Arrived in Delhi.
It's 4 in the morning and I just want to jot down some initial thoughts and impressions so that I don't forget them before the malaria pills wash my dreams away.
You get a unique group of people on a nonstop flight to India. Students. Religious pilgrims. People who've watched 'Eat Pray Love' one too many times. The elderly. All trapped inside a magical bird. It's quite a similar vibe that you'd experience on a flight to Israel... just replace the black hats with turbans.
We were met at the airport by General Gupta and his team as we awaited the rest of our group. It's not everyday that you find yourself sitting across from a gentleman who's commanded 40000 troops. Imagine the surreal experience as Jennifer and I sat down for coffee with the General. We talked India. We talked sports.
The rest of the group arrived on the flight through Brussels and we loaded what seemed to be 30 bags into the van. We're doing a one day break in Delhi and then on Friday we make the journey to the Samthar Valley to start the project. After a 24 hour travel day, you need to refresh.
It's an amazing group. We haven't stopped smiling since we got together.
We haven't seen much of the city whatsoever. Just the airport and the late-night drive to our hotel. The airport was chaotic. Five million people with signs. The drive to the hotel was amazingly busy for a weeknight after midnight. Imagine the sound of a thousand car horns.
The first thing that I saw when I walked past the sign-holders was a giant LCD sign monitoring the air quality in the city. The words "Extremely Poor" was beside every neighborhood. Upon walking outside, it was instantly apparent what this meant. There's a unique smell to Delhi. It's not neccesarily bad, but distinct. Think diesel fuel.
It seems to be a really interesting place. From the ultramodern buildings that we passed along the way to the wild dogs and fires in the streets, this is clearly a city of contrasts.
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Glad to hear you haven't stopped smiling yet. May that be the theme for your journey!
ReplyDeleteHope you had a good rest, and good luck this month. Jen they are lucky to have you. Post often!
ReplyDeleteVery nice. All smiling people. Keep writing you can publish a book about this.
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