Welcome to India

I arrived at the Dehli International Airport on the 19th around 4 pm. After my new best friend Katie (proud Badger from Mt. Horeb, WI) and I collected our luggage, we cruised by what seemed to be an optional customs line. We were quickly greeted by two Woodstock School employees. Then our driver picked us up on the curb, and we headed to our hotel-The Centaur, which was within walking distance of the airport.

The five-star hotel we are staying at has a pool with no water. There are approximately 10 light switches in our room, but we still struggle to figure out how to turn the bathroom light on. We also had a toilet flushing situation within minutes of our arrival-push in, not up or down. We dined at the hotel's Chinese restaurant last night, which tasted very much like American Chinese.

This morning we headed to Dehli and Old Dehli. Due to "Indian Stretchable Time" we managed to the leave the hotel around 11 this morning. The drive up was truly an Indian experience. If there are lanes, no one uses them. I saw one person use their blinker, and everyone else uses their horn. Later in the day, I got to experience crossing a street without a crosswalk and encounter cars that run red lights just for fun. Once I reached the other side, I quickly remembered that motorcycles and rickshaws drive on the sidewalk when necessary. I almost got hit twice before I realized my mistake.

We toured the Red Fort, attempted to see the National Museum, and had lunch at Karim's-listed as one of the best restaurants in India by Time magazine. It was hot, the streets were packed, and everyone stared at us. I didn't make any purchases yet because I am too much of a newbie to attempt, and I'm not sure what I want to buy.

Tomorrow our bus is departing from the hotel around 5 am to take the train to Dehra Dun. Then we take a bus to Mussoorie. We found out that Katie and I will be roommates once we get there, which is exciting because we can Badger the place up.

I'm feeling dehydrated and sleepy, but I can't wait to get to Mussoorie!