Namaste

First thoughts on India - it too is a lot like China, only more chaotic (in a good way... unless you're into Soviet planning) and friendlier. Very smoggy this morning though. Even the airport was hazy. Unlike China and Nairobi, the haze seemed mostly to be woodfire smoke, not diesel pollution. It may be because I landed at around 3am local time, so later on in the day may be a different story.

One of the first things I noticed was how diverse India is.  Yes most of the people are Indian, but there are so many different racial, ethnic, and religious varieties that you don't see much of in the US (I think probably only because the very upper castes come to the US, giving us a much more homogenous perception of India than reality).  This was something I was intellectually aware of, but it really strikes you when you step off the plane.

I would also like to reiterate my opinion that Etihad Airways is horrible - their flight attendants are the slowest, most inept, and ill-trained I've ever encountered on international routes.  The only fathomable reason to ever fly them is price - it was only $500 for a one-way flight from Chicago to New Delhi, versus the $2k for my one-way flight from Geneva to Chicago on Tuesday.