Holy cows and hot dogs

When we first arrived it was in the late evening, as to what time exactly there was some confusion. JAL announced a local time that was an hour and 15 minutes earlier than the actual time. Once settled in our hotel we set out to find some food, and ate a great dinner. Books and friends and Brian had prepared me for a first impression that would be intense, so it wasn't so hard...but still intense nonetheless.

A smorgasbord of smells, from delicious and appealing, to fragrant incense, jasmine and other florals, to totally vile. You quickly figure out when it would be wise to breathe through your mouth. There were people sleeping everywhere, right next to traffic. To what extent this is the reality for many urban Indians hadn't really sunk in, despite the fact that I knew it already.

The streets are barely lit at night, and we were exhausted. The next day it was much more friendly, and what seemed ominous at night was a busy market bazaar of textiles and jewelry and endless appealing crap that tourists want to buy, and food stands everywhere.

There really are holy cows and hot dogs everywhere. Bored, docile cows wander about, completely unconcerned with the very fast traffic around them. Very cool and confident packs of dogs are everywhere, that same mix of mutt that you see all over latin America. They know better than to come near you, and I constantly want to pet them, but...uh, no. bad idea.

Our hotel is tucked on a gated side street off a very busy thoroughfare, behind several buildings and trees, next to a hospital. It's slightly off the beaten path and thus blessedly quiet. A good transition into India after Japan.

The air quality is tough...the sky is always grey, but in the early morning there is more blue. By early evening it's a solid smog grey. We can't wait to hit the mountains.

I love it all. I love the people. Despite being often annoyed and impatient with the relentless hustle to buy stuff you have to admire such tenacity. The street urchins are adorable. They're very skilled manipulators, and their huge eyes and charming smiles make me melt, they totally work me hard because they can smell my softness for them.

At dinner last night on a rooftop terrace we watched kids on roofs all around us flying kites, it was really cool.

There are mini temples everywhere, and deities everywhere you look. Delhi is crumbling, but it's beautiful.

Crossing the street is terrifying, but I'm getting the hang of it. The psycho auto rickshaws are really fun to ride, they're fast and the drivers are fearless. They run on compressed natural gas! How cool is that?! The women perched sidesaddle on the backs of scooters are brilliant flashes of color as their saris fly by in traffic.

This morning I was up at 6:30 and had a little yoga practice in the privacy of a back terrace, I needed to stretch.

Brian is an awesome travel companion. We seem to be on the same wavelength most of the time, and he's patient when I'm a total newbie at travel in India. We're enjoying each others company a lot.

Shortly we're going to find some lunch. I'm fantasizing about the same dosas from Dosa Please! that we had yesterday. I love the food of course...no disappointments there. To state the obvious, they've really mastered breads here...amazing textures. And to state the obvious again, the tea is fantastic. Black as coffee, strong enough to stand up a spoon in, exactly how I like it.