Hello from New Delhi!
Four days after arriving in Kolkata our group set off to New Delhi and, as we are learning to expect, things did not go quite as we expected. At nine in the morning our group set off to the Foreign Registry Office in Kolkata to make our presence officially known. Of course today of all days the ugly beast called traffic decided to remind us of its existence. As we sat in the car our bodies lurched back and forth as the driver attempted to weave through the masses of taxis, cars, motorcycles and pedestrians we did our best to keep from getting motion sickness. This was done with varying degrees of success but in the end we made it to the embassy with no issues. At the embassy we crammed ourselves in the "Visitor Room" and attempted to make 11 American-sized bodies fit into the miniscule room so that we could all enjoy the rare treat of air conditioning.
After leaving the embassy the plan was to head to a restaurant for lunch and then get to the airport with enough time to check in and get to our gate. The funny thing about making plans in India is that they always seem to have a mind of their own. The group was divided into two cars with 6 people in each and our luggage for New Delhi and early on in the trip the van that I was in got stuck behind some slow cars and lost the other car. It wasnt until about 20 minutes later that we saw them again as we passed their car pulled over by the side of the highway. When our driver pulled over, everyone in our car craned our necks to try to see what was going on but all we could determine was that Sean and the drivers were trying to assess some sort of damage. When the car set out again those of us in my car could see a visible tremor to the car's gate and they didn't make it far before they pulled over again and everyone piled out. Soon after, our car was joined by Tierney and Michelle and, in a well intentioned but poorly thought out attempt to make more room for them, Charles vaulted himself over the back row to join Kristen and I in the back seat. As he sat upside down in the fetal position with his rear in Kristen's face and his head almost in my lap he said dejectedly, "This didn't go like I thought it would...". No it didn't. Neither, however, do a lot of things in India so instead of complaining or giving up, you wiggle around until you find another way to make them work out. Charles quickly righted himself and we were off again, with four of our party trailing behind in a cab.
The airport was just as chaotic as I remembered it to be and after a breif panic over Charles' lost ticket we finally made it into the airport with just enough time to fly through check in and security and make it to our gate in time. Well, at least we could have done those things if it didn't take 15 minutes for them to print out our boarding passes and if they didn't have to individually pat us down in security with a metal detector and if security didn't confuse Michelle's tongue-scraper for a weapon. After several flustered moments we set off at double pace to our gate expecting to board the plane immediately and set off. Well, that would have happened if our plane hadn't been delayed by almost 30 minutes. Finally, however, we got on the plane and spent 2 pleasant hours either sleeping or playing cards among ourselves and making use of a bathroom that was relatively clean (I don't think that I can justly convey the ammount of happiness that this small pleasure brings us).
Even after all of the set-backs of today we finally made it to New Delhi and even though we didn't have time to see the Bahai Temple because of the delay we still had the chance to see some of India's capitol. Straight out of the airport we filed onto our tour bus that is going to be taking us around for the next few days. The bus seats 14 people and has fans and air-conditioning within its shabby exterior so there were no complaints to be heard as we set off. Looking around the city as we drove, the first thing that I noticed was the difference in the terrain. In Kolkata everything that isn't built up with houses or shops is a lush green and palm trees adorn many streets while in New Delhi the ground is arid and the stray dogs that we have been so used to seeing have now been accompanied by monkeys who pick through the trash by the said of the road. The government offices in New Delhi are surrounded by pristine streets and guards, which is a drastic difference from the streets of Kolkata. After seeing the President's House, the Parlimentary house, and the India Gate we headed to a nice dinner and then off to our hotel. The street that the hotel is on is similar to the ones that we have been seeing in Kolkata, serving as a reminder that no matter how clean the streets were around the governmental offices, New Delhi has its fair share of poverty.
Right now we are all separating into our seperate rooms and preparing for a long day tomorrow. At 6am we are going to get on a bus and by this time tomorrow we will all have seen one of the 7 wonders of the world!
Four days after arriving in Kolkata our group set off to New Delhi and, as we are learning to expect, things did not go quite as we expected. At nine in the morning our group set off to the Foreign Registry Office in Kolkata to make our presence officially known. Of course today of all days the ugly beast called traffic decided to remind us of its existence. As we sat in the car our bodies lurched back and forth as the driver attempted to weave through the masses of taxis, cars, motorcycles and pedestrians we did our best to keep from getting motion sickness. This was done with varying degrees of success but in the end we made it to the embassy with no issues. At the embassy we crammed ourselves in the "Visitor Room" and attempted to make 11 American-sized bodies fit into the miniscule room so that we could all enjoy the rare treat of air conditioning.
After leaving the embassy the plan was to head to a restaurant for lunch and then get to the airport with enough time to check in and get to our gate. The funny thing about making plans in India is that they always seem to have a mind of their own. The group was divided into two cars with 6 people in each and our luggage for New Delhi and early on in the trip the van that I was in got stuck behind some slow cars and lost the other car. It wasnt until about 20 minutes later that we saw them again as we passed their car pulled over by the side of the highway. When our driver pulled over, everyone in our car craned our necks to try to see what was going on but all we could determine was that Sean and the drivers were trying to assess some sort of damage. When the car set out again those of us in my car could see a visible tremor to the car's gate and they didn't make it far before they pulled over again and everyone piled out. Soon after, our car was joined by Tierney and Michelle and, in a well intentioned but poorly thought out attempt to make more room for them, Charles vaulted himself over the back row to join Kristen and I in the back seat. As he sat upside down in the fetal position with his rear in Kristen's face and his head almost in my lap he said dejectedly, "This didn't go like I thought it would...". No it didn't. Neither, however, do a lot of things in India so instead of complaining or giving up, you wiggle around until you find another way to make them work out. Charles quickly righted himself and we were off again, with four of our party trailing behind in a cab.
The airport was just as chaotic as I remembered it to be and after a breif panic over Charles' lost ticket we finally made it into the airport with just enough time to fly through check in and security and make it to our gate in time. Well, at least we could have done those things if it didn't take 15 minutes for them to print out our boarding passes and if they didn't have to individually pat us down in security with a metal detector and if security didn't confuse Michelle's tongue-scraper for a weapon. After several flustered moments we set off at double pace to our gate expecting to board the plane immediately and set off. Well, that would have happened if our plane hadn't been delayed by almost 30 minutes. Finally, however, we got on the plane and spent 2 pleasant hours either sleeping or playing cards among ourselves and making use of a bathroom that was relatively clean (I don't think that I can justly convey the ammount of happiness that this small pleasure brings us).
Even after all of the set-backs of today we finally made it to New Delhi and even though we didn't have time to see the Bahai Temple because of the delay we still had the chance to see some of India's capitol. Straight out of the airport we filed onto our tour bus that is going to be taking us around for the next few days. The bus seats 14 people and has fans and air-conditioning within its shabby exterior so there were no complaints to be heard as we set off. Looking around the city as we drove, the first thing that I noticed was the difference in the terrain. In Kolkata everything that isn't built up with houses or shops is a lush green and palm trees adorn many streets while in New Delhi the ground is arid and the stray dogs that we have been so used to seeing have now been accompanied by monkeys who pick through the trash by the said of the road. The government offices in New Delhi are surrounded by pristine streets and guards, which is a drastic difference from the streets of Kolkata. After seeing the President's House, the Parlimentary house, and the India Gate we headed to a nice dinner and then off to our hotel. The street that the hotel is on is similar to the ones that we have been seeing in Kolkata, serving as a reminder that no matter how clean the streets were around the governmental offices, New Delhi has its fair share of poverty.
Right now we are all separating into our seperate rooms and preparing for a long day tomorrow. At 6am we are going to get on a bus and by this time tomorrow we will all have seen one of the 7 wonders of the world!
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