what, no hell?!
you know something's amiss when the only headache you get is due to carrying kefir on board at the cedar rapids security check. in fact the rest of the trip has been ridiculously easy. the food was decent (i guess american finally got the sense to contract indian veg food out to an indian company, in this case jyoti or swad or something - yes, i should have taken a picture but just was not prepared). it's nothing like the indian veg fare from the uk to india, mind you, but it was not anything to sneeeze at. markedly missing was the lack of pickle.
in any case, decent food, easy immigration, no hassle at customs, a totally uneventful taxi ride to the master paying guest house and we're now in bed with free wifi access. interestingly there's a 4-lane highway all the way to carol bagh. 4 years ago we basically drove on a 1.5-lane road through something resembling a forest between delhi and carol bagh. probably the most impressive part is the almost complete lack of touts as we exited indira gandhi international airport. either i'm just not good enough to be hassled by the taxi drivers, hotel pushers, and all the other assorted hangers-on, or something got cleaned up. but maybe we just got lucky!
i should state for the record that you know you're in india when there's pollution so thick it's like fog, and about 10 minutes into "fresh" air you have a sore throat and wish you'd been smoking more to keep the pollutants at bay. then there's the random drumming and tinny radio music that's blaring pretty much non-stop. i have no idea what it is, but there's a comfort quotient there that makes me recognize home.
anyway, we're in delhi, safe and pretty much feeling like the last 2 years in iowa have flitted by. except for the brand spankin new highway, and the monumental levels of construction we could have been here last week.
from here on there will be more pictures, i promise.
in any case, decent food, easy immigration, no hassle at customs, a totally uneventful taxi ride to the master paying guest house and we're now in bed with free wifi access. interestingly there's a 4-lane highway all the way to carol bagh. 4 years ago we basically drove on a 1.5-lane road through something resembling a forest between delhi and carol bagh. probably the most impressive part is the almost complete lack of touts as we exited indira gandhi international airport. either i'm just not good enough to be hassled by the taxi drivers, hotel pushers, and all the other assorted hangers-on, or something got cleaned up. but maybe we just got lucky!
i should state for the record that you know you're in india when there's pollution so thick it's like fog, and about 10 minutes into "fresh" air you have a sore throat and wish you'd been smoking more to keep the pollutants at bay. then there's the random drumming and tinny radio music that's blaring pretty much non-stop. i have no idea what it is, but there's a comfort quotient there that makes me recognize home.
anyway, we're in delhi, safe and pretty much feeling like the last 2 years in iowa have flitted by. except for the brand spankin new highway, and the monumental levels of construction we could have been here last week.
from here on there will be more pictures, i promise.
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posted by sundar | 9:58 AM
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