Here’s what I had for lunch today:
Lamb curry, dahl, potato stir-fry, and rice.
A table full of yumminess
I am living like a princess in India. A cook comes to our home every day and cooks for us. This is a true vacation for me – just eat and sleep! 🙂
YUMMO!
11/25/2010, New Delhi
The traffic is not the worst in the early morning, but you get the idea: non-stop honking and you need some skills to cross the road.
There are kids begging for money and selling flowers on the streets. 🙁
I am staying at Arjun’s (Karan’s brother) in New Delhi. His apartment is newly renovated with marble everywhere. The best part about his apartment is its location: right below his parents’. Sweet, huh!
Yes, lucky me has my own bath
I’ve arrived in New Delhi, India! Yeppi!
New Delhi has new airport and I was pleasantly surprised. It’s very clean and modern.
New Delhi Airport: Immgration
A few people told me that I’d get a shock when I get out of the airport: the noise, the traffic, the honking and the smell. I don’t agree on the smell part (there wasn’t any unpleasant smell), but yes, lots of traffic and honking. I won’t advise any foreigners to drive here. People here honk to notify others on their existence in order to avoid any accidents.
Here was my itinerary from USA to India:
Home to Eastern Iowa Airport (CID) : 1 ½ hr
CID to Chicago: 40 minutes
Layover + Delay at Chicago: 4 hrs
Chicago to New Delhi: 14 hrs
Immigration, luggage pickup: 1 hr
Ride home in India: ½ hr
Total travel time: 21.67 hrs
Today’s the big day – I am traveling to India! After the visa saga, I’ve been a little nervous about my trip. I couldn’t help but worry about potential missing details. Can you tell that I am traumatized? I must have checked my passport five times today.
Needless to say, I had a hectic morning – took care of the house, dog (trimmed his nails, bathed him and cleaned his ears, prepared his food for the next two weeks), bank, etc.
I managed to arrive at the airport on time. 🙂
I am traveling via American Airline. Since I am bringing a luggage for a friend in India, I was warned in advance by her that I’ll be charged $50 for that second checked-in luggage. Also, overweight charge is $60 (doesn’t matter 1 lb or 15 lb overweight).
It was a little challenging to travel alone with two big bags plus a carry-on and a handbag. There’s no curb-side check-in and there’s no shuttle from long-term parking to terminals at Eastern Iowa Airport. Go figure …
I bought a crystal whiskey decanter set for Karan’s brother. When the crystal set was detected by airport scanner, the airport officer had to check my bag. It’s a standard procedure, he said. So, just be aware that your bag will be opened and searched if you have glasses in it.
AA seats are pretty comfy. I can’t speak for others, but my bulk-head seat is awesome. :). In fact, I am writing this blog post right now in the plane.
It’s a full flight and there are quite a few babies on board. I prayed that I wouldn’t have the lucky seat next to any of them. My prayer didn’t come true. There’s a baby right next to me. But he is the sweetest. He smiles at me all the time and hasn’t been crying, not even once. I didn’t think such baby exists in the world, but I am looking at one right now. Thank you, God for sending priceless baby love.
The profession of the Indian gentleman sitting next to me is into Las Vegas real estate investing. Oh, real estate, it’s so my cup of tea! I love renovating houses and love talking about it. 🙂
Talking about tea, there’s unlimited supply of masala chai on board.
unlimited supply of masala chai on board
I watched two movies back to back after having a cup of chai. It’s better than Red Bull!
I love movies. It’s the best time to catch up on movies during long flights.
This guy needs complete darkness to fall asleep
Vegetarian Dinner
Almost there
Almost there, almost
Breakfast : Aloo Matar Puff, fruits, chai
Almost!!!
Eight more hours to go. This is insane. My shoulders and neck already started hurting. I forgot my sleepy pills and I had chai. Great!!!!