Meeting Dr. Shivani

My first full day in Delhi started out well - I had a good sleep so I felt quite refreshed in the morning. The day started out with a breakfast buffet (opened 7:00-10:30am), which came free with my stay at the Svelte Hotel. I think this depends on how long you're staying or the deal you receive. There's a decent selection of breakfast foods, which includes a fresh omelette. I then met two couples from Australia for coffee in the mall - one staying at the Svelte as well while the other is staying at the Luxury Homes. The couple says that although it's nice inside, the Luxury has very little around it so they will not be returning there for baby pick-up. The couples are wonderful people and I spent most of the day with them. It's great connecting with people who are going through the same journey with SCI.

The driver then took me to the clinic. In the lounge, I met a guy from Israel and started talking. Every person or couple you meet (whether in person or online) has a personal story and in the end, we all have the same dream and have chosen Dr. S to help us to fulfill that dream. Dr. S was running late but I eventually met the famous Dr. S. She is very pleasant and went through the process, timeline, etc. for my surrogacy with me. Embryo transfer planned for Saturday, September 8 - I advised Dr. S that she can select the surrogate for me since she is the medical expert. She also talked about the clinic followed by a tour. I met all the staff who are a pretty friendly group of people. Overall, it's a well-organized, well-run, clean, modern-decorated clinic. It's too bad there are idiots out there who are bad-mouthing SCI and Dr. S - don't believe everything you read!

My driver then took me to the Isis Hospital which is nearby. It is also a clean environment - I basically filled out a form and was escorted into the donation room. It's a clean room with access to the internet on a laptop, TV with straight porn, and connected to a washroom. It has bolts for the doors so it's very private. After providing my sample, I advised the reception and my driver took me back to the Svelte Hotel. Before going in, I had to make a pit-stop at the KFC across the street for a light snack as I was feeling a little light-headed. I then rested in my room until the couples dropped by and we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe in the mall for dinner. We got some groceries on our walk back to the hotel and retreated for the night.

Thank you for letting me share this part of my world with you!

Update (September 3): I received an email with a profile of my surrogate. I am happy with the selection - she is in her early twenties, married, and already has children of her own. Crossing fingers!

Hello New Delhi!

Deplaning was very fast - I thought it might be slower for bigger aircrafts but this was not the case. Customs was very fast - no questions - and my luggage (one piece) came out within seconds of reaching the carousel. Even at that time of the night, close to midnight, there were many drivers with name signs. Rahul is my driver but he had one of his workers meet me at the receiving area, who then lead me to Rahul and the car.

Rahul is a very nice young ambitious man. He is very friendly and spoke very highly of Dr. S and SCI. Working with SCI clients has helped him purchase several taxis. He is also getting married next year - an arranged marriage, which is common in India. He is a very positive individual and wishes you well on your surrogacy journey. You don't pay him upfront - you pay on your last day. I assume this is the case with all the rides you hire him for during your stay. First initial observation of Delhi - they drive crazy here and there is definitely an art to honking. However, it all works out in the end like organized chaos.

Once I arrived at the hotel, I was greeted by the door staff. You enter a walk-through metal detector first - this is normal here with hotels and the malls. I quickly checked in and was taken to my room. I was shown around the suite and told about the services in the hotel as well as what was around the hotel. I did take some photos so hopefully I can put together a quick slideshow of the photos in an update. The hotel and suite are clean and modern - the only thing that would make it perfect would be a washer/dryer but it's a hotel. I eventually fell asleep.

Thank you for letting me share this part of my world with you!

Quicker than Expected

The trip over to India felt a lot quicker than expected - a big positive. I had actually returned Friday evening from a work trip - I landed at 10pm, headed to the office to tie up a few things before my trip, went to the supermarket at 11:30pm to pick up some snacks for my trip, and then headed home to start packing. Saturday morning was quite hectic as well but after saying goodbye to my son (first time I will be away from him for more than two consecutive nights), I got to the airport in good time. In fact, my flight was delayed by 25 minutes to 3:25pm; however, this was made up in the air. The only things I forgot were two pair of shorts and one t-shirt I left in the dryer. No big deal.

The 13-hour flight to Hong Kong was very good - mainly helped by watching a few movies: Prometheus, Brave, Battleship, and Snow White & the Huntsman. There was a seat between my window seat and the aisle seat. I spent some time listening to music and sleeping. The food was decent - it's airplane food - but good ice cream. Some odd behaviour mainly from people who probably don't fly too often. It was a quick transfer to the next flight. The 6-hour flight from Hong Kong to Delhi was uneventful - I watched two movies that I've seen before: The Avengers and Cabin in the Woods. One interesting note - before landing in Delhi, the crew sprayed the cabins with an approved pesticide. They do warn you ahead of time but I've never experienced that before. Landed on time - I was finally in Delhi!

Thank you for letting me share this part of my world with you!