Just a quick note to let you know we arrived safely in India.  It was a LONG trip for us – 12 hour flight Los Angeles to Beijing, then a four-hour lay over followed by another 7 hour flight from Beijing to New Delhi.  I have a hard time sleeping on airplanes, but Tim managed to get quite a bit of shut-eye.  I had to nudge him every so often when his snoring got louder than the jet engines.

It is currently 4:00 A.M. Saturday, March 15th in India.

Godwin Deluxe Hotel, New Delhi

We arrived first to the hotel, Godwin Deluxe and were on hand to greet our friends Dick, Karen, Jan and Gary who all arrived within an hour of us.  We have been so fortunate to have traveled to Guatemala, Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Peru, Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria with these two couples.  We will meet back up with them again in May for our Baltic trip.

It amazes me that three couples, flying different routes on different airlines were all able to meet up at a hotel on the other side of the world within an hour of each other.  When it works, it works!

The six of us will be together for only a few days.  The four of them are booked on a different Gate 1 tour that starts a day after our tour.  They are going further south, and not to Nepal.

The hotel is basic.  They ran out of non-smoking rooms, so Tim and I were giving a small room on the main floor right behind the check-in desk.  They plan on moving us to a larger room tomorrow.

Staircase at Godwin Deluxe Hotel – looking up from lobby

Our ride from the airport was an experience – welcome to India.  They drive using their horn more than the steering wheel.  Lines on the road are to be straddled instead of staying between.  Since the cars are right-hand drive, the far right lane is the “fast lane”.  If anyone is in front of you, just blast your horn several times, flash your lights and eventually they will move over.  Red lights seem to be a suggestion only.

GRATITUDE MOMENT – Grateful for a safe arrival and a clean bed to slip into.