On my way

It’s 3am. Or 2:45pm. Depending where in the world you are. I’m sitting in the new Delhi domestic airport waiting for my 6am flight to Jaipur. The airport is so new that there is a film of dust in the bathroom as if they’ve just finished installing the counters.

There are a handful of construction workers attending to the interior roof, perched above us two stories on a crane. The racket doesn’t seem to be disturbing the dozen or so travelers stretched out around a circular cushioned bench, as if they are sleeping around a camp fire, pairs of shoes neatly placed on the floor below each bench.

I’m not tired, despite two seven and a half hour flights. This is probably due to a wonderful discovery made in the Zurich airport called a Day Room. For $27 U.S. you get a semi-private cubicle with a comfortable ‘couch’ (which is really a bed that has the option to recline up) access to a clean shower with incredible water pressure (a rarity in Europe,) and a soft, warm blanket. I set the alarm for two hours, secured my sleep mask and promptly slipped into one of those wonderful dreamless, deep sleeps that are completely restorative. Before the alarm could ring out, I felt a gentle hand on my leg and I peeled back the eye mask to see the older female attendant at the end of my cubicle. “It is time,” she said in a soft voice. I had a feeling of being awakened by a mother for school. What a nice way to spend a layover. Why don’t they have this in every airport? Although I guess in JFK your wake up might sound more like, “It’s time to get up, move it!“ I made my connection feeling completely refreshed and clean, although that didn’t stop me from popping half of an Advil PM and passing out for a few hours.

This is how I have found myself wide awake in the new Delhi domestic airport feeling just a bit discombobulated about the day and time.

The drive from the international airport to this one was … slow. We maxed out at 25 miles per hour. Expecting to step into utter chaos once I cleared customs I was surprised by the calm aura in the receiving and baggage area. However, the overpowering smell of jet fuel permeates the entire airport. Until I step outside with my driver to make our way over to the domestic airport, and realize that that is how the entire city must smell. It would be pitch black outside, except that there’s a slightly brown hue to the night; from polution or construction or something else I’m not entirely sure. It will be interesting to see what the air is like on my return to Delhi in a few days. It’s a good thing I brought my inhaler!

I am still bracing myself for my first horrific bathroom experience. You know you’ve turned a corner when you feel like the last good bathroom you’re going to use is the one on the plane! But the bathrooms in the airports are western and a clean. Crisis averted (so far.)