(From Elana O)
Yes, there are 3 lanes on this road; yes, there are 5 rows of cars overlapping those lanes. The first car ride we took from the airport was exhilarating. As a relatively new driver in the states, I am used to expressing overly cautioned behavior on the road. Here, as I stepped out of my first vehicle in India, I was shaken from the reckless driving… and this was just the first night!
Our time in Delhi has been one for the books. We saw many grand buildings including the Red Fort, The cremation site of Gandhi, and many temples. My favorite experience so far has been the Red Fort because we were bombarded with locals asking for selfies with the white girl with dirty blonde curly hair- I don’t say this in a negative way, but rather as a way of describing just how different I look from the Indian people. Besides throwing up peace signs for snapchats and future social media posts, we were able to observe the history of the Red Fort. It was built in the 1600s by the Mughal emperor, and had one kickass moat around it. It also featured events such as tiger and elephant fighting (of which we debated as a group who would win- we came to the conclusion of the elephant).
The food has been out of this world so far; even the small little hole-in-the-wall restaurants have been better than the most expensive Indian restaurants in Fairfax, VA. So far I have had hot cornflakes, shredded spicy potatoes, masala paneer, dosa masala, and sweet corn chicken soup with rice. I’ve also fallen in love with chai- though it is a love hate relationship because I burn my tongue on it every single time.
Namaste,
Elana