Returning to Delhi
We were sad to leave Varanasi because it meant leaving our wonderful friends Vidhu and Neelam. They’re amazing people who welcomed us into their home like family, and it was tough to leave the warmth of their company on our Delhi-bound train.
As luck would have it, though, the AirBnb we reserved back in Delhi brought us a new friend. Our host Nathalie made us feel welcome right away. She had an easy-going attitude and lots of stories, and we got along fabulously. Nathalie originally hailed from France and had recently married an Indian man, but since he was on a business trip, it was only her and her two adorable cats.
The cats were an added bonus to an already fabulous situation. Nathalie gave us full access to her kitchen, which included fresh fruits and Nutella, and she even made us a breakfast of crepes one morning. The room she provided also had great AC as well as the fastest wifi we’ve had in India, so it was a comfortable home base for our Delhi operations (more on that in a second). The three of us got on so well that we went on a few excursions together, which included the Qutab Minar, Hauz Khas Village, and Nizamuddin.
It was nice that our base of operations had good internet because we were looking online for motorcycles. We used a site called OLX (India’s version of Craigslist) to find individuals selling motorcycles in Delhi, and our search went quite well. We’d decided on the Karizma R model by Hero Honda, a 223 CC bike that would give us enough power to handle the mountains of Ladakh and one that’s common enough in India that we could be confident of finding mechanics/parts throughout our travels. There were quite a few people selling the Karizma R as we perused OLX, and we messaged a few of them about a meet up. Those meet ups were… a reminder of Indian culture.
People in India are late. And it’s not just that they’re not perfectly punctual. It’s that they’re laaaaaaaate. Everyone has come to accept and expect habitual lateness, so a social gathering that is “scheduled” to start at 2pm might start by 3pm. Might. Or 4pm. Or sometime. It's game theory, as someone explained to me; people know other people are going to be late, so they factor others' lateness into their own plans of when to arrive. So everyone is late! Our experience meeting potential motorcycle sellers was, of course, subject to this same lateness, even though we tried to be timely.
The first person we heard from said they could meet us at 6pm at a nearby metro station. We got there just before 6pm and waited. And waited. He texted he was on his way. Then he texted that he was delayed. Then he texted that his friend would meet us there with the bike. Then he texted that his friend was delayed. Two-and-a-half hours later, our guy showed up in a van and apologetically offered to drive us to where the motorcycle was. The motorcycle wouldn’t start. Evening wasted.
Funny enough, the next late meet up was our fault. Granted, the seller asked us to meet him at a metro station really far from where we were staying, but still it was our fault for not budgeting enough time to get there. We showed up about an hour late, and this time the bike was in good working condition. Two days later we secured another solid Karizma R, and then all we had to do was sort out the paperwork. (Which turned out to be another series of scheduling nightmares.)
Anyway, eventually we sorted everything out and had two bikes with the appropriate paperwork. One cost 30,000 rupees (about $460) and the other 26,000 rupees (about $400). We took the bikes to a mechanic near Nathalie’s house and got them tuned up, and we also got some spare parts/tools from the mechanic. All that was left for us to do was pack our saddlebags, brace our nerves, and head for the open road.