Yes, I've finally arrived in India!! I headed for the airport on Monday, April 11th around 1:30pm and touched down in Delhi on Wednesday, April 13th at 3:15am...a mere 30 hours later and about 15,000km away!!! All flights were on time, no issues with transfers, my luggage arrived when it was supposed to and my pre-arranged airport pick up was where I was told he would be...pretty amazing really when you think of it. To tell you the truth I wasn't sure how things would go, as I booked the majority of my flights with Qatar Airways who I've never flown with before, so I was pleasantly surprised.
On my way here I stopped in New York and then Doha, Qatar. The middle eastern country of Qatar boarders Saudi Arabia and has a population of 1.6 millions people, along with the fastest growing economy in the world. While flying into Doha all I could think of was how different it looked from PEI. No greenery to be seen anywhere, simply flat brown dessert everywhere, with sprawling development taking place. When we were leaving Doha, one thing that struck me as we were boarding the plane was that 90-95% of the people on my flight were men and about 1% Caucasian...a true indicator that I was half way around the world!
The Delhi airport is new and it took no time at all to pass through immigration, customs and collect my bags. I must say there are some interesting luggage wrapping techniques that take place here....suitcase after suitcase wrapped in what looked like bed sheets and then wrapped with rope. I've never seen this anywhere I've traveled before. It only hit me that I was actually in India when I saw the smiling face of my driver waiting patiently for me with my name on a placard. A rush of excitement hit me that I was finally here and couldn't wait to explore this great country!!
The drive from the airport took about 30 minutes. My driver Sersing, who's first language was Hindi, was practicing his English by asking me all kinds of questions about why I was in India and pointing out a few things along the way. He was very sweet and would get flustered when he didn't understand my questions or couldn't figure out the right words in English.
What I saw on my drive through Delhi was not at all what I expected. No huge crowds with lots of noise, little traffic, a fairly decent highway system and only a few shanties along the roadside. I actually felt a bit removed from the "real" India I expected to see. I suspect this was likely due to the fact that it was 4:00am, dark and the city was not yet alive.
I arrived at 4:30am at the Tree of Life Bed & Breakfast I booked before I left. This little place is located in Saket, in what my driver told me was a nice part of the city. We entered a gated area and then Krishna, an employee of the B&B, came down to let me in. He was looking pretty tired at this time in the morning and I felt bad that I got him up so early. He took me upstairs to my room, gave me the keys, we decided on a 9:30am breakfast time and then he hurried off to bed. Me on the other hand, well I was completely awake...it probably didn't help that there's an 8.5 hour time change and I slept about 7 hours on my 12 hour flight to Doha!!
Well that's my update for today...as I try to get some sleep before the sun rises. I look forward to seeing what tomorrow brings and hope to have some pictures to show once I venture out later this week!!
Until then....
On my way here I stopped in New York and then Doha, Qatar. The middle eastern country of Qatar boarders Saudi Arabia and has a population of 1.6 millions people, along with the fastest growing economy in the world. While flying into Doha all I could think of was how different it looked from PEI. No greenery to be seen anywhere, simply flat brown dessert everywhere, with sprawling development taking place. When we were leaving Doha, one thing that struck me as we were boarding the plane was that 90-95% of the people on my flight were men and about 1% Caucasian...a true indicator that I was half way around the world!
The Delhi airport is new and it took no time at all to pass through immigration, customs and collect my bags. I must say there are some interesting luggage wrapping techniques that take place here....suitcase after suitcase wrapped in what looked like bed sheets and then wrapped with rope. I've never seen this anywhere I've traveled before. It only hit me that I was actually in India when I saw the smiling face of my driver waiting patiently for me with my name on a placard. A rush of excitement hit me that I was finally here and couldn't wait to explore this great country!!
The drive from the airport took about 30 minutes. My driver Sersing, who's first language was Hindi, was practicing his English by asking me all kinds of questions about why I was in India and pointing out a few things along the way. He was very sweet and would get flustered when he didn't understand my questions or couldn't figure out the right words in English.
What I saw on my drive through Delhi was not at all what I expected. No huge crowds with lots of noise, little traffic, a fairly decent highway system and only a few shanties along the roadside. I actually felt a bit removed from the "real" India I expected to see. I suspect this was likely due to the fact that it was 4:00am, dark and the city was not yet alive.
I arrived at 4:30am at the Tree of Life Bed & Breakfast I booked before I left. This little place is located in Saket, in what my driver told me was a nice part of the city. We entered a gated area and then Krishna, an employee of the B&B, came down to let me in. He was looking pretty tired at this time in the morning and I felt bad that I got him up so early. He took me upstairs to my room, gave me the keys, we decided on a 9:30am breakfast time and then he hurried off to bed. Me on the other hand, well I was completely awake...it probably didn't help that there's an 8.5 hour time change and I slept about 7 hours on my 12 hour flight to Doha!!
Until then....
Yay Lisa! So glad you had a relatively smooth trip there! Your B&B looks great.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to read more.
Take care,
Robin
Wow nice place. Sounds like a great start to a great adventure!
ReplyDeleteWow!!! 30 hours of flying!!! Glad you made it and enjoy your time!!!
ReplyDelete