Delhi December 12, 2011- arrival

I arrived in Delhi last night after the typical grueling flight that everyone has to through. Luck was smiling on me though as I got upgraded on the 10 hr Paris-Delhi flight and found myself in the upper deck by the emergency exit!

I was greeted by a smiling Jay and the smell of woodsmoke and car exhaust - I guess that's why it is so polluted. A quick taxi ride and we were in the neighborhood of Greater Kailish 1 (GK1) where the apartment that we have rented is. I couldn't see much as it was very dark at that time, but I do recall being somewhat apprehensive as the taxi drove along the highway beside huge trucks with loads that looked like they would topple over at any minute!

I woke up at about 5am after about 3 hours sleep and listened to the various sounds - occasional motors going on and off, a cat meowing now and then, a couple of dogs barking, water hitting the ground (someone peeing although they must have had a big bladder?)and the ubiquitous horns honking, which thankfully weren't numerous at that time.

We had a slow start to the day, and then wandered off to the local Market. GK1 is a middle upper class neighborhood, where there are actually very few non-Indians much to my surprise. I also thought that it would be a bit more modern, given that it is a bit higher end, but then again I have to remember that this is India! The apartment is one floor of a 4 story building, much like many of the other buildings beside us. They are all rather crammed in together, and the streets are narrow, with no sidewalks or parking spots, which means basically you are dodging both parked and moving cars and you have to keep your wits about you in order to avoid a collision. Very much like any other third world country I've been in.

We picked up a few household /grocery items and thewalked to both M and N colony markets, which are supposedly high end. They were both an odd mixture of typical Mom and Pop stores and then high end jewelry and clothing stores. However, we did come across a few very nice clothing stores, one being Fab India where I will definitely be purchasing a "few" items in the very near future - like tomorrow! Nicola- I saw some beautiful silk scarves to die for.

Well that's all I have in me for the moment. I'll check back in a day or two and let you know what I purchased.