At around 10:30 Alf's brother Raul came to take us to the airport and our adventure began. First a short flight to London followed by a layover where we indulged in some delicious falafel burgers (genius!) and some shopping at W.H. Smith (mostly on the hunt for Cadbury's mini eggs). We boarded our flight to Delhi at around 5:30 with British Airways and had a relatively easy flight (though had some trouble sitting next to each other, since the plane was absolutely full). We took advantage of the movie offerings on the flight, slept a bit, enjoyed our first vegetarian Indian meal (mmm) and were there in no time.
The Delhi airport wasn't the grand change that we were expecting, not all that different than London. We went through the control without being asked a single question and then made our way outside to hunt down our taxi driver from the lovely BnB that Alf found. Charlotte, the owner, who is absolutely lovely, gave us strict instructions on where to go and wait. Once we stepped outside of the airport, it really hit us that we were in another world. It was 6:30 a.m. and already the temperatures exceeded 100 degrees. As we looked beyond the throng of people eagerly waiting to greet their loved ones, we saw taxis mixed with tuk tuks (smaller cars that are basically a motorcycle with a shell around it and two seats in the back). We looked back and watched the entire Indian police force (equipped with rifles that looked like they were from the 1940's) march back inside the airport.
After some struggle, we managed to find our driver who guided us through to the car. He explained that he had run into heavy traffic on the way, very common in Delhi. The highway was a whole different experience!!! As our driver weaved through the lanes, he explained that people like to ride three to a moped, and oftentimes without helmets. We looked toward the side of the road and saw vendors selling melons and limes. there were tuk tuks everywhere. After exiting the highway, the driver pulled into a nice tranquil neighborhood and arrived at Charlotte's BnB. Her husband was there to greet us, explaining that Charlotte would be on a European tour for the next month. When we asked him if he was jealous that he didn't go along, he confessed that he was supposed to go to Switzerland to compete in the World Table Tennis Championship, but because of a shoulder injury had to decline.
We are now in our room freshly showered and ready to go and see Delhi. Tomorrow, we leave bright and early for Agra for what is sure to be the highlight of the trip: seeing the Taj Mahal.
The Delhi airport wasn't the grand change that we were expecting, not all that different than London. We went through the control without being asked a single question and then made our way outside to hunt down our taxi driver from the lovely BnB that Alf found. Charlotte, the owner, who is absolutely lovely, gave us strict instructions on where to go and wait. Once we stepped outside of the airport, it really hit us that we were in another world. It was 6:30 a.m. and already the temperatures exceeded 100 degrees. As we looked beyond the throng of people eagerly waiting to greet their loved ones, we saw taxis mixed with tuk tuks (smaller cars that are basically a motorcycle with a shell around it and two seats in the back). We looked back and watched the entire Indian police force (equipped with rifles that looked like they were from the 1940's) march back inside the airport.
After some struggle, we managed to find our driver who guided us through to the car. He explained that he had run into heavy traffic on the way, very common in Delhi. The highway was a whole different experience!!! As our driver weaved through the lanes, he explained that people like to ride three to a moped, and oftentimes without helmets. We looked toward the side of the road and saw vendors selling melons and limes. there were tuk tuks everywhere. After exiting the highway, the driver pulled into a nice tranquil neighborhood and arrived at Charlotte's BnB. Her husband was there to greet us, explaining that Charlotte would be on a European tour for the next month. When we asked him if he was jealous that he didn't go along, he confessed that he was supposed to go to Switzerland to compete in the World Table Tennis Championship, but because of a shoulder injury had to decline.
We are now in our room freshly showered and ready to go and see Delhi. Tomorrow, we leave bright and early for Agra for what is sure to be the highlight of the trip: seeing the Taj Mahal.
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