Arrived and First day in Delhi

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Arrived safely in Delhi at 11 p.m. local time (Feb. 4) which would have been 10:30 a.m. EST. The trip was long but not awful. I was a bit stressed leaving DC because the flight was delayed and I was afraid at one point that I might miss my connection in Newark, but ended up with plenty of time. The 14 hour flight was as good as such a flight can be in Economy on United Airlines!

There wasn't much of a chance to get an impression of India last night. The ride to the hotel from the airport was about 45 minutes and the traffic was much like DC during rush hour....except that there was an occasional cow on the major road and the horns were blowing incessantly....and there was the wedding "chariot " being pulled by white horses! I guess the traffic was considered "light" since it was so late. I'll experience the real things this afternoon.

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Wow! It's hard to describe even a small part of what I saw and experienced this afternoon.....the sights, the smells, the sounds are all overwhelming. The contrast between the streets in Old Delhi and New Delhi are hard to fathom. Chaotic, intense, exciting, exotic are just a few words that come to mind. Traffic is every bit as crazy as people had described. I experienced on a large bus, riding a rickshaw through the crowded streets of Chadni Chowk where there are countless shops run by the same families for generations. There were countless shops selling every metal part for vehicles known to man, sections of people selling all kinds of food and others selling garments, fabrics etc. This is not a tourist area but where the locals have been buying and selling for centuries. The largest mosque in India, Jama Masjid (built by the same Mughal ruler who built the Taj Majal) is right in the center of this area. 25,000 people can say prayers there at one time. We arrived right after one of the 5 daily prayers so there was still quite a crowd. We had to take off our shoes (as we will be doing for all temple visits whether Muslim, Hindu or any other) and women were required to wear borrowed robes, but we were definitely welcomed. Out trip leader had quite a lot to say about what is being written about Indian Hindu and Indian Muslim relations. He wanted us to see first hand how the two religions exist side by side and together as they have for generations.

A Contrast to the rest of the Old Delhi area is the Raj Ghat, a beautiful Monument to Mahatma Ghandi located where he was cremated. It's a quiet, serene place with and eternal flame at the center.

We next drove through New Delhi (where we will spend most of the day tomorrow) and immediately saw countless contrasts. Most striking was that the sheets were clean unlike the streets if Old Delhi which were piled with trash everywhere. Apparently it is exceptionally bad right now because there is a strike going on with trash collection. Appparently the government makes sure that the streets in New Delhi are cleaned.

We stopped at the site where Gandhi was shot and went to a very moving museum. I had no idea that he wrote and spoke about so many topics other than non-violence, peace and tolerance. He wrote about early childhood education, sex education, sanitation, conservation among countless other things.

We stopped at the India Gate which was built by the British...it's a memorial to soldiers who lost their lives in WWI and now honors all missing soldiers. There is a huge park surrounding it which was teeming with people enjoying a beautiful evening in the park as the sun was setting.

Our last stop was at a local restaurant for our first real Indian food. It was all delicious!

I returned to my room and was able to watch a band playing and people dancing right outside. We had seen a bride in the lobby going up to the "bridal room" and I think this was a procession of the groom. A man on a white horse arrived to much cheering and dancing. They have moved on so I think this was a preliminary celebration.

I'll try and post pictures but if the Internet is too s

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