October 1997 - The 'Shipton/Tilman' Route - Day 1 - October 11

The team: John Shipton, me, Richard Middlehurst, Julia Griffiths, in the Oberoi Maidens Hotel

Saturday 11th October 

Arriving at Heathrow soon after 5am, I had the unusual experience of trolleying bags to Terminal 3, found after some uncertainty, where I headed for a coffee shop which eventually opened at 6am. Refreshed by medicine and coffee and a dwindling desire to ablute, I returned to the previously deserted 'United Airlines' queue. Soon located Julia, from Tewkesbury, and Richard from Manchester (flew down last night on shuttle and stayed in pricey hotel). John Shipton (Eric Shipton's son) soon ambled up and we joined a long queue to embark on the adventure.

The 8:55 UA002 flight to Delhi took off at 9:30. It was full but comfortable. We soon moved our clocks on 5½ hours and this made the day go quickly! The flight took about 8 hours. I dozed for much of the early part but gradually recovered to a more normal state, thanks mainly to Diacalm. Breakfast was served after 2 or so hours, and dinner 3 hours before landing. I sat next to an Indian chef from New York for most of the journey. He had started in New York, so his time was completely haywire. He was on a surprise visit (after 10 years) to parents in the Punjab.

We crossed what John thought was the Black Sea into Turkey and flew over brilliantly sunny scrub and mountain regions (some fertile) before passing a major snow capped peak, Mount Ararat where the Ark 'landed', and Little Ararat nearby (and other summits later). The videos were less than stunning.

Arrival in Delhi soon had us in a long queue to 'immigrate', after which bags were found already unloaded, and the HK rep from Abercrombie and Kent (Indian agent) soon had us installed in one of Delhi's best hotels, The Oberoi Maidens Hotel - a relic of colonial India - a really splendid oasis in the midst of a culture shock.

We had driven there from the airport in a luxury minibus and were soon installed and enjoying Kingfisher beers in Richard and my luxurious rooms (to call them a 'room' would simply be untrue). I've never stayed anywhere so luxurious.

We adjourned to bed soon after 2am and I slept well. We had the luxury of a very gentle departure time on Sunday 12th October of 10:30am.

We are heading to Rishikesh and beyond, if you can spot it - click on the image for a better view

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