Budget: $70; Spent: $14
Today we woke up at 9am and ate a modest breakfast included with our hostel, including coffee, cereal, toast, jam. We spent a little too much time on the internet, and by the time we were ready to go it was well past 10am, which was the latest we wanted to leave.
We traveled by metro all the way to the airport, which took about an hour. We had thought it would take 40 minutes, but we had to wait 15 minutes for a train to arrive on the line that would take us to the airport.
Once we got to the airport, it was a struggle to find our carrier, IndiGo, though it turned out we walked right past it as soon as we entered. We had no troubles checking in and getting through customs, but it turned out we had left our mosquito spray in our backpack, so it was confiscated at security. We are not happy about this, especially since India is the first place we'll have to be careful about mosquitoes and malaria.
We walked quickly through the airport looking for our gate, and then we met a lady who was holding a sign showing ‘last call’ for our flight. We ran the rest of the way to our flight gate and were one of the last people on the already filled plane.
Our flight was uneventful. They did not feed us or provide anything to drink, other than water in small cups. The flight attendants were terrible and looked like they hated their jobs and the world, in general. We also sat in the very last row by the washrooms, so people were always around us and we couldn't recline our seats for the duration of the 5 hour flight. To fight off starvation, we purchased a $7 sandwich that, while tasty, lasted approximately four bites. Never again IndiGo. To top it off we were sitting behind three very obnoxious and loud guys who also smelled of the most toxic and potent B.O. we have ever encountered. The guy sitting in the middle continuously raised his arms and placed his hands behind his head cushion and actually poked us twice since his seat was reclined, and ours were not, and we were reading our India Lonely Planet book leaning forward on the tray. After the second time this happened, Patty punched the seat. Whenever he would raise his arms we would brace ourselves for the odour and we literally had our faces in our shirts. It was actually more like eating it than breathing it it was so bad. Who holds their hands over their head like that on a flight?!
We had no problems passing through Indian customs, and our friend, Mintoo, was waiting for us as soon as we grabbed our bags. His dad and he had come to the airport by bus to pick us up. We were very grateful! We took a taxi back to an apartment owned by Mintoo’s uncle, which is where we will be staying with Mintoo while in Delhi.
The drive to the apartment was interesting. I thought Delhi would be more or less as crazy as other places in Asia, but I think it’s crazier. There are so many people everywhere, and the driving is even worse mostly because people tend to drive fast and there are no lanes, everything on the road is squeezing into any space they can find. Somehow things flow smoothly! There are also so many people and different vehicles on the roads which are terrible so people are dodging both traffic and potholes. It is common that two vehicles will be speeding towards each other, only to dodge each other at the last second, narrowly avoiding pedestrians. It's nuts.
The apartment is very simple but spacious. It has a kitchen, two rooms, and a bathroom. It’s interesting, most houses in India seem to house more than one family, in particular with one family living on the first floor, a smaller space, and another family living above them in a larger space. Houses tend to have many floors, typically four or more, making for some very interesting , and often lovely, designs. The best part about them though is their roof top which is commonly used for hang drying clothing, but provides a nice view of the streets.
Mintoo’s mom bought us dinner from a local restaurant called Kaka’s Chicken. Despite its name, it made some damn good chicken. We hadn’t really eaten since breakfast, so we were starving.
After eating, we went out for a drive with Mintoo’s cousin, Mala. Other than his car dying and having to switch to his friend's parents' car, it was a great time. He took us to some clothing shops, to try a local restaurant he liked, and then drove us around Delhi. He is an interesting character and extremely friendly, especially since he had no idea who we were and it was his first time meeting Mintoo.
We drove around until around 11pm and pretty much dropped dead in our beds when we got back. Mintoo had only just arrived that morning (3am-ish) from Canada, so I think he was probably more exhausted than us!
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