Day 30 India
January 4th, 2008
We got out the door and caught the 5:30am shuttle. There was a man from Philadelphia on out flight. He said he came to Thailand every year to study woodcarving – it was his hobby. I gathered that he worked at an Oil refinery in Saudi Arabia – the biggest in the world.
We checked our bags all the way through to India – even though we were switching airlines – crossed out fingers and hoped the bags would arrive. I did pack more intelligently this time ensuring all adapters; computer gear, medications and our India guide were in my carry-on.
The security lines were a breeze – even the check in line was quite small – once we found it row W. We had to sit and wait for the check-in to even begin then through custom and we grabbed lunch, purchased some toiletries and books. I got a book about the 1997 economic meltdown in Thailand and a pleasure reading book – Koontz – The Good Guy.
We were on the plane and ready to go about 30 minutes late. They served us peanuts, a couple of drinks then a lunch box. I have never been on a flight quite like this. The majority of the passenger looked like native Indians. I felt like everyone was staring at us. The aisles were a combat zone – pushing and crowding – when heading to the lavatories the female flight attendants would literally be pushed aside. By the time we landed and walked off the plane it was a disaster – trash everywhere – which explains the condition of the plane. It just felt dirty – the trays were so dark it looked like you might make mud if you spilled any liquid on them. The call buttons were being pushed so often it was a constant barrage of dings. The three men sitting behind us kicked out seats – demanded extra meals – were very loud and made me nervous – I started to wonder what was really going to be in front of us. I studied the India guide book diligently and shared pertinent findings with Aria and Pam.
After disembarking we made a beeline for the baggage claim – all of our luggage was there – what a relief. Then through immigration – no problems – and at the final checkpoint where we turn n the customs forms it took a while for me to find them in the passports and I was nearly run over.
I was very glad to see a sign with my name on it as we emerged. We headed out to our car (a Toyota mini-van) and were given beautiful flower necklaces. There was a driver in addition the person that greeted us. Our bags were quickly loaded – most tied on top and I mentioned that I wanted to get the tickets for our outbound flight issued as we did not have them since the flight had been changed. I left the girls and the greeter and I walked to the departures area. I expected a ticket counter and friendly face what I found was an airport undergoing major renovations – dirty, dusty, tiny and after trying several buildings we found the gulf-air ticketing office. A one room 30 by 30 area cluttered with boxes and 2 circa 1980 IBM computers sitting on a portable table. We eased our way through the maze of boxes and after a long time explaining were told that we were confirmed on the Bahrain to Cairo portion but the flight from Delhi to Bahrain was never confirmed. He turned away as if dismissing me and I asked what my options were. He put us on the waitlist and gave our greeter some numbers and we were dismissed. Needless to say I was very worried and vowed to get on touch with our travel agent as soon as possible. Not a very comforting beginning. As we made our way back to the car a million thoughts went coursing through my mind.
I did not get any money at the Airport and had already turned away many people asking for tips for holding the door open, saluting me etc. When in the car I asked our greeter about the customs – he said get used to it – tipping is not necessary but if you receive good service it is appreciated – I asked what a tip for a porter would be and he said 20-40 rupees - .5 to 1$ American.
It was late in the afternoon the entire area was covered in what I thought was pollution but our greeter said it was fog. The drive to our hotel was through this constant haze, with the sun going down and a barrage of imagery. Chaos driving – no lanes constant horn honking, I was glad I was not driving.
I think I was in sensory overload – it was surprisingly cool – about 55 degrees – and the driver said it had been 32 degrees overnight a few days earlier. Only after being told that it can reach 130 degrees during the hot season did I realize why this was a preferable time to travel. I had to concentrate very hard to understand what our guide and driver were staying. The roadways were pure chaos – littered with people, cars, rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, busses, cattle – yes cattle - lane markings were ignored – weaving in out – squeezing – our driver said you need 3 things to drive here – a good car, good brakes and good luck ( I would add a good horn and psychiatrist).
Every corner where we were forced to stop people would come tap on the window begging for money – children – adults – kids doing back walkovers – spinning things around their necks. The sides of the roads there were food stands, and families just seeming to live there – small wood fires burning. People pulled over to the side of the road to urinate. Dirt and dust – a wide variety of dress and colors – and the constant honking. I took a while for my GPS receiver to synch and as a result I never got my bearings – It took us about 1 hour to get to our hotel – mostly I guess because we hit traffic but the outgoing flight we are waitlisted on departs at 6:20am vs. the expected 8am so our return trip is going to be an early morning.
Our hotel was a non-descript place – Singh Sons. We checked-in and a small army of porters took our bags to our rooms – they were nothing great but I could imagine them being much worse. I still had no money so it took a long time for the porters who were milling around the room to depart – without a tip.
I noticed internet wi-fi signs and was relieved – but the note on the back of our door stating 10 minutes before taking a shower call down to the front desk to get hot water was disconcerting. Not sure if that was old but we had hot water consistently. The doors to the rooms were paper thin and we could hear the constant roar of traffic and the incessant honking. Needless to say we did not sleep very well. We had arranged to meet our driver the next morning at 9am and found out we would have a different guide in each city. There was also a 2.5 hour time change so we were very tired. I tried to connect to the internet – I could connect to the wi-fi but never received and IP address. Pam went down to the lobby to do her general inquires and look into ordering food. She was told the internet would work after 9pm when the man's brother arrived – and warned not to ask why. I tried after 9 still no luck.
The people in the hotel were not very friendly or helpful to Pam's inquires.
We ordered a meal and as we had no cash we promised to pay the next day. We had also been warned not to leave the hotel after dark. That sealed our fate as to the food we would be eating.
The food was good and affordable – boy do I like Indian food.
We fell into a very light sleep – about 4am the honking finally stopped as did the foot traffic in the hallways.
