The long drive ...

Today was our last day in India. There would be no monuments, temples, forts or palaces. Instead we would make the long trek from Jaipur back to Delhi. There would be plenty of things to see along the way but apart from "washroom" breaks we were heading straight through. 

Yash told us we didn't need to leave super early as we had a late flight out. So after a lazy start to the day, we had a buffet breakfast at the parent hotel of our Brij Nest Suites, before we met Yash and Rajan just before 10.00 am.

Then we began the drive from our hotel,  passing through the streets of Jaipur,  past some of the wonderful things we had seen yesterday. Then it was farewell Jaipur and onto the highway towards Delhi.

After about an hour or so of driving Yash received a call from his head office to let him know that there was a major accident on the road we were travelling on and they were anticipating a 2 hr delay. His office advised him and Rajan to turn around and take a bypass road to avoid the delay. A quick u-turn was made and we headed back about 10 kms to a side road that would take us across towards Agra. So we travelled for about an hour towards Dousa and then onto the new Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.

It didn't bother us ... we got to see a lot more of the country, including fields of wheat, sheep and goat farmers herding their flocks along the road, small temples high in the mountains, and a massive university for all health-related studies.

We stopped at a newly built roadside stop which was quite similar to ones we have in Australia for a toilet break and Yash bought me a coffee at Maccas! 

Rajan was a master driver - negotiating the livestock and then, as we neared Delhi, the horn-beeping, lane-cutting traffic. He safely delivered us to the airport where we said goodbye. Yash waited with us until the agent from the Express Hotel in the airport collected us and then we said a sad farewell to Yash. He has been a marvellous guide, quickly judging that we were sponges for information and filling our brains with amazing stories and facts.

And so to our hotel room INSIDE the airport, with windows overlooking the check-in desks. We have the room for about 5 hours to grab a sleep (which we didn't but we did lie on the bed to grab a stretch out before the plane), some dinner, a shower and a change of clothes. We then repacked our cases and will head down soon to drop off our bags and head through to wait for our plane.

So ... our journey is almost at an end. Two flights remain between this hotel room and our own bed.  I'll be back in a couple of days with a final post to sum up our unexpected but magical adventure in India.