Our first day in Delhi on this trip was a prefect rest and restore from the arduous flights. We had been on planes for 24 hours and even though we took pills and slept, it still isn’t quality sleep. We flew business class on Lufthansa Airlines and even though the chairs make up into individual lay flat beds, it is not the same as sleeping in or beds at home. We arrived in Delhi about 7:00am and after clearing customs and converting our dollars into Rupees left the relative tranquility of the airport for the hustling, jostling noisy, drive to our hotel. There is a vibrancy everywhere of people on the move, people hanging out, rich people being driven in Mercedes, politicians in convoys preceded by white Ambassador Cars with lights flashing on their roofs. Poor and maimed stood by the side of the road selling trinkets or just begging. People are walking, cycling on bikes, motorbikes and other contraptions. Construction is everywhere as the city is preparing for the Common Wealth Games next year.
As we drove down a main street by Connaught Place (a central circular park in Lytton’s planned New Delhi) we drove past all kinds of hawkers selling shirts, saris, and everything else you could think of arranged on the sidewalk. They would be occasional rousted by the police and have to move,
We came across several guards standing in front of very heavy steel gates. The gate swung open, our car was examined for explosives, and we driven into The Hotel Imperial, isolated in splendor like you would have seen in the 1920’s during the British Raj. The place is magnificent with a giant pool, vast lawns, many bars, and phenomenal service. We knew immediately we would like our stay here!
We were still a little jet lagged so after unpacking, I went for a great massage in the hotel. The massage used lots of warm almond oil. That was refreshing. After the massage Cathy and I explored the hotel (huge pool). It is all marble and not a nick or scratch anywhere. Courtney arrived and after a short stop and chat Cathy and I headed out through the gates to the real India. We walked several blocks constantly being asked to buy things until we found our goal, a Kadhi store. Kadhi which is clothing that is made from hand spun cotton was founded and lives by principles set up by Gandhi. He is a great brand ambassador! You buy home spun cloth (silk or cotton) or prepared pieces. I purchased fabric to be made into a shirt. Cathy purchased premade shirts. I then asked where the tailors were, the salesman explained they do no tailoring but said there was a tailor around the corner. This being Dehli, I knew there was no way to find a shop given those directions, so I asked him to show me. He walked me all the way over to the store which was around the block. I never would have found it on my own. I returned to the Kadhi shop, I paid for my purchases, and Cathy and I went to the very good tailors. They are making the shirt for me, in addition a bought material for two linen pants that they are also making up for me. They will ship the pants when completed to The Taj hotel in Mumbai, and there I will receive my new clothes with pants that fit! The shop dealer suggested that we buy an Indian Phone and SIM card and use it while we are in India. Rates are very low (less than a penny a minute. So we walked back through our gates out of the masses into the refinement of our hotel. Cathy went for a massage and went to by a phone. I went into one of those warren of stalls and saw a guy whose whole office was about 5 square feet. I told him a wanted a cheap basic phone, and Airtell SIM Card for Airtell SIM service. I also wanted 350 Rupees of talk time. Usage is calculated differently in India. You choose a served by choosing the Sim Card. You then load Rupees on to the card. There are thousand of stores through out India that can load Rupees on to your card. As you talk Rupees are subtracted from the available Rupees on your phone. They are subtracted at various rates depending if you are calling to another Airtell caller, a different cell carrier, to a land line or overseas. All in all, the entire phone is far cheaper than roaming with my domestic Iphone. I thanked him, got back to the hotel and waited for activation. 3 hours later, nothing, I still had a dead phone. I decided to walk back to the market and find his little stall. His very unhelpful assistant was there, but eventually the owner arrived and explained that they couldn’t activate because people weren’t working because of the Diwali festival. But he could connect me with a Vodafone SIM Card. He exchanged the SIM card and the phone activated. All the while, a cute Muslim guy from an adjacent stand was hovering over us and assisting us in teaching us how to use the phone. It was very communal. Very India. Courtney then bought an identical phone, (I suspect we will be constantly grabbing the wrong phone – we need a way to differentiate them. The total cost of a mobile phone, SIM card and 350 Rupees of calling was only 2000 rupees or about $ 43.00. It should be worth it!
We returned to our hotel and had drinks before dinner. We all had plans to clean up before dinner, but the more we drank the less critical that seemed; instead we did a typical tourist quick bath, bringing out the Purell Hand Sanitizer at the table and generously using it.
We ate at the hotel in and the excitement was to see if Cliff, who was very tired at this point could keep from falling asleep at the table. We managed to complete the dinner and return to our room where we took a long lasting sleeping pill and fell right to sleep.
This was a very good first day in Delhi. We are in the swing!
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