There is a slight breeze in this cramped cyber cafe, and though it is a breif escape from the chaos of the constant horns and traffic of the streets, it is an escape. I will admit, Thane and I have spent the majority of our time thus far either in the hotel room or some kind of vehicle. Where do I begin... I have been writing diligently in my journal, however the expereinces have not yet been something I will look back on with a smile. We were picked up from the Delhi airport by an employee of our pre booked hotel - best move yet. Our second best may have been seeking our and meeting Sanjeeve but I will get to that later.

Following a shocking car ride from the airport to the hotel, we checked in smoothly and were delited with the clean room and bathroom. We had a fantastic nap our first night in Delhi, as the 10 hour time difference made it difficult to sleep longer than five hours. Thane and I discovered eachother to be awake and had just turned on a bollywood flic when the power went out, a regular occurance we soon found out. The next morning we ordered breakfast and enjoyed some delicious indian food before heading out into the streets. After traveling through the city in a rickshaw, our desperate attempt to escape the mass population and begin our journey into the secluded Himalayas proved challenging. India, as we were warned, it full of tricksters. After speaking with four different travel agents we eventually decided to hire a private taxi to Derhadun. For the next eight hours we were basically terrified as we swerved past bikes, wagons, rickshaws, and buses on a two laned two way road.

Though we covered a fair amount of distance the countryside, or roadside, should I say was monotonous. The colorful saris clashed with the grey ruins of the street. The poverty is incredible. I am considerably numb to scenes having dealt with the shock at age seventeen in Guatemala City and then again in Africa - but this is different. The amount of people is astounding, and even more so, the condition the majority of them are in. We knew the cities would not be attractive places, but I wasn't prepared for my own desperation for silence or at least a clean area to reside besides the hotel room. Tomorrow we will head for a hill station, gaining significant elevation and with luck a slower pace of life. Sanjeev is our guide. We met with him this morning and he is an older educated man who is planning our trek. We should begin in a week, but as we have learned an hour means two. It is releiveing beyond beleif to have a man whom we trust halfway. It is finally sinking in as to what an incredible challenge Thane and I have undertaken, and I have faith that it will get easier with time and distance from these cities. WE are both in good spirits and witnessed a bit of monsoon today as well as the flooding of the streets that followed - exciting stuff!!!

Kendall