India Arrival

Well I made it...

We flew into Delhi during the night... at first this was disappointing to me as I was hoping to get a view of the capital city in day light... and just as this disapointing thought passed through my mind, I peered out my window to see a site that I will never forget.

We arrived in India during the biggest Indian holiday.. Diwali, also known as the festival of lights...
And as I looked out the small plane window, there down below was an explosion of lights.... the houses, streets, trees and sky were lit like it was New Years Eve! Fireworks errupted in a magical display across the sky, making the New Delhi skyline seem like Dinsey Land! I have never seen anything like it before in my life.... The vastness of this city created a perfect environment for an unforgettable lightshow...thousands of colourful explosions filled the sky... it seemed that every Indian in Delhi were lighting off fireworks.

As we drove through the streets from the airport we saw more lights... candles lined the dusty roads, strings of christmas lights covered every surface of hotels, houses and shops. I thought to myself... what a great way to start my time in India... what a great way to be welcomed to Asisa... I thought... I haven't even reached Bhutan yet...(sigh!)

(Couple things about Delhi so far....)

New Delhi is a huge city (14 million and capital of India) and as such is very crowed and well, dirty... as we drove through the streets last night, despite it not being very hot, the air was heavy with smog and we covered our mouths for most of the drive... dirt and grime quickly filled our noses... we could barely see the roads (not helpful when you have many truck drivers at night with no lights!!!)... despite all this I am very excited about being in India and am planning to take full advantage of my days here... taking a long day trip tomorrow to see the Taj Mahal!!

We are staying at a place called the Rabsel House. It is located in a Tibetan village in Delhi... feels like we are in Tibet! The accomodations are modest but clean and the people who run it are kind and helpful... slower pace then the rest of Delhi. I can assure you, we will take full advantage of having this experience and eat some delicous Tibetan food and visit a monastery or two!