At this point i'm feeling pretty good about my decision to fly. True the 8 seater plane is much more costly than the train and a bit more risky, but it gave me an extra two days in the mountains, and the passenger list has opened up an interesting opportunity. Confirmed on the flight are; six bodygaurd/attendents, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and me. I'm giddy wondering how to address His Holiness. I know he likes to laugh so I'm thinking I'll start with the Pope in the pizza bit, I ripped off from Father Guido Sarducci. As I'm trying to remember the first few lines, I get officially interupted: the official-

"I regret to inform you sir but this flight has been officially cancelled."

 me- "But, (unspoken expletive) why?"

the official- "Technical difficulty"

 me- "But what about His Holiness?"

 the official- "He will take the flight in 2 days, you may as well"

me- "But I don't have 2 days, and I've got this great bit"...

 Back in a taxi now, contemplating: Journeys...this is where I started...  Luck...it seems pretty damm fragile sometimes... Time...I've got plenty of it for contemplating as it's a minimum of 12 hours to Delhi by car. Ten hours into the journey the car is stopped on the side of the road, my driver has been taken away by the police. Prior to this we had stopped just twice. Once to fill the tank and once to empty our bladders. I had tried to get him to stop for some peanuts but he just turned and yelled something in Hindi. So now I'm sitting in the car alone; wishing I had eaten breakfast, thinking that my cab driver must be wanted for aggrevated assault, wondering if I'll make my flight out of Delhi in 9 hours, and contemplating the first of Buddha's four noble truths.

1. Life is rooted in suffering. -Yeah, I'm begining to see that. I move on to number 2. 2. Suffering is caused by the craving for worldly things. -For the past 2 hours I've relived every chile relleno I've ever eaten. I've got number two wired. Halfway to enlightenment I'm feeling confident, bring on 3 and 4. 3&4. One can find release from suffering by eliminating craving, and to do so one must follow the Noble Eight-Fold Path -I'm racking my brain sorting through past infomercials, audio-books, fortune cookies.... Eight-Fold Path just isn't registering. So the back of the taxi has now become my Bohdi Tree. I'm resigned to sit here until enlightenment comes. Four hours later and still nothing. All I can think about is how in a city of 12 million people can we not find a single one who knows where the New Dehli train station is. Despite our predicement, my driver seems to be in good spirits for someone who has driven 14 hours straight without food or water. Maybe he knows the eight-fold path, or maybe he's just used to suffering, or maybe he's just grateful to have dodged jail. I watch through the window as he walks over to 2 men warming themselves by a fire they have started on the side of the road. For the 13th time I can just hear him ask: "Hindi word, hindi word, hindi word, New Delhi train station?". The two men immediately point in opposite directions. When I'm finally able to stop laughing I notice something. I no longer feel craving. No suffering. Enlightement?? Perhaps just a small taste. Content we choose one of the directions and move on.