Leaving Delhi this evening-

Today was full of Sihk Temples with important Gurus, Mughal Tombs predating the Taj Mahal, Hindu and Bahai Temples, Islamic Mosques, and Ghandi's final days. We spent the day with Sonu, our driver, who wanted to introduce us to places all over Delhi.

While visiting Qutab Minar (the 12th century city of Delhi) we stumbled upon the filming of a Bollywood music video. School kids went crazy over whoever the star of the video was and Nicole and I sat on a hill and watched them rehearse the choreography. Justin Timberlake they are not.

The people are alarmingly friendly and want to say hi whenever they see us. A favorite conversation starter is "we love Obama... Bush bad." After watching the filming of the Bollywood video, as the schoolchildren left, everyone of them wanted to shake hands with us. Yesterday, while visiting the Red Fort, hundreds of elementary school girls shyly said hello to Nicole. The encounters are sweet.

We get on an overnight train this evening to Amritsar in the state of Punjab. Talk to you then.

So much for adjusting to the time difference (13.5 hours ahead of LA)... it's 4am and I am wide awake.

Nic and I had a great first day. We had a terrific potato and gravy breakfast with hot tea and then walked out our hotel into the labyrinth of 17th century streets and back alleys of Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi). They sidewalks are full of vegetables and flowers, monkeys run along the masses of electrical lines, and the flow of people is everywhere. Taxis, motorcyle tuck tucks, bicycle rickshsaws, and people walking on every conceivable space, but rarely ever bumping into each other... everything is organized in a structured chaos.

We started our day with a visit to Jamma Masjid, which as the largest mosque in Asia, has room for 25,000 worshipers. We climbed to the top of one of the minarets for an ariel view of the city, but unfortunately, saw mostly a polluted haze. At times the air is choking with smoke, exhaust, spices.

We hired a tuck tuck to speed around the city, visiting various sites and markets, rested with some coffee and tea in an old colonial british coffee house, sampled several different indian foods (mutton kabobs, tandori chicken, nan, and some sweet fried dough balls, and finally finished up our day far dirtier than we predicted when we first packed our suitcases with only 2 pairs of pants each. Laundry was done in the shower (not a good sign when you have to do laundry on the first day).

Overall the first day was a success. We feel great, and though a bit overwhelmed with all of the sights, smells, tastes, and sounds, we're excited to keep exploring the nooks and crannys. Love to all.

Namaste!
We made it! 15 hours, 7,477 miles, 3 meals and many movies later, we arrived to New Delhi at 940p local time. The last hour proved strenuous as the children of many families making their way home for wedding season became restless. With 2,000 miles to go, Eric and I realized all our friends and families back home had enjoyed dinner, some t.v., a good night's rest, woken up and headed to work before we even crossed over Moscow.

Our hotel is located across the Red Fort which will be our first stop after enjoying our complimentary breakfast. It's 745a here and we've been up since about 6a.m., slowly adjusting to the time change.