Travel Days October 8 & 9: London to Delhi, Delhi to Bhopal

Our flight from London was scheduled to leave at 9:45 am. To get there in time we had to get on the first train on the tube from Highgate and travel south and west for almost two hours. You can do the calculations about wake up etc. And our body clocks had still not adjusted to London time.

At Heathrow we pick up our luggage from the left luggage office and get to check a few minutes inside our check time and discover that there are no lines or people who look like passengers. Its convenient but eery. We check in and when I ask if the plane is leaving on time they answer in the affirmative. So I persist and they say that its leaving at 1:40pm London time. And to make up for all hassle of early rising, lack of sleep, two kids in early stages of meltdown, they give us a breakfast voucher. We had three seat together and one across the aisle because the 777 we were traveling on, has rows of three in the economy section. Each seat had its own TV which was good because our DVD player battery was mostly depleted by the time we boarded.

We were wiped before we even got on the plane. Kris took a nap in the waiting area. At 1:40 we boarded and the girls were asleep before we took off. Air India as usual is fantastic in the air and terrible on the ground. We could not find a number to call and confirm the day before. I am sure it is on their website but it is very difficult to find. Oh and you can't check in online either. Great!

We arrived in the Delhi at about 2:30 am local time. The bags took their time walking out and then getting a ride took a little bit of doing. We picked up our train tickets at the hotel we were supposed to stay the night and went straight to the railway station. Where we waited, in the upper class waiting room, with people sleeping on the floor and on the benches. We chose to sit next to another couple, probably from the UK which made for less staring at Kris. Though by this time Kris had had about an hour of sleep.

Daya had managed to pick up a cold and so she was miserable and doped for most of the trip and Lyse slept quite a bit too. All in all the girls have done very well despite the loss of sleep. Daya has been the easiest to adjust and Lyse wants to go home. But then two year olds are known for their flexibility and ability to adjust. Right!

Heathrow waiting for departure


Leaving: New Delhi Station. Shatabdi Express to Bhopal. Delhi the nations capital seems to be connected by fast trains to state capitals. The train itself did not seem very fast.

The views from the window are so typically India. Poverty, slums, cows, buffaloes, goats, people defecating, bathing etc. It was clear the train people had spent all their budget on fixing up the chair cars and none on the bathrooms which stank. In my business we, we would say that the bathrooms would not pass HQS standards. HQS is the lowest form of housing standard you can get in the US.

This is one continuous slum running alongside the railroad almost halfway to Agra when the next one starts. It would seem that a significant number of Indian urban residents live in slums aka substandard housing.

One the other side of the window we were well fed. The food kept on flowing towards us and I was strangely hungry for whatever they brought. I just wish that the toast and eggs had come together and not half an hour apart.


Here's a quick shot of what appears to be a small outpost fort outside Gwalior. I was unable to get a picture of the magnificent fort in Gwalior which seems to stand three stories high above the train tracks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwalior). It was from this fortress the Rani Laxmibai (Queen) lead the first major military uprising against the British in 1857. The following year Indian changed hands. It became the domain of Her Majesty's governement instead of being chattel of the East India Company. Rani Laxmibai died in battle outnumbered and betrayed by both her colleagues and the British.


Bhopal our initial destination. Were we glad to be here. The long trek from London is done. Because we are parents we have low expectations for getting sleep during travel. However, jet lad and travel exceeded our expectations of sleep loss significantly. Next time we will not be traveling with a two year old. It is amazing how she is still on Gallup time. And when we get back she will be on Indian time.


My brother-in-law Sunil and his two year old daughter, Sanna, who is a few months younger than Lyse. Sanna is a featherweight compared to Lyse. I guess its those Dutch genes. Sunil has visited us in Gallup. He and my sister have started a new ministry to plant churches in Nagpur.


Thats my little and only sister, Manjula on the left, holding Sanna with Daya. She is trained as an opthamologist and has done thousands of cataract operations. We are waiting for dinner to arrive.

Thats our nephew, Jaywant. He is Sunil and Manju's first born.


Last night Lyse woke up at 1:15am saying that she had had a nice nap and wanted a snack. Then Daya woke up. And then we had a snack.