter or the ATM, so I went to the Airtel counter first and no luck, then asking about someone pointed me to a little door with a sign for 'lost and found', when I walked in, I scanned the shelves for my laptop and the stomach sank. No laptop in sight. After waiting for the previous person to complete their process, I asked the person if he had a Dell laptop. He asked some questions and without saying anything and with a poker face went to to a locked cabinet and retrieved a laptop, my laptop. What a relief. But I was not done yet. Merely having the correct password was not enough for this government officialI had to show him a document on the laptop with my name and address that matched my passport. That completed, I was full exhausted but elated.
He said someone had found the laptop on the ATM and delivered to him.
Next it was airport bus back to the stop to then figure out how to get back to the Metro. I asked the driver how to get back to Chattarpur Metro and he indicated a Delhi bus would come to the stop. When we arrived at the stop, the driver motioned for me to come over to his side, he got out of the bus held my hand and lead me through the 6 lanes of traffic to where the Delhi buses 'stop' (local buses do not stop here (except in traffic jams) they merely slow a bit and open the doors, one has to develop a skill for running alongside correctly to be where the door is when it passes by) then he explained the bus number to catch and waited with me for 20 minutes (until he had to leave for another loop), before leaving he instructed a family also waiting what color and number the bus was and to help me get on it.
Another 10 minutes and the bus arrived and barely got the running calculations correct and I was on my way back to a much needed bed.
After getting the SIM card I went over to an ATM to get out some Rupees. With some extra gear needed for this trip I was a bit overloaded on weight so I had my daypack crammed with heavy items so that the checked bag would get in under weight and not be charged the massive over limit fees. As such I was carrying my laptop in my hand instead of the standard in the daypack. I set the laptop on the ATM machine but in the haze I walked off without it.
After getting to my room, which took a lot longer since the Airport Express Metro is closed for repairs, I thought to check email but realized that would be impossible without the laptop. All my work and the ability to complete that work lay in that laptop and so I began thinking of what to do purchase a new laptop, but then it would have none of the files I needed to work on, etc, etc. The chances of a nice laptop sitting for 3-4 hours without being pocketed were slim, but I had no choice but to reverse the journey back to the airport.
Without the Airport Express Metro, one has to take the normal Metro to the closest station Chattarpur and then figure out how to get the 5 miles from there to the airport. I got a rickshaw that took me within 1 mile of the airport but to 'clean' up the image of India they do not allow auto rickshaws http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FAuto_rickshaw&ei=QomMUM3KIcnKrAeDiIHwAw&usg=AFQjCNGzmM_BaOfAEGiL39O1mUT01BlI5Q into the airport. So the rickshaw wala dropped me at the bus stop for the airport bus.
At this point I didnt know if I had left it at the passport control counter, the AirTel counter or the ATM, so I went to the Airtel counter first and no luck, then asking about someone pointed me to a little door with a sign for 'lost and found', when I walked in, I scanned the shelves for my laptop and the stomach sank. No laptop in sight. After waiting for the previous person to complete their process, I asked the person if he had a Dell laptop. He asked some questions and without saying anything and with a poker face went to to a locked cabinet and retrieved a laptop, my laptop. What a relief. But I was not done yet. Merely having the correct password was not enough for this government officialI had to show him a document on the laptop with my name and address that matched my passport. That completed, I was full exhausted but elated.
He said someone had found the laptop on the ATM and delivered to him.
Next it was airport bus back to the stop to then figure out how to get back to the Metro. I asked the driver how to get back to Chattarpur Metro and he indicated a Delhi bus would come to the stop. When we arrived at the stop, the driver motioned for me to come over to his side, he got out of the bus held my hand and lead me through the 6 lanes of traffic to where the Delhi buses 'stop' (local buses do not stop here (except in traffic jams) they merely slow a bit and open the doors, one has to develop a skill for running alongside correctly to be where the door is when it passes by) then he explained the bus number to catch and waited with me for 20 minutes (until he had to leave for another loop), before leaving he instructed a family also waiting what color and number the bus was and to help me get on it.
Another 10 minutes and the bus arrived and barely got the running calculations correct and I was on my way back to a much needed bed.
