Roger
I survived the 36 hours of travel through Japan, through Malaysia, finally landing in New Delhi where it was nice to see a man with my name on a placard ready to drive my weary bones to a nearby, stop-over motel.
We drove past the Radisson (did I look longingly at it?) on to the Hotel Delhi Aerocity that looked like a simple storefront yet had all of the essential amenities: bed, working toilet, and hot water if I can just remember to turn the switch on 15 minutes ahead of time.
I was tired enough to sleep soundly, with the help of a noisy air conditioner, despite the constant honking of horns outside the window where there was a steady stream of commuting traffic mixed in with the tuk-tuks, bicycles, and motor scooters.
Then, what a joy it was to spend the next day with my friend, Michael, who has lived in this city for the last 18 months and planned a full day out of his busy schedule to take me around.
We toured the sites (i.e. Humayun's Tomb), ate the spicy food (they love their curry), and made our way through typical, developing-world traffic jams and kamikaze drivers.
What reminded me of Africa:
- Typical shops in metal store-fronts selling local goods and foods next door to more modern markets.
- Women dressed in beautiful colors; men… well… dressed anyway.
- Despite the growing middle class, plenty of poverty, street children, and people in need.
What was different from Africa:
- More peeing on the walls in town (a higher density of population with nowhere else to take care of business).
- That unique Indian accent making English difficult to understand until you get used to it (anyone called for tech support lately?).
- Curry, curry, curry (did I mention that?)
Another flight tomorrow taking me on to Siliguri where the conference will begin on Monday…
My friend, Michael:
Humayan's Tomb:
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