On the road again....Madurai to Delhi

Ok, everyone says you are gonna get sick in India but isn’t it supposed to be stomach ailments, not the bloody flu? Sure enough, I woke up in the middle of the night on the day we were to leave Madurai and felt terrible, involving headaches, nausea and sweats and a panic attack due to travel plans.  Anyway, once the panic subsided methinks that there is always a bright side: the fact that we were travelling independently meant that we could reschedule things. We had been meaning to go for a two day car adventure through Tamil Nadu, stopping at Karaikuddi for one night and then flying from Tritchy via Chennai (with a five hour stop over) to Delhi.  Decided I wasn’t up for that and we were able to change our flight to a direct flight to Delhi.  India’s budget airlines are way more flexible that Australia’s and so far I am very impressed with them.  I still felt totally foul flying for four hours but it was better than the previous plan.  So when I got to Delhi I collapsed in a heap, seriously only just managing to check in without fainting. I am now embarrassed that I was quite short with the check-in guy but couldn’t he see that I was sliding down the front of the desk onto the floor??? Also I would have been highly infectious that night so if I was him I would have wanted to get rid of me ASAP: the poor guy is probably sick by now.  Fortunately I travel with a comprehensive first aid kit, so I had some Tamiflu, decongestants and anti-nauseants (yes, while you’re thinking it, I probably am certified hypochondriac and am also amazed at the amount of drugs you can take through customs without anyone batting an eyelid). Anyway I took a handful of drugs and hit the sack by 8:30, an unheard of event for me.  Jon was also tired as hell as I had kept him awake all night the night before.  He said he admired me for travelling at all in that condition, for which I loved him quite a bit, as it had indeed taken some determination.

I was nearly too sick (but not quite) to smile about the fact that the first thing you see driving in from Delhi airport is a sign for the “Camel Squadron” of the Indian army, seriously.  You know you are somewhere different.
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Guys at the chemist shop