The flight was wonderfully uneventful, and upon arrival, we walked out again in the beautiful night air, somewhat in shock about the fact that our time in Orissa was done and that we were actually in Delhi.
We hopped on the shuttle and made our way to the terminal, where we waited to get our luggage and then began the process of figuring out where to go. It was already quite late, but we didn't have any room reservations yet. We had been so focused on getting the passports that, to be honest, we figured that we could find a room when we got to Delhi. God had been in the details so much already, and we knew that He would continue to provide.
But after multiple phone calls and several times being told that the hotels were full, we were starting to get discouraged. We were all beyond exhausted by this time, but we decided to call one of the hotels back and try again. It was the hotel that we had originally been planning on going to and that had been recommended highly by a family who had traveled a month or so before us. I told them that even though they had already said no, I was calling back because this other family had told us that they had taken such good care of them as an adoptive family. The manager assured me that they had no special deal or anything for adoptive families but that they had heard our plight and had made two rooms available. We again found ourselves so grateful that God had provided just when we needed it.
The next task was making our way to the hotel which, as it turns out, was not so easy. We walked outside and negotiated for two small vehicles that would take us to the Hilton Garden Inn Sakat. Rex went with L and her parents, and Tom was, of course, with me and Hoffbeast. The drivers assured us that, oh yes, they knew right where that hotel was, which didn't become problematic until a half hour into our drive when, at almost midnight, the cars pulled over to the side of the road, and it became very clear that we were lost.
And did I mention that we didn't have the hotel address on us? Oops. And somehow we didn't have the ability to use our cell phones--maybe they were dead or had no reception? I'm not sure, but whatever it was, this was not a good situation.
I was so tired and almost throwing up my hands. So we started praying. We were definitely in a precarious situation....late at night, with a driver who didn't speak English and having no idea where we were supposed to be or how to get there. Our driver didn't exactly understand what we meant even when we said the hotel's name. For a few minutes, I was stumped. All these details and now....we didn't know what to do.
I remember shrugging my shoulders and telling the driver, "I don't know!" Finally I asked him if I could use his phone and ended up browsing online and finding the address of the hotel. Once I showed him the address, he figured out the general area, then called when we got close for exact directions. Turns out that the "Of course we can take you there!" sort of meant, "We want your business. We'll figure out where we are going once we have you in our cars."
It was well after midnight by the time we arrived, but we were so very happy to finally be there! Two things stand out about our arrival: the high security (We had to send all of our luggage through an x-ray machine just like at the airport, and each of us had to be searched as well--each time we walked into the hotel.) and the warm welcome. The people there were sooooo kind. I can't say enough about the hospitality we received from the moment we arrived to the time we left several days later.
And our room........it was beautiful. We did not expect the poshness that met us at this hotel. Everything about it was lovely and comfortable and just perfect, especially after our cramazing adventure in Orissa.
Guess what we did after we finally got in our room? We slept.........for hours and hours and hours.
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