India Days 1-3: Travel and First Experiences

Here we are at Phoenix Sky Harbor, about to embark on our journey. Everyone was feeling pretty good. And  yes, that is all the luggage we took with us. It was nice to just have carry on!

We arrived at the airport about 2 1/2 hours before our plane departed. After getting checked in and through security (where we had no problems with our liquids but they inspected all our food), we had a couple hours before our plane left. We talked a lot about how plane travel is a bunch of "Hurry up and waits". Our first flight was 5 hours from Phoenix to Newark. At first, the kids were pretty interested in the plane and flying. Matthew said it was like a ride at Disneyland. However, about an hour in, he used the "b" word: "This is boring." That being said, the plane travel went remarkably well. I was prepared for lots of whining and "Are we there yets" that never materialized. And many of the activities that I had packed for the kids never got used.

We had a 2 1/2 hour layover in Newark and we used all of it: going potty, waiting for a bus to transfer terminals, getting dinner, going potty again, talking Matthew's moldy bun back to the restaurant, waiting in line to get visas checked and waiting in line to get on the plane. Getting in line for the visa check was an adventure are U was gone getting a new burger for Matthew so the kids and I got to move all the bags over to the line. The kids were big helpers!

The second plane was really nice with wider seats and more distance between the seats plus every seat had its own free entertainment tv. It was definitely the nicest plane we flew on, which makes sense since it was our longest flight at 14 hours. The kids loved watching whatever movie they wanted (there were lots of options). We did get some sleep. Matthew slept the most at six hours straight while Sarah got the least at two hours. She really enjoyed the free food. I'd been concerned about how everyone would do on a 14 hour flight, but honestly, it was fine and could have been longer without issue!

As we were coming in to land in Delhi, I looked out the window and thought how it looked a lot like any other city I flew into at night. However, I knew it would be much different once we were on the ground. As we were about to touch down, I saw the Indian homes and knew it was definitely not America!

Once we arrived, we went through immigrations and customs. It took awhile to get our visas but finally we were through and went to meet my parents! It was great to see them!

Outside the airport in Delhi.

After our long trip. It was about 10:45 pm here, which is about 25 hours after we were dropped off at the Phoenix airport.

The mission driver picked us up, which was very nice of him. The trip home was interesting. Definitely a good introduction to Indian driving. We saw a motorcycle with three people on it, lots of dogs, an ambulance, four lanes of traffic in three (what's the paint for?) and heard lots of honking!

Here is a picture of the traffic as we were leaving the airport.

The first police car we saw. Matthew loved spotting "helper" cars everywhere we went.

By the time we got to bed, it was after 1 am. However, Matthew was up as soon as the sun came up and I was up with him. 

We went on a walk with Grandpa to a park near their flat. Here Matthew and Grandpa are with some Lodhi ruins behind them. The Lodhis ruled Delhi from 1450-1525 AD so the ruins are pretty old.

Sliding down the slide. We had to lift Matthew onto it as the top 18 inches of the ladder had no rungs. Also, if you look, you can see that there is a big hole in the top of the slide.

Sarah, Matthew and I went with Grandma to the market to buy some fruit and veggies.

Grandma, Grandpa, Matthew and I did some yoga.

Then we ate some lunch and got ready to head out for the rest of the day.