Day One - Off to a good start

Aaaaahhhh, it is good to be back in Asia! There was a small sense of accomplishment upon arriving into Delhi after a 15 hour flight from Chicago (American Airlines' longest non-stop international flight). I managed to watch three movies en route, two of which were of the Bollywood variety. These flicks quickly illustrated the materialistic capacity of what I considered to still be Ghandi's land of homespun clothing and peaceful meditation. The flight served dinner when we boarded, and then breakfast about 13 hours later, at 8pm local time.

The 30 minute ride from the airport seemed to be one long construction zone. Apparently there is a new underground metro that will be servicing the airport in the near future, bringing welcome relief to the highway traffic. After realizing this was our first visit to his country, the proud Indian driver insisted this particular night carried a strange "fog". Katy and I agreed this "fog" certainly contained potent elements of dirt and pollution. Arriving at our bungalow hotel slightly disoriented, we decided, rather effortlessly, to go to bed. By 4:30am, we were both wide awake, wondering when the sun was going to greet our day.

Overall, the city of New Delhi is surprisingly clean, with more beautiful shady trees than most urban areas. The people are generally quiet, kind, and peaceful. This seems to be not only a reflection of their collective heightened spiritual state, but also a direct result of their densely crowded condition.

The TV and newspaper coverage has been dominated by the G20 Summit and pictures of India's PM with President Obama. One gets a strong sense that India has turned a corner and no longer considers itself a "developing country", but rather a "rising world power". Indeed, India's economy is expected to be one of the few (if not only) economies that is expected to grow (not contract) in 2009. There is a feeling of pride that India might not need to be included in receiving international aid during this global economic downturn.

During today's tour, we took in the beautiful Lodhi Gardens, practically useful Khan Market, emotionally touching Indira Ghandi memorial, educational and inspiring Nehru museum, relentless Kashmir rug sales pitch, and our first local meal without contracting the infamous "Delhi belly"! We struck out on foot, but quickly hailed a rikshaw to cover more ground and get cover from the heat.

We've just met up with our friend, Courtney, who has been living here for several months. She's going to show us the local scene tonight, and then we'll depart tomorrow for somewhere else. We thought we were going to Kathmandu, Nepal tomorrow, but India's grip has proven to be too strong, so we'll remain here for a bit longer. We hope to visit Old Delhi tomorrow, which is apparently much more of an adventure.

Katy has just awoken from a nap to provide some stunning shots of our first day...

written by

Katy and Mark Lewis on April 3, 2009 from Delhi, India

from the travel blog: India and Nepal

Send a Compliment

comment on this...