Arrival

We landed about 10 mins late to a hazy morning as the sun rose over Delhi. A mild 23ºC. The plane taxied to the stand passing the brand new terminal building which has been built for the Commonwealth Games later in the year. No chance of getting in or out of the construction site as it was protected by a concrete fence lined with razor wire.

Walking off the plane the same warm musty smell greeted me followed by the short walk to immigration hall. Small things have been changed to make the experience slightly more palatable – new immigration desks and signage.

Leaving the airport for the run into town to the hotel some things have changed some have not. Old beat up water tankers slowly made their way down the central reservation at walking pace with a man behind giving the plants their daily douse of water. Men crossed the road with their tiffin boxes on the way to work. Cyclists plodded slowly on their uprights against the flow of traffic. New is the airport railway (still being built) and subsequent yards full of discarded construction equipment. Motorbikes carrying husband and wife. The man legally wearing his helmet – and the woman not.

The route was the same one we used to do when taking the kids to school. It felt very familiar. In essence nothing much has changed – but why should it. Strangely I felt almost at home – but this trip is all about that quest – to get my head around my feelings for India.

Today will be spent getting my visa changed to multiple entry – lets see how a days bureaucracy goes.