100 Days of Travel Sketchbooks Project
Day 11/100 – Two extra strong double coffees!
Our first full day in Delhi and we drag ourselves out of bed with bleary eyes at 8am, almost 5 and a half hours earlier than at home, thanks to the wonderful phenomenon that is time differences as you travel around the globe. We had a fine breakfast at Villa 33 where they had a tray of condiments that could stock a shop. I had helped myself to some cereal and a slice of fresh sourdough bread from the table, but then more food kept coming – omelettes, toast & butter, fruit with yogurt, chapati / dosa breads, tea – so much I wished that I had learned how to say that’s plenty thank you, in Hindi.
Feeling very full we thought we would walk some of the calories off by walking through the park to the nearby Hauz Khas village, which promised to be ‘the mecca of creative arts’. We wandered into a gallery with a giant lizard sculpture on the roof, but the lights were not on. A nice man appeared and rushed around putting the spotlights on for us to have a look at the art. Some of it was very strange indeed so we politely thanked the man and left hastily, only to spot the tiny ‘We are closed’ sign on the other gate to the building. oops.
We wandered further along the dusty road, lined with hopeful Tuk-Tuk drivers looking for a fare, and I was getting tempted as my legs felt heavier and heavier with each step. I always forget how bad jet-lag can feel, but at one point I felt so dizzy that I was tempted to curl up with a random dog sleeping in a sun shard in the gutter!
Finally we arrived at the gate to ‘The Village’ and meandered down a little back lane that still had xmas bobbles hanging in the trees. Like a zombie, I stood looking with my black, sunken eyes, pointing at a glass fronted shop and simply said to Trevor, “coffffeeeeeee!!”. He readily agreed and we entered the beautifully decorated and ultimately restful cafe, furnished with very comfy seats with fluffy cushions.
The Tea Room by Blossom Kochhar, is apparently, the first organic cafe in Hauz Khas Village, Delhi. It was our oasis, our Nirvana, and ultimately a terrible trap, as once we had sat down, we felt like never getting back up again!
It was a desperate situation, so we both ordered a very strong double Macchiato coffee and a selection of small biscuits from the jars on the counter, even though I was far from hungry, but hey, they were they were only little and they looked home made. You can see how tired were from this photo that I took of poor trevor, who also felt like the walking dead, before his major caffeine infusion.
The coffee was so strong that it was like drinking smokey tar! It did the trick and we were soon back out and about to explore the cool little shops and galleries in the area.
What is your go-to remedy to get over jet-lag in a busy city?
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