Gone to India

Note -- having some issues with uploading pictures, working to fix that on next post


Less than two weeks ago while having drinks with Hanumant he suggested I go to India with him as he visits with his parents. Since I was just hanging around and the weather in Seattle pretty much sucked it was not a tough decision. Little did I know getting an India visa was a bit more complicated. So the next morning I woke and determined that I’m going to India, sent my passport to the India embassy and hoped it would be back in time. I started to look at all sorts of different flights, going through Asia, going through Europe, cheapest, quickest, using Bing, Kayak, and all the time waiting to hear back on when I may get my passport back.


The next Monday I got an email from India embassy saying my passport was ready and would be sent by fedex and should get it by Tuesday. Now I could book my flights, I booked a Wednesday flight to match Hanumant’s so we could travel together. Yvette and Brynna had gone off to London for spring break so I had to scramble to get all the last minute stuff done and pack for India.

Of course I made it and flew out Wednesday afternoon, nine hours to Frankfurt, fours hour between flights and another seven hours to Delhi, pretty nice. We arrived at 1:30am Friday morning and Hanumant’s parents picked us up and we got to the house at around 2:30am. If you have not been to the new Delhi airport, it’s great.

What is great about this trip is I get to stay at a local house, rather than hotels and get to experience real Indian life. Friday morning I woke up early to a wonderful breakfast and errands to run. We went to the dentist with Hanumant’s dad, than to Vodaphone so Hanumant could have a local phone, that could be a blog by itself.

Then it was time to eat lunch, Indian food! We went to Deer Park and ate at Park Balluchi, I was greatly impressed with the tikka, lamb and dahl dishes, soooo good. Nothing like anything I have been able to find in Seattle, I’m spoiled now. My quest for the trip is to find the best Indian food.

Later that day I got to meet some relatives and friends of Hanumant’s. We then went to the Delhi Gym Khana Club, next to the Indian PM’s house. It is an old British hangout that hosts many local dignitaries. Had some beer and more Indian snacks and home by 11:30pm, what a LONG day with little sleep, but it was great!

Holi
The holiday of Holi is Sunday, a spring festival of color, where everyone throws colored water on each other. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holi Since no one wants to get their good clothes “full of color” we went to the store and bought a local Khadi (hand spun cotton) Kurta (top) and Pajama (bottom) to wear.

More on this on Sunday

We are planning on going to Bangalore next Tues for a few days than up to the mountains to visit Shimla.