I managed to catch a few hours sleep before being woken by the sound of the cabin crew starting the breakfast service. The light continental breakfast, particularly the orange juice, went down well.

Arriving at Indira Gandhi International Airport
Despite our delayed departure we managed to make up lost time, arriving at Delhi Airport at 10.40 hrs. local time. Terminal 3 is spacious, clean, cool and calm - but it is clinical and lacks humanity. The nine giant hand sculptures- based on mudras - mounted along a wall in the newly built terminal 3 - appear to be little more than a nod to the Indian context and Indian values. But they made me pause and think: What is India? Is this the new India? And on our short trip will we see the real India?

Mudras

Mudras are expressive hand gestures that form an intrinsic part of Indian classical dance, yoga and visual arts. They are believed to channel natural forces, aiding spiritual and mental well-being by enhancing the flow of energy through the body.

The gyan mudra (left) is achieved by curling the index finger and touching the tip of the finger with the thumb whilst the other three fingers are stretched out. This mudra is believed to enhance knowledge. The tip of thumb has centers of pituitary and endocrine glands, which when pressed by the index finger begin to work actively. Exponents believe that adopting this mudra enhances memory and concentration as well as combating psychological disorders such as depression.

Walking towards the arrivals hall we can hear the din of drums to welcome an arriving sports personality [We never managed to find out who].Once through the doors we are met by a sea of people, the drumming and the warm Indian air. We try to move through this mass of humanity to find our guide and driver. Once united with our guide we wait on the sidewalk for the driver to bring up the minibus.

The journey from the airport to our hotel took a little over 45 minutes in heavy and chaotic traffic. On the road from the airport we passed the Indian Air force Western Command – the airport had a number of military planes. Further on we passed the 1^st Signal Corps and the Army Hospital (Research and Referral). Motorcycles, often with two or three up vied for space with cars, vans, lorries, tuk-tuks and rickshaw bikes. The horns were incessant. Just before the turnoff for our hotel we were pulled over for a Police enforcement check. After a cursory check of our driver's papers we're on our way again.

Staying with New Friends
We are staying in the Hotel Suryaa situated in New Friends Colony, New Delhi. Formerly the Crowne Plaza, the hotel is grand in both size and style, a cool oasis retreat. We have interconnecting rooms, a twin and a double.

We check through our itinerary for the trip, which includes our internal flights and journey on the Shatabdi Express from Agra to Jhansi. It's a little after 1.15 in the afternoon and we're all feeling slightly tired from the journey. Josh has been sound asleep for over half an hour whilst Grace has been reading and writing her diary. From our room we can hear the feint hum of traffic punctuated by the shrill bike horns.

After unpacking some of our bags I can't wait any longer and have to explore the neighbourhood.

Walking out from the cool and relative quiet of the hotel lobby I'm hit by the warm afternoon air and the sounds of the city. A cacophony of bike, car and lorry horns. In this heat the exhaust fumes are more intense.



Having lived in London for most of my life I'm not averse to walking in between moving lanes of traffic to cross the road, but Delhi is certainly pedestrian hostile. Vehicles weave around the hapless pedestrian trying to cross the road. I decide that there is safety in numbers and that it would be safer to traverse the highway in the middle of a group of locals
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After a short walk I find myself in a local market which is rather dank and gloomy. There is a variety of shops and a small number of cafes serving food.

Back at the hotel everyone is rested and refreshed so it's time for a shower and change of clothes before dinner.

Dinner at Seven
For dinner this evening we ate at Seven – the hotel’s à la carte restaurant. We shared a mix of starters – rajmah (kidney beans) pureed on bread, tandoori chicken and a Mysore dosa with accompaniments. There were two dosas and sauces.

Our meal began with cone shaped popadams – with a selection of onions, coriander puree and pickle. To drink we had copious glasses of refreshing lemonade made with mint and pomegranate seeds.

We slept soundly looking forward to seeing India tomorrow.