It’s true for everything, I think, that the hardest part is always the first step. From getting myself together to go for a run or making our way halfway across the globe to begin our sojourns, I am hoping the same theory holds true, and the rest of the trip will start to get easier.
The trip here took a lot out of us. We started at 7AM PST on Friday, March 25, and some 40 hours later we crawled into a bed and napped. However, within this time, we did a lot of flying (11 hours from Vancouver to Beijing, 6.5 hours from Beijing to Delhi), plus a layover in the most opulent but useless-for-travellers airport (Beijing), and then sitting in the Delhi airport from local hours of 2:00AM to 8:00AM waiting for our B&B host to wake up and come pick us up. On top of it all, I’m having my once-every-year cold with the works, and Alex has unfortunately also caught it due to lack of sleep and the obsessive need to air condition planes to subzero temperatures.
Breakfast, bed, and a cool shower prepped us for a quick walk in Connaught Place in Delhi later in the evening. Connaught Place is possibly the most happening roundabout in the world. It was stressful trying to cross the streets there, and the shops, people, cars, and the horns echoing everywhere was an attack on all the senses. Since we are still jetlagged and sick, we acted like the lamest of the lame tourists and ate at a modest restaurant recommended by the guide book. It smelled like it had just recently been drenched in a super concentrated disinfecting solution. I was not proud of that moment. Food was OK, everything smelled like cleaning solution anyway (I had one nostril functioning at full capacity – imagine if I had both!)
Alas, hopefully with more sleep and less sickness, and now that we’re finally here and ready to move on and out of Delhi quickly to begin the rest of our trip, I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will get easier and we will have lots more to update – lots more fun things and interesting sights and exciting tidbits!
