Some quick notes from Delhi

I’m in India for a couple weeks and I just starting my second day in Delhi. Here are a few initial observations:

• The malls have arrived. It was clear it was coming last time I was in India two years ago, but now it’s ingrained in the way of life in Delhi (and I assume, most Indian cities.) The chaotic, sprawling, lively markets always defined my experience of India. They’re still around, and for the moment I think they’ll coexist with their more modern counterparts.
• There are new cars everywhere. And air conditioners, and snazzy Reebok shoes. It’s been years since India opened up its trade policies so something other than the Fiat and Ambassador could claim the streets, but it’s still a shock that you can go a whole day without seeing a single one, when they used to be *all* you could see.
• Corollary to the above: people used to *really* customize their cars with all sorts of add-ons, stickers, colors and stuff. Probably because all you could get was a Fiat or an Ambassador, in a few select colors. The customization trend appears to have died now that more brands are available.
• Delhi still sees daily brownouts. Usually at night, but sometimes in the morning. People have large tanks of water on the roofs of their homes and generators or backup battery power and inverter systems to supply water, and power lights and ceiling fans during outages.
• Wi-fi is not omnipresent. It’s odd to open up my laptop and not see a single hotspot when in a pretty densely-packed residential neighborhood in a major city. Very different from the U.S., where the list shows a dozen pretty much anywhere in New York or SF, and at least a handful in even rural areas in CT. Bandwidth is also slow.
• My iPhone isn’t hooked up yet. Everyone here has a cell phone. (We passed not one, not two, but four cell kiosks on our way out of the airport after getting our luggage.) But there’s still confusion around data and how to get GPRS/Edge activated. Hope to have it figured out today.