India Day 1: Casual Vacancy

We watched the heavy rain spatter the restaurant windows, thunderstorm threatening to delay our flight, whilst having our grossly overpriced lunch at the airport. It cleared up in time for a smooth take off.

Bob and I decided to fly Malindo, which allowed us to check in online a day ahead and select our seats when doing so. We must have been the first to check in, we grabbed the front seats. Yay, so much leg room! No leg cramps on this flight. Also, I discovered that the front of the cabin is really comfy, not subjected to the subzero air conditioning conditions in the middle and back. And they weren't stingy with their beverage refills. All noted for the future. Bob kept himself busy with the inflight entertainment while I sat down determined to finally read the freshly liberated Casual Vacancy from its 5 year plastic shopping bag.

New Delhi seems to be exactly what I was told it would be: smell of sulphur in the air, crammed traffic, drivers going every which way, lots of honking. The taxi driver who had placed our luggage on the roof was swerving and making such sudden sharp turns that I was braced to find it jettisoned off somewhere along the way.

First impressions: very dusty, not clean, weird people (the temperature was just right, not cold, but everyone's got parkas, jumpers, scarves, beanies on).

Our hosts were very kind, they had waited for us to arrive, settled us in, got us some very yummy "butter chicken" and the softest chapatis I've ever had before heading off to a wedding while Bob and I turned in.

So, this is going to be an adventure. We've arrived in India with about INR800, and couldn't bring any more because no financial institutions are dealing in the currency. The banks' advice was to withdraw money from ATMs when we arrived here in India. We arrived, and made a beeline to the nearest ATM. Not in service. Next ATM. Not in service. All of them. Not in service. It now appears that their President had issued an order that each individual can only withdraw a maximum of INR2000 per day at ATMs or INR10000 at a go for a week at a bank. Basically, the moment a machine is loaded with cash, everyone lines up at it and empties it out. We've got INR400 left now. We can't get money from the machines, the banks are closed for the weekend, we can't beg because no one has cash to give us.

We're off to Agra first thing in the morning. Is the Taj Mahal free?