Our Last Days in India

After the visa processing we were completely ready to get home. We were wishing we had an earlier flight. Delhi is not as nice as Bangalore. When we were flying into Delhi from Bangalore the pilot even said that there was "a cover of fog - actually it's smog". Not pretty! The sun looked orange much of the day and we could even see the smog inside the airport.

We took Victoria swimming at the Metropolitan. It was very cold. She liked it at first, but then when Billy dipped her to near her neck, she was NOT happy! We promptly left. However, she does enjoy water. She'll play in her tubby until she turns pruny!

We didn't thoroughly enjoy the Metropolitan. Breakfast was good (and free), but everything else was way too expensive. To use the internet for 30 minutes was going to b e $6.00. I just couldn't pay it after what we were already paying to stay there. However, it was safe, clean and the hot showers were GREAT!

On Tuesday we went to the zoo. Our driver (who was becoming quite annoying by now) wanted to join us for the day. A couple times he took us to places we didn't want to go. One time we wanted him to take us to McDonalds and he said there was not one close. So he took us to an expensive restaurant (which he said was not expensive). We chose not to eat there and went back out to the vehicle and told him it was expensive. (He did not look happy.) He then proceeded to drive a few kilometers to......a McDonalds!!! Another time he told us the Dili Haat shopping area was closed and took us to the Delhi Haat. We promptly left the place without buying anything. Again, he was not happy with us. We're thinking he would get a share of what we spent there. He also tried a couple times to overcharge us for parking in different areas. We watched for signs and corrected him once. (Not happy again.) So at the zoo, Billy finally told him we needed some family time and he went his own way. Victoria wanted to be held most of the time. The zoo was very quiet. A few school groups and a few people. A group of young guys, one in particular, kept following us and taking pictures. We did see some neat animals, some native to India and it was a bit of a reprieve from the chaos of Delhi.

Then we ate at McDonalds and went back to the hotel to rest and shower before heading out to dinner and the airport.

Our flight didn't leave until 12:50 that night, so we paid to get a late check-out. We went out to dinner. Victoria slept for a while at the restaurant. We walked around some stores for a bit and then had our driver take us to the airport. We arrived about 9:45, thinking we were way too early. However, it took us nearly 3 hours to check in and get through all the security! It seemed like forever!!! And we had some souvenirs packed in a carry-on and totally forgot that there was a knife in there. OOOPS! Sorry about your Christmas present, Brett. I'm just glad they didn't haul Billy off! We got to our gate in time to sit for a a bit and use the restroom.

Victoria did wonderful on the 15 hour plane ride. Only the last 3o minutes or so did she cry. We think her ears hurt. She played, ripped magazines and slept. It was such a long flight, but we made it through and it could have been much worse.