We left Thursday night from Portland and drove to Steve’s in Seattle. He’ll be watching Milo while we’re off. Our flight out is just shy of noon tomorrow. First we fly to Chicago O’Hare, and then it’s off to Delhi nonstop. The drive was uneventful. We made a final grocery store run – a couple of apples, croissants, some granola bars, and beer. We have some beers with Steve and turn in a bit before 2a.
We’re up at 8, shower, and head to All City Coffee for a cup. Then it’s off to SeaTac. Steve drops us exactly two hours before our flight. Check-in is smooth and the flight is on time.
We lay over in Chicago for two hours. We grab an overpriced burrito for our last stateside meal, and meet Niraj and Ami at the gate. Niraj is Leena’s brother, and like Leena, though of India decent, was born and raised in Chicago. Ami, however, was born in India and lived there until she was 10 or 12. She speaks Hindi, which we’re guessing will be quite useful. They’re with us for the first two weeks. Hopefully we’ll have the hang of India well enough for the last week. We’ll see.
The flight from Chicago is full. We have four of five seats across the center of the plane. We settle in and I order the chicken for dinner. Leena gets the vegetarian, which is Indian food. Hers is better.
I watch a Bollywood film – my first – complete with subtitles (naturally). It’s a love triangle with two college guys pining for the same classmate. One is the dorky brooding underdog who can’t tell the girl that he loves her. She falls for the cool, cocky guy. There’s a big twist an the end. I won’t spoil it.
I nap for a couple of hours and watch Bollywood flick #2. This is a more polished production following the story of two neighboring families. The father of one has lent money to the other with the house as collateral. He’s after the house. And there’s the secret affair between his sone and the neighbor’s daughter, Lolita. Of course.
A couple of more hours of napping and “breakfast” arrives (though it’s 7p in Delhi). I get the vegetarian. Better.
There’s a scurry of activity as we descend. You manage to spread out a bit in 14 hours on a flight. We fill out customs forms, set up the money belts, stow cash (none with me), and repack our backpacks. Since I’m the obvious foreigner, hence target, I’m not allowed to carry cash. Niraj tells a story of arriving in Mumbai on his last trip and being asked for ~$10 by an armed guard before being allowed to leave customs. He talked his way out of it.
We arrive just before 10 in the evening. Getting off the plane, there is a certain smell. I’d been told and had read about it, and here it is. It’s actually subtle. Maybe it’s worst elsewhere. Maybe it’s worse at night. You can tell that there’s dust and smog in the air, even though we haven’t been outside yet.
Claiming bags and customs is a breeze. We arrived just before another flight, and the line stretches behind us. It would have gone up an escalator, but that’s impossible. People figure it out. It’s an amusing diversion to watch while we wait to have our passports stamped.
The ceiling is a head-scraper for me in parts of the airport.
Niraj takes the lead out of customer and finds our driver. On the short walk to the car, he dismisses several men offering to help with our bags. He’s polite yet firm.
We’re outside now, and there’s some smog even though it’s night. It’s almost 11, Though I don’t know for sure just yet, this seems to be “India Lite”. Yes, it’s crowded and cars are trying to go every direction at once, and cars are honking, but it’s far from overwhelming. I’m guess it will be at some points.
It’s about a half hour drive to the guest house. Leena’s father is friends with the head of a huge Indian company, and the guest house is used for foreign travelers. I assume it’s mostly business partners.
Traffic lines, signals, et al are treated as suggestions here. Everyone runs red lights when it’s clear; many run them no matter what. I wish the folks who wait at the traffic circle at Glisan and 39th could see this. Just barge in! A car in front of use, who would normally have to go 3/4 of the way around to affect a right turn (they drive on the left so circles flow clockwise) sees an opening and cuts right. He goes 1/4 of the way around and is off. Nice move.
Don’t pet the dogs! They’re feral, and we see them about. We see some shanties. There are cows walking around in the streets.
We arrive at the guest house and review tomorrow’s itinerary. It’s packed. We’re asked if we’re Hungary and say a snack would be great. I guess they’re making a big meal, because 45 minutes later Leena and I turn in before the food arrives. We feel bad, but we’re tired. Unlike a red-eye to the East Coast or Europe, where you arrive at dawn exhausted, at least it’s really time to sleep here when you get in. I’m hoping that with a good night of sleep now I’ll adjust quickly.