The One with the 31 Hour Travel Day (and first impressions of New Delhi)

The group at the airport before our flight.
Me, Julie, Nikki, Lillian, Annie, Cody

We got into New Delhi late last night (2:30 am) after over thirty  hours of travel.  Surprisingly I didn't sleep much on the plane but I did master a new version of Sudoku (killer Sudoku- Dad you would love this), watch three movies, and read the first book of the Hunger Games trilogy.  I really liked Friends with Benefits, and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (though I've decided the Bollywood 90's movies are much better), but Black Swan was absolutely terrifying and I spent half of the film covering the tiny screen in front of me.  Cathay Pacific was a nice airline though the seats didn't recline , they would just slouch.  The flight attendants decided the entire first 13 hour flight would essentially be for sleeping so the lights were off and the windows were shut.  At one point I wanted to look outside because we were flying over some Alaskan Islands, but when I opened the window the loud Chinese woman from across the aisle screamed at me.  I am not really sure why they thought we would sleep on a flight that left at 1pm California time for the next 10 hours...

View from the hotel balcony

We landed in Hong Kong and had to run to our connection because our first flight was over an hour delayed.  They had a second security check, but it was literally the most useless thing ever because they were barely even looking at anything and people could wear jackets and shoes through the metal checker.  I slept about two hours on the next flight and watched a bit of Modern Family.  When we finally arrived in New Delhi we met up with a shuttle service from our 'hotel'.

Another View from the hotel balcony

The driving in India is like nothing I've ever seen before.  The white lane lines are just decoration and the horn is used constantly to signal people to move or pay attention.  All of the cars seem to have some scratches because I think that the driving here is more like a game of Bumper Cars than regular driving.  We finally got to our hotel and I was surprised by the poverty that was so visible around. There were stray dogs and trash on the street.  I am sharing a double room with Lillian and it is actually quite nice.  There is hot water and a mattress/ pillow on the bed.  I was a bit unsure how to use the shower originally because it is just on one of the walls of the bathroom but I quickly learned that you just use the entire bathroom as your shower room.  This morning we are going shopping for Indian clothing and just exploring around.  I am excited to see the city!

Just a note about the retreat before....
We had a quick retreat/ orientation before the trip in northern California.  My group is great- just 4 girls including myself, a boy- Cody and our leader Julie who has lead 4 groups through India before.  Anyone who has traveled with me would be very proud that I fit all of my belongings into a backpack.  I actually ended up bringing the least of everyone in my group and my pack was definitely the smallest- though I am the smallest one so that kind of makes sense.

Okay off to shopping!

Love,
Jenna