4th May- Arrival

May 4^th to arrival at the hostel

The flight from Toronto to Newark was pretty short and enjoyable. When we arrived in Newark we met Nishu and got our last taste of North American food. The flight from Newark to Delhi was almost 14 hours and we were all happy to get off the plane by the time we got to India. It took us about 2 hours to clear customs, get our luggage and exchange currency. When we got out of the airport some of us were confused about who our drivers were and we accidentally let some of the locals take our bags and walk with us to the van. Dr. Sachin cleared up the situation and we all piled into the air conditioned van with nice comfortable seats and got ready for our 7 hour journey to the SMTA hostel in Uttaranchal. We drove throughout the night and saw the sunrise as we were driving up the mountain. When we got to the hostel Reuben and Maggie (the couple who run the hostel) were waiting for us and showed us to our rooms. The girls were put into two rooms of 4 people and since there are only 3 guys they were all put into the same room on the main floor. Each room has its own washroom and they are really clean and spacious. (And there are no gas heaters! Ed.)

Lauren