After lunch at Durgin Park and the teary goodbyes at the Boston Logan Airport, I began my jouney by first flying into Newark, NJ where my connecting flight to Delhi was delayed. We ended up wandering around the airport for at least 4 hours until our flight to Delhi finaly departed that night. I tried to avoid sleeping too much on the way so that I could sleep when I arrived at night, but I got bored with watching movies and playing with bendaroos and I was extremely exhausted so I did sleep for a little while, but not any longer than an hour. We had dinner on the plane, which was a little tray of mushy orange stuff, mushy green stuff, and rice, with a cup of something that looked like runny, ranch dressing with clumps of ricotta cheese. Later on in the flight, they served cereal bars and miniature chickpea wraps, which were not as bad as the dinner. When they served breakfast towards the end of the flight (when it was around dinner time at our destination) they brought trays of the same mushy, orange stuff, potato pancakes, and rice with cashews. I met some very friendly women on the plane outside the galley where we had gone to stand to stretch our legs. They were very nice and we had a very nice conversation about travel in India. It had seemed like days when the plane finally landed and at that time I started to get a little bit nervous. I'm not sure what I was nervous about. Maybe I was afraid that I wouldn't like it in Delhi or something, but whatever it was, was making my hands shake a bit. I felt better when we got off the plane and the airport at that point was fairly calm and not too busy. We went through customs and got our luggage sometime between 11:30 PM and Midnight and when we went outide to get a taxi, is when I got my first impression of India! It was very busy in the car port with cars, taxi's and rickshaws appearing in front of you from nowhere and then zooming off again, and people stacking their luggage in the back of cars and piling into the seats. While I was taking in everything I was seeing, I couldn't believe that I was really in India! I had seen pictures and read about the country but it was still much different than what I had imagined. When we got in the taxi, I was slightly shocked. It was not anything like at taxi in the U.S! It was much older looking and the seats were covered in towels that were tied on to the seats with knots. Driving on the roads for the first time in India was also a bit shocking! I couldn't believe how fast they speed by eachother when they are inches away from another car or someone's feet! It was a long taxi ride because the driver didn't know where the hotel was and had to stop and ask for directions a few times. I found it funny that when he asked for directions, he would just roll down the window and shout something to the rickshaw driver beside us! I noticed upon arrival in Delhi that the city smelled different than other cities I have been too. It smelled like a celar or basement, only a little stonger. We made it to the hotel very late and I hadn't slept much at all in the past 24 hours so when I got to my room, right away, I took a shower and then went to bed. My hotel room is very nice and a good size. It has a queen size bed, an armchair and ottoman, desk, large TV, a very large, marble shower, a seperate bathtub, closet and a refrigerator and a place to make tea. So far the hotel is great and seems very safe. They have much more security at the entrance than any hotel in the U.S. that I have been to. I think I will like it here!
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