It's 2 a.m. I must be lonely. Or jetlagged.
Please excuse my MatchBox 20 reference but it IS 2 a.m. and I am awake. What better chance to crack open the ole laptop and write a recap of the trip so far.It began many moons ago -- Thursday at noon EST, to be exact. We began our trek to Atlanta.
A few things of note happened:
1. There's a 7kg weight limit on carry on bags so we ended up having to check a bag anyway.
2. An old lady passed out while waiting to go through security.
We spent our few hours before the flight eating carbs, since we had given up carbs so far this year and knew that wasn't sustainable for India, where a lot of places only have vegetarian options. So we ate some yummy fries. Oh, fries, I have missed you so.
The plane was remarkably empty. Taylor and I got a whole 3-person row to ourselves. There were tons and tons of empty rows. I got maybe 3 hours of sleep. Maybe.
We arrived in Doha, Qatar, around 4 p.m. Qatar time. Our connecting flight to Delhi was around 8 p.m. I'd eaten "breakfast" on the plane but Taylor had not, so he wanted some food. He really wanted Burger King because we'd heard beef is scarce in India. So yes, we ate Burger King in Doha.
The interesting thing of note that happened in Doha was Taylor wasn't allowed to get a pedicure. Apparently only women could be served at the salon.
The flight to Delhi was much more packed. They served us a meal, so I ate again. How many meals had I eaten at this point? What time was it? Where was I? Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret.
We arrived in Delhi around 2 a.m. Delhi time. This is 9.5 hours ahead of U.S. EST, 2 hours ahead of Qatar. That .5 ahead of EST really throws me off.
Evan and Wendy had arranged a driver from their school to pick us up at exit 6, but he wasn't there. It was pretty overwhelming, with tons of drivers waiting outside and we couldn't find ours. I activated my international plan and called Evan. Turns out our driver was waiting at exit 4 instead.
He drove us to the school.
Ah, driving in Delhi!
A. I didn't even realize they drive on the left side of the road. I am dumb.
B. Lanes? What are lanes?
C. I see why my nephew Oakes gets carsick and prefers tuk-tuks (auto rickshaws).
Poor Evan had to meet us at the school entrance at around 4 a.m. He led us to their apartment, where we showered and passed out.
I had my alarm set for 10:22 a.m. because getting up and pretending the day is normal SHOULD help with jetlag. I guess not if you're me and up at 2 a.m. the next day anyway.
Evan, my niece Wren, and Oakes took us around the American Embassy School campus. It's lovely. I definitely see why they like it here.
Wren told me there was a monkey on the playground the other week. I decided I needed to see a monkey.
Saturday's itinerary was pretty light, thankfully. We took a tuk-tuk to lunch. We ate Mexican. In Delhi. And it was really good! I didn't even realize I was hungry until I started eating the chips and guacamole. I also insisted Taylor order a margarita because, uh, why not?
After lunch, we took another tuk-tuk to Humayun's Tomb. I know it's a stunning piece of architecture, but a few other things stood out to me beyond the construction:
1. There we well-dressed men posing all over the place. Evan said it was for their Tinder profiles. This is amazing.
2. Two men asked if they could take a "selfie" with Wren. Wren is a little blonde girl. She is apparently rare and exciting. Wren said no, so they asked Oakes. He complied.
3. Delhi is hot. This wasn't even a hot day. But the humidity! Wow.
4. The squirrels look like chipmunks but are called squirrels.
5. There was a tree that has little white flowers that women use to make incense. I love those flowers. I want that tree.
6. There were parakeets everywhere! Parakeets -- in the wild! They make the pigeons look like, well...pigeons, I guess. I feel like there's some metaphor to create between different people and pigeons and parakeets, but I haven't had any caffeine yet and can't get there.
We talked about maybe going to India gate, but decided to go home and relax a little instead.
Did you know Pez candies have the same effects on people that crack cocaine does? Wren ate a Pez and proceeded to do martial arts with a pool noodle. I asked Oakes how she has so much energy.
"It's the sugar," he said. "She does this sometimes."
Amazing! I wish sugar had the same affect on me.
Evan and Oakes play a game of ultimate frisbee every Saturday night, so Taylor and I decided to join them. I've never played ultimate frisbee before. I didn't realize there was so much running involved. I foolishly thought the little bit of exercise I got by playing for 20 minutes would help me sleep.
What a fool I am.
Taylor and I walked back to the apartment to cool off and just outside the gate to Evan's apartment, a monkey just ambles by. I FINALLY SAW MY MONKEY. The monkey climbed up the stairs to another building, then jumped onto the roof. I'm not sure what the monkey's plan was, but the birds on the roof did not approve.
We topped off the day by eating some leftover curry chicken the nanny made. I also discovered na'an bread and re-discovered peanut butter and bananas. Guys, why is a banana covered in peanut butter so good? Maybe I'll have one for breakfast...
I didn't think I liked Indian food that much but it was really good. The curry chicken, not the peanut butter. Though the $8 jar of Skippy was also really good.
Then we went to bed with the kids, because we have a 4 a.m. wake-up call since we are flying to Jaipur to PLAY WITH ELEPHANTS.
Tomorrow...Jaipur!
