New Delhi. India

The Captain’s adventure to newer lands had come to an end, it was bittersweet. He was sad that the most anticipated part of his adventure, one that took months of planning was now over, however the experience and the journey had brought back feelings of excitement and hits of adrenaline. he could feel his veins course with anticipation as the addiction of travel had returned in his system.  

Although the main part of the quest was completed, Dubai, The F1, Qatar and the Fifa world cup, One last mission remained. Delhi. India. 

This was to be a particularly special expedition as it involved stealth as no one knew that the party was in transit with the exemption of the Captain’s family who were also in India at the given time. 

The Objective was to firstly surprise the Captain’s cousin (maternal) who had been obsessed with the Cadet – reuniting them as lost souls, and secondly to surprise another cousin of the captain (Paternal) who was getting married. 

The flight from Qatar was relatively uneventful aside from the Captain and crew being sandwiched next to a man who could not speak English and had not eaten, and was feeling unwell. After diagnosing his issues with the airline staff, the Captain provided some pain relief in the form of Panadol, and the Air staff provided him with a meal. 

After that minor event the Captain, Admiral and exhausted cadet arrived in Delhi, it was almost 3am, and they still had to clear immigration and customs.  They scurried through the airport, arriving at the final checkpoint. A frustrating thing about Delhi Airport Arrivals is the lack of WiFi if you do not have an active SIM. In most cases this is not an issue, however in our case it would play a pivotal part in arriving into the country.  

As the Squadron arrived at the customs desk, with all forms completed, the customs officer asked for a printout of our e-Visas, which the Captain had neatly kept in his travel folder. Everything seemed in order until the Customs officer reverted back to them saying that the Visa for the Admiral was one dated to 2017. The Captain had printed off the wrong one. 

The Customs officer said with a Poker face that ‘only the Captain and Cadet were allowed into the country without that documentation’. When we asked if we could get Wi-Fi or any internet connection, they refused saying that due to security reasons the customs area does not have any internet access. a feeling of dread overcame them amongst the exhaustion. They were now wide awake and very nervous about entering India and if they would be allowed to step foot on the foreign soil.

Nervously they stood as time seemed to slow down, finally the Customs officer raising his head and saying “here you are mam, your visa number” Both the Captain and admiral let out an audible sigh of relief. The kindly customs officer had taken care of their issue and was only amusing himself at the Captain and Admiral’s expense. 

They quickly collected their bags and headed out into the foggy Delhi airport arrivals area. 

After using some international roaming credit, the Admiral and Captain were able to locate the captain’s father General Andy, and his friend General Mandi who had come to pick them up from the airport. Instantly feeling the cold breeze, they were glad to have escaped the desert sun to arrive at a much more temperate climate. After a beautiful reunion with the cadet and his grandfather, the captain, admiral and cadet were transported to General Mandi’s quarters where they were planning to stay the night. Upon arrival the reunion between the cadet and his grandmother was surreal. He did not want to sleep despite it being almost 5 a.m. He just wanted to hang out and play with his much missed grandparents. 

Time was short and they still had to conquer their major mission milestones which was to surprise both cousins. The next day they awoke to a marvellous breakfast prepared and were pleasantly surprised by general Mandy’s daughter and granddaughter who came to surprise them and join them for breakfast. Instantly the Cadet had made a new friend.

Brandy was short but it was beautiful. It was nice to see some old friends and familiar faces after many years being locked down and not being able to visit.

They quickly packed up and ordered an Uber for their long journey across a very overpopulated  New Delhi, and although the distance was only 35 km the ETA was showing 2 hours, which is standard for Delhi commutes.

They finally arrived and stealthily walked up the stairs to reach the apartment of the Captain’s cousin and his family.  This was going to be a big one since the whole family had been following virtually the Cadets early years and this was going to be the first time that they would see him in person. What resulted was nothing short of phenomenal; the surprise had not only worked but yielded results nothing short of spectacular. There were screams. There were tears. There were shrieks of joy instantly. They couldn’t believe that the Captain, Admiral and Cadet stood before them!

It is very hard to explain in words, the sheer joy that existed in that moment. There was a mushroom cloud of love and emotion emitting from that apartment building. They had successfully surprised the family, and everybody felt a sense of love and relief. They couldn’t believe that everybody was there together after many years. The feeling is indescribable.

The remainder of the night was spent catching up and spending time together. It had been years since anyone had seen each other and that euphoria was still very much present. After some drinks and some much needed relaxation time, it was time to put the cadet to sleep for the night. However, I think he also felt a sense of over excitement as he did not want to go down. Even after some serenading with the guitar, it seemed that he wanted to be awake and part of the joyous occasion of reunion. He just did not want to sleep. Spending many hours together, and despite all their efforts to put the little one down the Captain and Admiral headed to bed. It had been an emotional day and it was only going to get bigger when they visited the remainder of the family at the wedding on the following day.

As the next day started There was some discussion about going away from the cousin’s place and going to stay at the wedding venue for the night after the ring ceremony. However, due to lack of accommodation, they decided to stay back and they were very glad that this was the case because they had not spent enough time with their favourite cousins. They were to head to the ring ceremony later that night and surprise everyone, But as this was meant to be an impromptu trip they had no outfits or anything. So this left a few hours for them to go and pick up something to wear. 

They were able to get a ride with their cousin and quickly went to pick up something to wear, heading to a local store called ‘Shoppers Stop’ The Captain was able to pick up  light blue kurta with a waistcoat. 

They then returned home to get ready for the Ring Ceremony function, this was going to be their big surprise entrance. Preparing themselves for the long haul to the venue, they geared up and headed off. Luckily the lack of sleep from the night before meant the Cadet would have a Nap in the car, as would the Admiral. 

They arrived after a long journey and got secretly ushered through the corridors of the resort where the Bride and family (the Captain’s Uncle and Aunty) were preparing for the function. 

Running into uncle first, his excitement was uncontainable. He was overjoyed to see them and then ushered them towards his auntie and the bride. Everyone welcomed the crew and l the little cadet leapt into his new but soon to be familiar family’s arms. Nobody expected the group to attend the wedding, especially with the Captain’s busy itinerary of the FIFA World cup. Once again it was amazing to see family. 

The remainder of the Ring ceremony was spent mingling and meeting distant family members, as well as making sneaky visits to room 1024, which had been turned into a speakeasy at the Dry wedding. The Captain and Admiral took turns to wet their whistles. After fulfilling some brotherly duties at the Ring Ceremony, the team decided to head back home. Being ushered back home late by their lovely cousin who had driven them for the ring ceremony in the first place. It had been a long and emotional day. They all fell asleep pretty quickly. 

The night however was not over. The Captain awoke with a terrible Migraine and the need to vomit.  The pain was unbearable, he woke up the admiral for help and proceeded to the other bedroom in which he started vomiting and screaming in pain. Not knowing what to do The admiral woke up the rest of the household who all came to assistance, providing medicines and painkillers to relieve the Captain from his unbearable state. After one hour of unconscionable pain and profuse vomiting, the Captain was able to feel the drugs working, he felt a sense of calm before passing out. 

In the morning he felt fine, albeit baffled as to why this occurred, he was unsure if it was the food, the drinks or just the overarching extent of exhaustion. In any-case, he praised the Gods that he had been surrounded by family and friends who were able to help him and release him from the depths of his pains. 

It was the big day of the wedding. But this also meant that the Captain, Admiral and cadet would have to say a sad goodbye to his lovely cousin and  family who had harboured them on their surprise visit thus far.  The crew had to depart for their new abode, to stay the last few nights at the wedding venue.

They slowly packed their belongings and started to say goodbye, subconsciously the cadet was also feeling some sense of angst as he also was not in his best behaviour. He knew something was going on, and although he may not have understood the situation, there was some weird aura about him as they got ready to leave. It was an emotional goodbye and even as they placed their bags into the Uber they could feel the sadness around them as they departed.

Arriving at the hotel. The initial shine of the surprise the previous day had  worn off, however it was still very nice to be surrounded by familiar faces and family. Still reeling from the departure from their cousin’s place, the crew were escorted to a room and checked in. It was time for the Cadet’s nap so everybody took a little bit of a rest, then it was going to be a long night with the wedding proceeding starting at 9:00 p.m.

Rising from their nap they got ready for the festivities that were to come. It had been a while since they had attended an Indian wedding and were feeling pumped. Not only for the extraordinary, colourful and exciting rituals but also for the plethora of food. Camouflaged in native wear they emerged to the sound of drums and dancing and a horse,  the wedding had started.

The enthralling few hours included dancing, chasing the cadet around, the cadet dancing and  socialising, oh and a lot of eating. With over 100 dishes to try they worked their way through the buffet. Time once again got the better of them and it was time for the Admiral and Cadet to bid farewell and head back to the their bunker for a rest. It had been a long day. 

The Captain stayed for another hour and about 3 am decided to call it himself, retreating back to the confines of his room.

The night seemed to fly past and in the morning they awoke to greet a married couple. The Captain came to hear that the ceremony had ended at 7am that morning – there was no way that the Captain could have survived till then. They headed to the lobby area where they met with all the relatives as they said goodbyes and slowly all departed. It always is an emotional farewell when there is no indication of when you will see these people again and which part of the world it would be in. Alas, it is the way of life and the pitfalls of having family living in foreign lands. 

Finally it came time for the Captain, Admiral and Cadet to set off, bidding farewell to the wedding venue that had housed them overnight. Luckily they did not have to face the wrath of Delhi’s traffic this time, as they were staying right next door, coincidentally at the Resort where the Captain and Admiral had said their Indian vows and danced Bollywood all night  only 5 years prior. 

The Admiral and Cadet jumped into a taxi with the copious amounts of luggage that they had accumulated in their trip, and headed over, whilst the Captain decided to walk next door. They checked in and planned for their last evening in India.

The Captain’s mother had joined them for the last night, and they planned to take the cadet on one final adventure out. Deciding to get to a shopping mall where he could spend the last of his energy playing and the Captain and Admiral could finish those last bits of souvenir shopping for friends. 

To mix it up and to give the Cadet a new rich experience, they decided to take an Auto Rickshaw to the Mall. The Cadet was thrilled. The wind blowing in his haiir, he waved at oncoming traffic and jumped around. He was extremely thrilled by this new means of transportation. Whizzing through traffic it still took them almost an hour to reach the destination. 

Upon arriving, they had to cross a major arterial to get to the correct side, with the overpass closed/ broken they crossed the road like locals jumping over road dividers and weaving through oncoming cars. Finally at the mall they headed to the food court to feed the Cadet (which resulted in the captain fighting with one establishment due to the rigidness of their menu)) which resulted in a fight between the Captain and Admiral, ultimately calming down and getting supplies from another vendor and feeding the little man. They Fed the Cadet and headed to the play centre.  

As they were walking they realised that the Cadet had Soiled himself and it had leaked all over his pants. Crisis mode. The Captain scurried looking for places he could buy some appropriate, and reasonably priced pants for the cadet. That in itself was a major mission, going from shop to shop, finding outrageously overpriced items, the Captain had to go back to where they were dropped off, a solid 15 minutes walk back to the more affordable shops. Here he found some Dino Pants, which he purchased and ran back. 

They threw the old pants in the bin and changed the cadet, who then proceeded to spend an hour playing in this run down but expansive Play centre. 

Their time was up, not only in the play centre but on their 2022 journey to India. They boarded another Auto Rickshaw that somehow managed to half the travel time by taking some hidden pathways to deliver them back to the hotel/ resort. They got back into the hotel and completed the final bath routine with the Cadet and put him down. Sharing one final meal which had been brought by the General and the Captain’s Brother from the establishment called “Kareems” in Chandni Chowk, as they packed their bags and got ready for their early morning departure back home 

Early morning checking out meant a struggle to find Ubers and porter staff. But after waiting 30 minutes they were able to get some assistance as they headed back to the Airport in which they had arrived. The Captain faced some battles at the airport (no porters there to help, lack of priority for flying with a child, Business class lounge not accepting them, and getting internet connectivity a struggle) they boarded the flight to Bangkok at first (which had been delayed by an hour already). The fact that it was delayed caused some nervousness as 132 passengers were all heading back to Melbourne on the connecting flight with had a transit time of only 1 hour and 30 minutes in Bangkok. 

After what felt like an eternity they finally boarded the flight and jet set off, saying farewell to India. The first flight was like a dream, the Cadet and Admiral slept in peace, the Captain watched a movie. They arrived in Bangkok and instantly there was a sense of panic in the air, they departed the plane only to find ushers ready to rush them onto the next flight to Melbourne. It seems the half boarded plane had been waiting for the incoming passengers. It took over an hour to run from one terminal gate to the other, bypassing checks and hindrances throughout. 

They finally boarded the plane with all the seated passengers looking at them and wondering why they had been delayed by over an hour in boarding . The Captain, Admiral and Cadet took their seats and awaited the flight’s departure back to Melbourne.

This flight, unlike the last one, was a bit of a nightmare. The Cadet decided not to take any rest, but rather jump around in the seat and create a ruckus. His kicking of the seat in front was exchanged with allowances of the passenger in front to climb over occasionally to use the bathroom (instead of disturbing the people next to her). This flight was like the one they had heard horror stories about. Kids being over energised running up and down the isles and worse yet crying.. Luckily The cadet was manageable. He was energetic, watched tv, ate, jumped on the seat and ran up and down the aisle – but he did not cry or annoy anyone (so they believed) . Each minute felt like an hour towards the end, the 9 hour flight time could not elapse fast enough.  

They finally landed 2 hours behind schedule. They had reached home and survived the epic, and challenging trip. 

Just as they thought their journey was over and they were in the grasp of safety, their luggage took over an hour to arrive and they realised that their airlines had lost the Cadets’ strolling vessel.  After waiting for over 2 hours at the airport, after having a flight that was already 2 hours delayed, they decided not to fight fate – taking a lost baggage document from the airline staff and exiting the Airport onto Melbourne Soil. They were finally home.

It had been an amazing journey with heaps of ups and downs, and a learning experience like no other, travelling with an inexperienced Cadet. They had the most amazing time, and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Till the next adventure. 

Captian, Admiral & Cadet, Over and Out.