New Friends in Delhi

It's December 24 and we are meeting our neighbor Pampa's sister Papiya and her family who live in Delhi. Papiya has been quite diligent in communicating with us during our entire trip, and we're looking forward to our visit very much. After breakfast at the hotel, Papiya calls us to make plans for the day. We've already researched the location of their flat and realize that although they live about 25K from our hotel, it's very close to two Metro stations on the blue line, across the river. No sweat - we're veterans of the Delhi Metro by now. Papiya and her husband Sumit agree to meet us at the station. In an attempt to help them recognize us, Hoyt tells them to look out for his orange windbreaker, but since we're traveling far away from the tourist areas into a residential section, it wasn't difficult for them to spot us. After we meet up, they escort us to a waiting tuk-tuk and we're on our way to their flat in no time. When we arrive, we're greeted by Papiya's parents (who we know already from their stay in Campbell with Pampa and Arup), and Papiya's three year old son, who was initially shy but ended up becoming fast friends with us. We spent a delightful afternoon discussing India, politics, books and what to do in our remaining time in Delhi. In addition, As it turns out, Papiya and Sumit relocated to Delhi four months ago, so they are learning about the area as well. One of the highlights of our visit was a home-cooked Bengali style lunch, which was absolutely delicious. On the return trip back to the Metro, we got our first taste of a Delhi public bus ride, with Papiya and Sumit as our escorts and a very happy three-year old who's experiencing his first bus ride in Delhi. After bidding farewell to our new friends, we board the blue line train for the return trip to Karol Bagh and get ready for our last day in India. An added note: We would have included a photo of the Delhi Metro here, but you're not allowed to photograph inside the station or inside the cars. Security is very tight; you go through metal detectors and a pat-down, with separate lines for men and women (which meant I waited for Hoyt a lot, as there are many more men on the Metro than women).