And the adventure begins...from Day 1!

Good news: we all survived the flight and made it over to Delhi safely!

Last night, Emily, Suzanne, and I arrived around 9 pm, collected our bags, found our driver, and then headed for the hotel. On the way to the hotel, Poonam's mom called the driver's cell phone and asked to speak to me. She was checking in to make sure we arrived safely and said that she would call us at the hotel concerning our trip. All three of us raised some suspicions about what might be going on. The traffic in Delhi was horrendous and a few times I closed my eyes not to see how close we were to the other cars...but hey, thats how they drive here. We checked in (only 1 room was reserved for 5 people but that got straightened out); our hotel is really nice. It is strange to see such a nice place amidst the surroundings. We stayed up to wait for Neal to arrive (around 12 am) and then for Poonam to arrive (3 am). Throughout the night we were in contact with Poonam's mom who told us that there has been some recent violence in Rajasthan, the state we were planning on visiting next. She and the travel company advised us to change our travel itinerary and cut Jaipur and Rathambore out of our trip. Finally around 4 am, we made it to bed to get up today at 9 am.

Today in Delhi has been great. We had an excellent breakfast and were picked up in the hotel by a driver and tour guide to take us around Delhi. We visited such sites as India Gate, the Parliament and Prime Minister's house, Indira Ghandi's House, to name a few. Around 2 pm, lunch was fantastic, in true Indian form. We all were looking forward to the food. Throughout the day we got our itinerary straightened out thanks to Poonam's uncle and friends. We are now going to Goa tomorrow, leaving around 3:45 pm and staying there for 3-4 days. Goa is a beach resort town and supposed to be really nice. All of us are little bummed we are missing Jaipur and Rathambore (tigers), but understand the political situation and want to stay safe. We are returning to Delhi to then venture to Agra (Taj Mahal). Agra was a place we were not willing to sacrifice and everyone here says that Agra is safe. You can't come to India without seeing the Taj Mahal! We will pick up on our original itinerary when we return to Agra (see below) then meet up with the group on June 4.
All in all, things have been slightly overwhelming, due mostly to the lack of sleep. However, we have some great people looking out for us (Poonam and Neal's families, as well as our tour guide and the hotel). We are in safe hands.

Side note, I feel like a movie star here. We in total have seen 3 white people so far in Delhi; none of us really fit in with the residents. So far people have asked to take pictures with us and I am pretty sure little kids were taking pictures of me at some of the monuments. Haha. Also, remind me not to wear white when I travel again. I was accosted by a muddy peice of newspaper and have walked around with a muddy shirt all day. But, who cares...I stand out anyways.

Love back to the US!
~Mark