Our Journey begins!

A new adventure begins at last. After months of preparation and the decision to add it to the Karell portfolio, here we are in India. The moment we stepped on to our Jet Airways aircraft in New York, Cathy and I felt something remarkable was about to unfold. The flight connects through Brussels. What great service & some of the best food we have ever had on an airline.

As we descended from the aircraft to the waiting buses, the scent of India in my nostrils was unmistakable. It was familiar, yet foreign. The balmy air, the beautiful ladies in Saris welcoming everyone. As we entered the Airport building there were 4 gentlemen waiting to meet us. We were whisked through customs and, for the first time ever, we had to go through an H1N1 inspection line. As we exited the airport to wait for our car, the  sound of whistles blowing and the constant flow of cars circling was remarkable- the best way to describe it is organized chaos, something the next 24 hours would show us to be the normal course of things here. It seems there are so many rules and laws, yet none really works all of the time. Cathy has already started a standing joke between us… the drinking age is 25……but….speed limit is 25MPH….but…everyone must wear helmets on motor bikes…more on that later.

We arrived at the TAJ hotel rather late at night. We got a great welcome and when we got to our room there were 4 or 5 people waiting for us; the butler to say hi and show us the room, the chef and an assistant to discuss my Gluten allergy ( at midnight!) and another person offering welcome drinks. After everyone left, we unpacked and happily collapsed into bed putting the alarm on for 9:00AM…. and at 11:00AM I jumped out of bed and realized the alarm did not go off. Thank goodness we were only being met by our incredible host, Reet, at 12:30. We had brunch at the hotel, really yummy (I need to be careful this month) before being joined at the hotel by our guide Rachna, a wonderful lady with a great sense of humor. Our first stop was at the craft market museum which was a great place to get a basic understanding of all the Gods and how they are represented in the different regions. Rachna also explained how you can tell where someone is from and whether they are Hindu, Moslem, Sikh simply by examining their dress and jewelry. Really fascinating. From there we went to the Jamia Masjid Mosque. Of course the drive between these places becomes an excursion in and of itself. No road rules and everyone knows what they are doing. Lanes mean nothing and then you pass the cows etc and just when you get used to that the car next to us happens to be an elephant! Right there in the traffic with the guy riding it as if this was just normal to us all. I am falling in love with India already!

Here are some more photos of our time in Delhi. We’re off to Varanasi now, stay tuned for more!