I'm Here
Landing in India was an experience in itself. After going through immigration it was off to collect my bag, or so I thought. It was a good hour before i managed to spot my huge rucksack and even then i had to barge through the hundreds of people waiting around the collection point to get to it.
Coming out of the airport was a shock, not only was i amazed by how hot and bright it was for 6am in the morning but i was amazed to see the streets flooded with people. I managed to spot the pink gap guru sign eventually and was then led through a maze of people and traffic to a minibus.
After the rest of the gappers had turned up, they obviously had to wait ages for their bags as well, the minibus set off to the respective homestays. It was hard to take everything in; the noise of the horns and fruit salesman, the smell of garbage and burning from the fires on the streets and the sight of dogs and cows.
When I arrived at the homestay i was greeted by a very hospitable family offering me bananas, bread, dosas and tea. Unfortunately i had to say no because i was not hungry, just tired out from the ten hour flight. After a nice couple of hours sleep it was off to the local representatives house to meet the other gappers.
Walking through the streets was a very strange experience, it was an adventure in itself. Trying not to get run over on the road, while also trying to avoid falling into one of the numerous holes in the pavement, while all the time being honked by autos and stared at by locals!
Dinner back at the homestay was great, a chicken curry with plenty of rice and chapattis. Although different from takeaways back home it was still very nice and then it was just a matter of a quick call back home to say all was well before unpacking my bag and returning to bed.