Journey, Arrival and First Impressions

Greetings from Delhi, India!

So after traveling for 34 hours (which included a wonderful 15 hour layover in NYC with my brother and sister-in-law), we arrived in Delhi at 9PM last night and made it to our hotel via an extremely aggressive and honk-prone cab driver. The first thing I noticed when I left the airport was the air quality, which is comparable to standing near a bonfire or barbeque pit. The heat is very much there, but not as unbearable as I was led to believe. Even though the ride to the hotel was at night in the dark, I still saw many interesting things I wasn't used to seeing in the States, including a man and a woman on a scooter with an infant sandwiched in between them on the highway (no helmets on any of them), several men urinating openly on the road, and of course, cows peacefully roaming the narrow streets munching on random piles of garbage. The Delhi I have seen so far is extremely filthy and dusty, but full of character. After an uncomfortable few moments of the cab driver insisting on a tip (which was already paid through the hotel), we arrived to a very friendly hotel clerk assuring us that no matter what tip you give, the cab drivers will always want more. Our room is small and dirty with several little bugs sharing accomodations with us, but it has A/C, so it's all good. The plumbing hose was disconnected from the sink bottom, but I fixed it with the duct tape I brought, which quickly quieted the nagging voice in my head warning me of over-packing.
We rose early this morning to seek out food and cash, as I had arrived in Delhi with only $23 American in cash. Our hotel's street, appropriately named Main Bazar, was already swarming with residents and tourists alike, as well as cars, bikes, scooters, and auto-rickshaws, or three-wheeled taxis. The street is extremely narrow, so having cars and motorbikes pass inches from you is pretty common. There are many many shops selling clothing, food, electronics, musical instruments, and random Indian souveniers as well as street vendors selling fresh-squeezed juices and freshly-cooked Indian dishes. We ate a delicious and cheap breakfast (with a Coke made with real sugar, not that corn syrup crap) and then headed out to find an ATM. On our way we met a very friendly Indian man who took us on a very long walk to the ATM, and then to the tourist information office, which led us to believe he is employed by them and directs tourists there for commission. We got some great info on visiting nearby cities like Agra (home of the Taj Mahal) and Rishikesh and then decided to head back. At this point it was close to noon and the weather was getting pretty hot.The jeans I was wearing didn't help much. On our way back through Main Bazar I picked up some Indian pants and a shirt made from very thin cotton for a whopping 400 rupees, or about 8 bucks. Bargaining is an essential skill to have when buying from local shops and it was nice to get back in the practice. I was also pleasantly surprised to see many shop signs written in Hebrew, as India is a very popular spot for Israelis to visit. I have already heard several conversations in Hebrew, from both Israelis and Indians.
Tomorrow we will visit the popular spots in Delhi and get a greater overall feel for the city. I have yet to take one picture or create one sketch, so time's a-wastin'!

Thank you, come again!