Daily Life

My hotel looses power about three or four times  day, leaving me to type at night in the dark by the light of my battery charged MacBook screen.  Can't upload, of course, because the internet is down.

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Yesterday, we took the Delhi metro into the heart of the city.  The Delhi metro is amazing - comparable to the London Underground, except twice the volume of people at any given hour, or so it seems.  It certainly wasn't around the last two times I was in India, and I'm sure it has done much to propel India towards the fasting growing middle class in the world.  It was clean, efficient and high security was everywhere - it is assumed to be a major target for terrorist.

I felt like a bee in a massive beehive, with floors of underground layers and people swarming everywhere with a total sense of direction and purpose.  It was a wonderful adventure, and to step into the clean, air conditioned, "Women Only" coach was a welcomed reprieve from the hot oppressive heat blanketing the New Delhi area.

It is a good place to observe people, and my biggest observation is how much they have taken on western clothing.  At least half if not more of the population riding the metro was dressed no different from anybody on the subways in New York or London.  Young women in t-shirts and jeans is not uncommon.  The rest in more or less "traditional" clothing, with pants, tunic and scarf being most prevalent, with just a smattering of saris here and there!!  Men were even more apt to be in western clothing with very little traditional garb.  Cellphones and iPods are ubiquitous!

Namaste!

Travel day finally arrives.  China Eastern from LAX to Shanghai was delayed "one or two" hours.  At one point, I left the gate to get some stuff from the newsstand right next to the gate. When I got back to the gate, nobody was there,  and the staff at the check-in were British Air, going to London!!  I couldn't believe they that could load a plane and take off that fast!  Checking the departure board, there was no notice of the flight.  And it became apparent I wasn't alone looking for the lost flight!   A second check on the departure board finally shows that the gate was moved to the other end of the terminal and departure time set for 3pm.  Eventually we all found the plane in time to take off for Shanghai - filled to capacity with mostly Chinese, a few Indians and one red head!!  Two notes on China Eastern - 1) the seats were awful, crammed and ergonomically crunching, 2) I don't think safety is a big issue; you either know the safety rules of flying, and follow them or not.  On the other hand, flight attendants led the whole plane on a nice little calisthenics/stretching routine during our descent into Shanghai.  No orange chicken on the menu.
After about 21 hours in flight time, which oddly enough, passed pretty quickly and very uneventfully, I landed in New Delhi at 1:30am July 4th.   Customs was quick and easy; the airport new and enormous, was busy for such an early hour.
Outside all the airport formalities I was met by Asha James and her husband, who so graciously come to pick me up! We traveled by their car for about one hour, through such a different, yet oddly familiar India - roads and buildings all built up and looking very new.  But the driving is hectic and crazy and even in the darkness, I could see people sleeping on the meridian between the chaotic and noisy traffic.
It's already 5am and I need to be up in 6 hours to meet with Asha James to plan our itinerary.  I am so looking forward to seeing New Delhi by daylight!