Arrived

 Last night I wrote a detailed blog, one of my best, of the time since leaving NZ but as (bad) luck would have it, when I posted it the IT gremlins took it off into the ether never to be seen again and as I was shattered from lack of sleep I didn’t have the motivation to rewrite it.

 

So as a quick summary:

·       Met Ashok at airport – big smiles, hug, handshake and he placed a garland around our necks

·       3hr drive to his village- sore bums from flights and drive

·       Heat very oppressive 

·       Met his family- Gita, Priya & Riya

·       Was shown his new house – surprisingly still under construction but “your room” will “be finished tonight”

·       Was introduced to other family members and villagers

·       Met Sapna the bride to be – she seems excited about the upcoming wedding and didn’t ask who invited you!

·       A friend of Ashok, Raj Kumar Yadav, made up a room in a building adjacent to his home for us to stay in

·       Room exceptionally hot even with aircon, ceiling fan and two small fans going 110%

·       Bathroom attached was found to have a squat toilet!

·       Was left alone for a couple of hours to “relax” but that didn’t stop 2 ladies on one occasion and a guy on another coming into the room

·       On a couple of occasions folk who we met leant down and touched my shoe which is a sign of respect

·       Around 7.30 we went outside and Raj came over and took us to his house next door 

·       Sat on the “verandah” and quickly Marsala tea and bottles of water offered as they had been on meeting others – becomes embarrassing saying no thanks all the time

·       Chatted with Raj and his family while waiting for Ashok to come – Raj is such a delightful gent describing his life as “I’m on a low income but that’s ok as me and my family are happy”

·       During the conversation he had conversations on the phone with who knows whom but after one said we were to stay in a hotel tonight implying the room he had provided was not good enough

·       Ashok arrived and brought us to “The Royal Tulip Hotel & Resort”

·       I went to pay on signing in but found that the cost had been taken care of

·       Long story short Sherry doesn’t have to squat at least until we move somewhere else which we might have to politely resist 

 

It is only 12 months since we were last in India and it is surprising how quickly we had forgotten how:

 

·       Crowded Delhi is

·       Chaotic the driving is

·       Bad the roads are in parts

·       Violent the speed bumps are

·       Frequent the car horn is used

·       Much rubbish sits on the side of the road

·       Rundown most of the buildings are

·       Cows wander in front of vehicles bringing them to a halt

 

but most of all and perhaps to our discredit,we had forgotten how

 

·       Friendly, welcoming and delightful the people are

What the next few days holds remains to be seen but sure as hell we will find out