Day 1 of my trip to India

After a 15-hour flight from Chicago on November 19, which skipped ahead 11 1/2 hours to November 20, I arrived in Delhi late at night. Five other Americans were on my flight and we picked up by our leader, Noel, outside of baggage claim and customs. It is entertaining to note that I had my first experience with a squatty potty in the airport. (see picture)



When we first stepped outside the airport into the warm air, I realized that the air in India is hazy and smells like campfire and incense. But there was little time to soak in the surroundings as we were quickly divided into a taxi and the TruthSeekers van. Because it’s always rush hour in Delhi, it took us a long time to get to our guest house—or perhaps it just seemed like a long time because of the harrowing ride through a city of 14-million people with confusing roads and no apparent rules for drivers. On the roads in India, not just Delhi, you will have huge trucks and buses alongside smaller cars, motercycles, bicylces, donkeys pulling cards, 3-wheel rickshaw taxis, and wandering livestock. Combine these factors with unmarked roads, confusing construction detours, and everyone honking their horn every 5 seconds...it was total chaos!

We arrived to the "South Extension Part II" of New Delhi, where both our guest house and the TruthSeekers Office are. Our guest house was called the "Pee Fiftyone House" and was much nicer than I had expected. I stayed with Jody (23, Texas) and McKenna (17, Colorado) in a large suite with a normal toilet in the bathroom. (see picture, that's McKenna)

It was after midnight when we arrived, so we went to bed.