We arrived the night before last in Delhi. Today, is Sonya Gandhi's birthday. The old city feels familiar, the morning fog lifting by noon to reveal a less than blue sky and lemon yellow sun; at night, the smell of wood fires mix with the scent of camphor used to clean the floors of our hotel. Connaught Place, the center of New Delhi, constructed by the British, is a riot of construction as work continues on the city's new subway lines. Through it all, hungry touts wait for innocent tourists.

A contact at USEFI admitted yesterday that some minor bureaucratic monkey business might explain the delay in our visas. Apparently, some employed by the Ministry of Home affairs have "unofficially" decided that the United State's glacial pace in granting visas to foreigners should not go unanswered; as a result, Americans awaiting visas to India should be prepared for a little bureaucratic quid pro quo. What a pain!

Given that we're staying at the YMCA, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised, but Delhi seems to be getting into a full Christmas swing. There's Santa's Sleigh on the patch of grass outside the reception area at the Y, and Muzak versions of your favorite carols playing in the dining room. Shops are strung with tinsel and wrapping paper is for sale all over the place. I have no idea what Brahma would make of this, but it's certainly a contrast to what I expected.

Before long, we'll be heading out to the Dharchula and the Himalayas. As always, there are more impressions than can rightfully be recounted at this moment. Instead, I offer my last published Texas adventure, courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine: http://tpwmagazine.com/archive/2004/dec/threedays/.