Plane Trip and Delhi

Dubai International - 17th August 9:00am Dubai International is an amazing airport. A salad of so many cultures, nationalities and traditions all in one place. Kit Kat at a grocery store. Starbucks, Old Irish Pub. Oh hello........two pretty ladies at the information counter: I smile. They smile. I asked for my boarding gate details. (Perhaps I knew that already....but you cant be too sure ;) They confirm with me. They ask where i'm from. Then some light hearted conversation. They were very pleasant. I reach the boarding gates to Delhi at about 9:15 am, 15 mins before boarding time. Lots of passengers with surgical masks on. Doesn't make one feel too safe. Good thing i had my nasal antibiotic with. Thanks to my pharmacist. So apparently the new strain of flu loves air conditioned places like planes and circulates very well there. Took an A330 Emirates to Delhi. Fell asleep in the plane. Felt all sorts. Kept thinking about my Kombucha culture that i left with Michelle and my mum. If you're reading this, keep it healthy ladies. :) Mmmhhhh....whats this?? Interesting. An entire family with surgical masks on. Ah they are now all cleansing their hands with alcoholic hand cleanser. Tempted to pull out my nasal defense once more..............nah. Flight attendant Emma. Cutie. :) She happens to be from Glascow Scotland. I visited there in 2007 so we had quite a few things to talk about. Real sweet. Landed at Delhi 13:30. 30 degrees celcius and humid. If you are stopping at Delhi and no one is picking you up then please go to the prepaid taxi rank and purchase a ticket there first before leaving the airport. The taxi drivers rates vary and you are more than likely to pay more than you should. Purchased my prepaid and took a taxi to Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Delhi. (will tell you more about this in next post) Taxi ride was HECTIC CRAZY!!!!!! Lets just say i got well aquainted with the taxi, its side doors, its roof, floor and all parts of the passenger section VERY quickly. I never saw that one coming: There is no such belief as side mirrors, review mirrors and stop signs in Delhi. It would just be inneficient. :) People use their hooters alot to assist and alert other drivers of their presence. I counted at least two times when i thought i was going to die in that taxi. My driver was unphased throughout. Trust me if you are complaining about taxi's in Johannesburg. Come to Delhi. I truly admire the driving skills of all those in Delhi. It takes tact, wit and a lot of skill and experience. If you can drive in India then you can drive anywhere else in the world with ease. Driving through Mayapal road to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, oh my word what a trip for the senses. I was not prepared for that. A combination of cars, busses, bicycles, donkeys, carts, motorcycles and pedestrians all sharing the same road. Amazing. Shacks and people dwellings on the curb where the traffic lights are; little shops plastered all over the sidewalk with tobacco spitting shopkeepers and pedestrians, selling all sorts of amenables from cell phones and cigarettes to fruits and vegetables. The colours, the sounds, the touch of the frail street childs hands as it finds its way through my window asking for money. I was not prepared for this. Overwhelming is the word i would use to describe this feeling. If this is India then i am in love.

Packed n ready to Go

"Yet I cannot tarry longer. The sea that calls all things unto her calls me, and I must embark. For to stay, though the hours burn in the night, is to freeze and crystallize and be bound in a mould. Fain would I take with me all that is here. But how shall I? A voice cannot carry the tongue and the lips that give it wings. Alone must it seek the ether. And alone and without his nest shall the eagle fly across the sun."

12 more hours. :) Let see......