Crossing Timezones into another World - Gappers long awaited arrival in India.

We arrived at Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi, exhausted. It was 2am Delhi time ( we think thats 6am Sydney time) and no-one, and i mean no-one seemed to speak English. However, we figured out where to go, hopping on a bus that we presumed would take us to the Domestic terminal, where we could catch our next and final flight to Udaipur. By this stage it was 3am and we were irritable to say the least. So when the bus stopped in the middle of the airport, in a dark and empty corner, we were not happy. One weird yet interesting thing to mention though was that the security at Delhi for our flight to Udaipur was much stricter than any of our other international flights - we had to have a tag on everything we took on (including money belts and pillows) and each got frisked for explosives.Well what can i say about India...


Besides all that, after a 2 hour wait in Delhi (it now being 4am), we finally boarded a plane to Udaipur and arrived at 7:30 am Udaipur time. Ravi, one of the awesome Channel Youth Reps met us and escorted us to the truck - the coolest vehicle to exist in India. Imagine a large golf cart, with a bigger engine and plastic removable shields for each window. We sped down what I presume was a main road our of Udaipur for 40 mins, heading to the apartment. It was there that we saw signs of the real India that had so far evaded us at the multiple pit stops. Every second person rides a motorbike, and never with a helmet. We saw a guy holding a door between the driver and himself, a woman riding side saddle with rice...just to name a few.

The horn is used more than the brakes. Every two seconds- BEEP BEEP. We think they use it as a "Hello I'm here" indicator as well as a " Get out of the way" and "How's it going?"

. Hence, its popularity. Finally, we arrived at our apartment in Bedla, a suburb in Udaipur. It's a wonderful place, with high ceilings (for the breeze) and 3 levels - we are at the top, of course. The view from the rooftop and terraces are amazing! However, it is very hot, so going up in the middle of the day isnt advised. At the moment, its about 30 degrees and humid. The staff here are fantastic. There is Ritu, Guarav and Ravi, the hosts. Meena (we call her Meenaji out of respect) is our amazing cook.
And at the moment, thats all I can think of. Today we have spent resting, getting used to the time zone and getting used to the apartment. Tomorrow, the orientation begins!!
Emily