We have neared the end of our stay in Delhi after a day and a half of touring. We are staying in a beautiful hotel with good food, nice amenities, and plentiful bottled water which shelters us from a bustling city with great poverty and well, filth. So it leaves a confusing impression.

Tomorrow we are off to the holy city, Varanasi. We were warned, by more than one experienced Indian traveller, to avoid Varanasi. But of course – we are ignoring that advice!

I may be having some technical difficulties with my blog- I’m sure it is user error combined with the difficulty of using a phone to figure it out; but anyway, I hope this reaches anyone interested. Namaste.

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Arriving uneventfully in New Dehli, we were met by Victor from “Easy Tours” who drove us to the Imperial Hotel. It’s amazing how

proficient he was at driving in a heavy mist while turning around to talk to us in the back of the minivan.  We previewed at least part of the route of today’s Republic Day parade that President Obama is viewing. Since it was around 3 in the morning, traffic was light!

Thanks to a friend’s recommendation, we are transitioning to India at the Imperial Hotel, a beautiful vestige of British rule.  We awoke on Monday morning as you were going to bed on Sunday night and enjoyed a magnificent breakfast.

My nephew, Abe, is ” #off the grid”, and daughter, Mary, is  “#leave no digital footprint” so they may never enjoy these ramblings.  Unlike them, I am going on the grid for our travel to India.Our flight departs ORD this afternoon and arrives Amsterdam @ 7:15 AM; KLM  to Indira Gandhi International arrives @ 1:10 AM.  I am not sure what day! Stay tuned for further posts.