The dense fog that envelops the greater Delhi area in winter had slowed the Rajdhani Express down to a crawl as passengers stirred with the shout that breakfast was being served. The fog was so thick, you couldn’t see across to the other sides of the tracks. With a delay of about 2.5hrs, and lunch at an ex-colleague’s house in Gurugram, my decision to book a hotel proved to be a great decision – sometimes being flexible and making it up as you go along works a treat.

I bade farewell to my travel companions and headed off confidently to the correct side of New Delhi station to catch the airport express out to Sector 22 and the Holiday Inn, where I think I’ve now stayed 3 times. Again my loyalty and status with IHG was well recognised and extremely beneficial with an early check-in, a room upgrade and a welcome drinks voucher, even though the booking was on points. I wasn’t actually spending a full night there, as I would leave for the airport at 01:00.

Lunch with my friend and her husband was delicious and a nice opportunity to catch up again with an ex-Microsoftie. She greeted me complete with woolly hat and thick coat, in the Delhi chills. On the other hand, I thought I should’ve put my shorts back on as it was now a sunny 16c!

I had decided not to go in to Delhi itself, there was no need and I was pretty exhausted all round at this point. I had booked a 90 minute ayurvedic massage in the spa and whilst it was good, it was not outstanding and someway short of the one I had at Kovalam beach.

I enjoyed my complimentary pre-dinner beer and then popping across the road to a fast developing commercial hub for dinner at a colourful trendy street food style restaurant. Final chance to at least register a G&T. Shortly after ordering, I was told by the waiter there was no tonic. I couldn’t quite accept that so called the manager over (who was doing a fabulous discreet job of keeping the wait team focused and on-point) and asked him if this was the case. He seemed a bit surprised and a minute later a cold tonic duly arrived with a very small amount of gin in a very large glass! Once again, don’t always accept the first answer in India, especially if it just doesn’t seem right!

I felt the need to digest and do nothing after dinner so spent a couple of hours in my bed watching a movie in absolute peace and quiet before packing my final few items and heading back to IGIA, once again setting off the handheld metal detector wands and being asked to lift my trouser leg!

I was flying home with the reincarnated AlItalia on a brand new Airbus 330-900 NEO, with stunning blue body wrap, in the luxury of a half empty business class, courtesy of a stack of VS miles and a bit of cash. The seat was fabulous and I slept for a good 4.5 hours until waking before breakfast as we descended in to clear air of Rome. Feeling somewhat re-invigorated and ready for a last whizz, with effectively 3 hours to kill, I caught the airport express train in to the city, finding the time to stretch my legs at a pace and see a few sights, grab a few espressos (a single espresso, croissant and another single espresso for Euro3 – seriously…!) and grab a big bag of Italian food products, well why not. I just about caught the train back on time to allow me to sit in the lounge for 30 minutes, enjoy a beer with 2 slices of possibly the best pizza you will find in any airport and of a quality that will beat the majority of pizza restaurants, before boarding another new Airbus for the 2.5hr flight to London in Seat 1A – that was about the size of a home jacuzzi. That would hold 4. Apparently, these airplanes are to be deployed later on medium haul flights and are being used on the LHR route for staff training. Nice win for my flight home.

Sure enough, London was freezing and it slapped you as you stepped off the plane on to the airbridge. Wanting to end the journey as I started, and despite having 3 very thin layers on, I caught the tube back to Earls Court, on to Wimbledon and then SWR back to Epsom. Being around 6pm, the commuter train was packed. I guess with my backpack and slightly sun tanned face, I might’ve stood out.

And that was the end of my 2nd Great Indian Rail Rover. It was enormous and at times, very challenging. 100% happy I did it and did it now. Many reflections and learnings, to follow!

Thanks for staying tuned and if you are inspired to do something similar – let me know, I’d love to help build an itinerary for you!