After being a silent spectator to all this talk for a while, its about time I input my transit experience through Delhi via NYC. This was WAY back in the summer of 1999 and I was a senior freshman looking for the cheapest fare back to KTM…Not surprisingly, Air India ($1,150) was the fortunate one to take me home. LOL A brief histroy of the social scene in NYC's 1998: Back then, there weren't that many Neps here and going to Jackson Heights the Indians always presumed I was either Filipinos or Chinese. Hell, just seeing Indians around made me feel like back home and amongst my own peeps (Indian subcontinent camraderie) as there were hardly any Neps or Tibs in NYC….Getting back to the story, the day of my flight, my cousin had to finish up with buying more items to send home and I went along with him to the city. In the end, we were really late and when we reched the airport, the ticket-counters were shut and I wasn't let through. Moreover, my ticket was one where it couldn't be resheduled without a huge fee (and me being a student back then, there was no way I could afford it). However, the manager for Air India on knowing that I was a Nep student asked me to board the flight the next day with no hesitation. He talked about his visit to KTM and how the Neps there were really nice and it was something special to see a Nep student here in the US, etc. etc...In retrospect, nowadays, we Nepalis in NYC have no camradrie amongst ourselves, forget being from the same-subcontinent…Indians are a whole different species. The next day, boarded the flight from JFK, landed in London and there I nearly got into a fight with a dhoti official while waiting at the transit. He was fuggin rude as hell to everybody before me and when my turn came around and he acted the same, I had to give him back his own dose…In a few seconds, I started hurling abuses and he started giving me police threats…hahhahaa. It ended as soon as it started. After 4 hours, boarded the flight to Delhi. After getting to Delhi after 111 hours, my flight was for the next afternoon (about 14 hours in transit) but I decided to stay at the airport, thanks to the experiences from my high-school days in Shimla where I always flew in from Delhi. Back then, I was in class 11 returning to school by myself after the Autumn break and the customs harassed me like crazy! They wanted to tax me for my "foreign" shoes, clothes, camera and packaged snacks and food. Moreover, they made me take off my shoes, belt and t-shirt to see if I was carrying any illegal substances. This really pissed me off but I was just 16 then and there was nothing I could do about it. I looked at my side and saw the same being done to all the young guys and girl (only to Neps though) …Indians and older neps with families passed easily…After that, everytime I returned to school from Nepal for the next 2 years, the same damn routine! Yeah, getting back to the story, I stayed at the airport overnight as I had my collection of DMX, Jay-Z, Wu Tang, etc. (all just out then with their first big hits) and also the game-boy did me good. It did get boring, but I didn’t go out of the airport and also made sure that all my baggage was set for transit by confirming with the officials there. Even when sleeping for a couple of hours, slept in a well-lit spot around other peeps so that my stuff would be safe (damn Indians, even the security looked like thieves). Next morning, chatted with a few early arrivers and other tourists on transit. And later reconfirmed with the Airline officails there again for my flight to KTM and boarded the plane later during the day. On getting back to KTM, made sure all the tags from NYC were torn out my bags at the baggage claim and headed through the green channel declaring nothing…The Nep authorities let me go easily thinking I was just another student from Delhi…I saw the peeps who arrived from Bangkok being stopped and their bags being analyzed to the smallest detail and I was silently laughing real hard. That was the only thing that made my trip through Delhi worth it (and the tourist chick I befriended in Delhi en-route to KTM was hot as hell too! Met her in Thamel a few days later). :-) PS: Make sure you keep reconfirming at the Delhi airport and make sure all your baggages are set for transit to KTM again. Also, remain alert and just don't try to bring too much attention to yourself.