update from Delhi

I am largely updating my India blog for class, but if I have time I will paste my posts to this blog too. (India blog: erinandindia.blogspot.com)

I arrived in Delhi at 1:30am this morning. I was so happy to have Marian and Professor Doggett by my side to help navigate the airport/visa/taxi situations. Marian had booked us a room at the hotel next door to the Shangri La (in a wonderful effort to save about $100), and I was glad to see a bed! I slept from 3am until 12:30pm! So much for my ability to sleep on the plane. ;)

Arriving into the Delhi airport was different than I expected. It was very international. I'm not sure what I was expecting - but definitely a more local feel than I saw. I think I counted 1 woman in a sari. When I arrived at the visa desk, I friendly asked how the man behind the counter was doing. "Not Fine" he answered grumpily. Oh. Okay, I guess maybe I should not be so friendly! I was also expecting much more craziness on the way to the hotel. Maybe because it was 2:30am, but the city didn't seem all that different from a city in the US. Again, not sure what I was expecting, but it seemed like a lot of buildings with barbed wire around the perimeter, and not much else. what did surprise me was the security at the hotels. You have to go through 2-3 checkpoints to get in, including metal detectors and bag searches. I was not prepared for that.

Marian and I headed out this afternoon to explore and find an ATM. We made it as far as the ATM. Had we kept going, we would have walked right into a mosque. (Okay, that was different.) Also, the two of us trying to figure out how many rupees to get was funny. I'm still not sure we figured it out. We decided that since the shops were closed downtown, that we would just head back to the hotel, grab some food for the day, and wait for Rohit at 4pm. That was a good plan - we were able to relax for a bit, and now I have a few minutes to blog and send emails before heading out. I'm glad to have an experienced person to guide us, because Marian and I clearly didn't know what we were doing. :)

So... I anticipate seeing much more this evening and starting tomorrow. So far, it's pretty calm. The things most different I've seen so far are 1) the rickshaws, 2) the dying dog on the side of the sidewalk, 3) the mosque, and 4) the security.

Oh, one more thing - the hotels are so nice. Upon arrival at Shangri La, someone brought up fresh squeezed OJ to my room. Delicious! In the bathroom, in addition to soap and shampoo, there are toothbrushes, lotions, combs, personal kits, etc... Very upscale.

Also, I am still so tired. But I will stay awake until at least 9pm tonight. Even though I so want to take a nap!

Alright, that's it for now. I'll check back in later!