Where is the National Museum?

With the assistance of our driver Biki and our own directional support, along with that of a few other drivers and security guards, we made it to the National Museum, which holds an impressive collection of sculpture, paintings, and textiles from throughout the country's history. Most amazing was the extensive collection of miniature paintings--always my favorite!

Culture shock

With more than 13 million residents, Delhi has often been described as challenging for tourists. And challenging it was for us on our first day. We started off with the deck stacked against us as we were weary and slightly dazed from the long journey. But then we encountered almost every single tourist nightmare and warning about this city--from the auto-rickshaw driver who took us to the wrong destination, to the overly friendly young men in Connaught Place who are hoping to lure tourists (i.e., us) to specific stores, to the more-than-one-hour cab ride home in the very worst of Delhi rush hour traffic. Transporting yourself anywhere in this city requires confidence and fortitude. There's a great metro system, but it requires you to cross eight lanes of chaotic traffic in order to get to the station. Walking, as you might imagine, is not for the faint of heart. There are limited sidewalks, cows and feral dogs to avoid, as well as all number of moving vehicles--cars, busses, bicycles, mopeds, and auto-rickshaws. Today, with a long list of sights to see dispersed throughout Delhi, we did the enlightened thing by hiring a driver for the day. And that made all the difference.

And Onto the Colonies

We made it. After what seemed an eternity. And after only two hours, there's already much to report:

My first observation or, rather, a lack thereof, came during final approach: the ground was not visible, at least until we were a mere 30 feet above it. The smog here is so thick that even at street level it is difficult to see more than a block or two.

Observation 2: Usually in places like this the road from the airport starts with condo ads, morphs into slum, and gradually builds to city. Not so here. The road to town is lined with billboards that, without exception, advertise educational programs. Law? Check. Medicine? Check. Engineering? Triple check. Acting and dancing lessons for that eight year old in your life who's gonna make it big in Bollywood? Got that, too.

Third, the Indians are still the most polite, welcoming people you'll ever meet.

Four, the traffic is still the most bizarre on the planet. Cars, trucks, buses, autorickshaws, tractors, motorcycles (women ride side saddle), work animals, lone animals, and scores of people all moving perpendicular to the flow. Breathtaking.

Anyway, Karen found a great hotel, as usual, so let the sightseeing begin. Namasté.

Terminal 3

As the sign says, last British ale for 5,000 miles.

Hanging out in the travelers' lounge during our six hour layover. Karen gets to take a shower and I get free wifi and gin and tonics, all for a small fee. Then it's seven hours to Delhi.

Third Leg

Sacto's behind us. We're wrapping up LA, where our eight-hour layover allowed us to eat some good burgers with Karen's family. Now it's eight hours on Virgin flight 24 to Heathrow for another six hours of layover. Fortunately, Karen found the Terminal 3 travel lounge, which offers showers and sustenance.

Mildred Howard bottle house

Our flight out of Sacramento offered us a chance to see Mildred Howard's glass house installation--part of several large-scale art installations in their new terminal. For those who don't know, the Palo Alto Art Center is proud to be featuring one of Howard's bottle houses as part of our On the Road project. So, being able to be bathed in its purple reflections offered a special pre-trip treat.

Train People

Karen's never ridden Amtrak before. I've already availed myself of the warm croissants on the dining car.