Cheryl and Mike’s Adventure

Well, had a nice day today in one of the major shopping/commerce districts of Dehli. We slept in late (the jetlag is still sort of in effect, we are both just completely wide awake from like 5:30-8:30AM and then completely crash until late morning, it’s weird), and then after a nice lunch (we basically have it dialed in at the Wongdhen House restaurant, Cheryl got Banana Pancakes and French Fries-they call them “finger chips”, and I got Vegatable Fried Wontons and rice….MMMM!) we decided to take a chance and try our hand at the Dehli Metro system and head downtown. Yikes. A dicey idea, for sure, but we got some help from the wonderful staff at the Wongdhen House, caught a little ‘tuk’-cab-thingamabob (we’re sort of calling them ‘tuks’ ’cause that’s what is familiar to us from Thailand/Vietnam, but I don’t think that’s what they’re called here) to the station, and headed out. It’s actually very nice, the whole Dehli Metro system was just introduced in 2002, very similar to the “T” back in Pittsburgh, right down to the soothing lady talking to you over the intercom, and definitely a much more noticibly upscale, professional individuals riding them. We walked around, got some Ice Cream smoothies and soaked in some “New” Dehli. Lot’s of shops, street vendors, people, more people, tons of restaurants (we even saw a Pizza Hut and Dominoes, I had to restrain Cheryl physically), and some more people, followed up finally by some more people. This city is absolutely one of the most densily poplulated areas I have ever seen, and I’m sure in the world. But, we’re actually starting to get used to the area more, etc., it’s still complete madness (more or less), we’re still 2 of the I think 6 overall white people we’ve seen, and stick out like sore thumbs, but naturally, the people, streets, etc. are becoming much more manageable and comfortable and we got alot of help today from some very nice pedestrians and people. English is very common, alot of people speak some (broken) form of it, thankfully for us, and most signs are written out in many languages.

So we’re going to catch some dinner and rest now, because tomorrow morning we are catching a cab early to the airport to catch our flight to Kathmandu, Nepal, where we will be staying for a few days before we begin our trek! (Side note: You have to be at the airport no less than 3 hrs. prior to your departure. No exceptions. It’s like the 1 hour rule in the States. We’re getting there 3 1/2. If that doesn’t sum up how hectic things are, I don’t know what does).

Very exciting about Nepal, KTM sounds like a great city (we’re really excited to get a beer, little Tibet’s dry), we’re (suppossedly) staying in a pretty nice place, and hopefully when we’re there we can start getting some pics up on this blog of where we’ve been for everyone to see (assuming we can get online somewhere close). At least that’s the plan. We’re doing well so far, Cheryl doesn’t smell too bad yet, and we’re playing it fairly safe so far when it comes to food, etc. Signing off for tonight, so long (for now) to India, excited about Nepal…

Cheryl & Mike

We’re here! We arrived in India/Dehli pretty late last night, after a pretty smooth flight in which Mike slept for 9 of the 12 hours and while Cheryl fended off the annoying/old guy sitting next to her. Other than the fact that our flight from D.C. to Newark was delayed (causing us to hop on the Amtrak train in DC around 4, and catch our outgoing flight just in the nick of time at 8:45), the trip here went well. We are staying in little Tibet, a little northern (I believe) area in Dehli, at a comfortable hostel called the Wohngdon House (sp). It’s a small area/village/compound with an obviously strong Tibetian feel, with hostels, shops, etc. all along the street corners. Kind of keeps us out of downtown Dehli, which is, um, uh, a little bit chaotic. We took a quick trip downtown this afternoon to see a place called the Red Fort, which is an old army base (I believe). It was interesting, very crowded, and Dehli is something else. LOADS of people, very hectic, people approaching you, and unfortunately a lot of pollution/poverty also (the smog almost hangs in the air). Everything we were expecting, and more. So you could say we are still, um, forming our opinion right now about Dehli…We are scheduled to be in here tonight and tomorrow night and then on friday morn. catch a flight to Kathmadu (where we will be for 3 days and then we begin our Trek). All very exciting, and we are both pretty psyched for what lies ahead of us up in Nepal. Cheryl has been our fearless leader, while I have been a combination of things, probably none of which include the word “fearless”. That’s it for now, we’ll be back soon…

This blog is currently under construction. As of right now, Cheryl and Mike are in D.C., preparing to fly out this evening, first to Newark, which I hear is lovely this time of year, and then from Newark to Dehli, a 14 hour odessey which will provide us with plenty of time to catch our breath and allow us to prepare for all of the sights, sounds, and smells of India! We have got to run, as Cheryl the Diva has to check her mascara and perfume case yet again before we head out to the airport! (Just kidding, of course). Please feel free to check the blog if when you get some spare time over the next couple of months, as we will (hopefully) be adding more exciting and feverishly witty posts and comments regularly. Also, we will miss all of you tremendously, and welcome your posts as well, and look forward to hearing from you all.

PS- As we were writing this, Cheryl just looked into my ears and is hoping (out loud) that I brought Q-Tips. Fasten your seatbelts, here we go!

Stay tuned for more…