Incredible India - part 1 - Depart HK

That is an advertising slogan we see on TV here all of the time and is certainly fits.

I have to admit that I really did not do any preparation for my visit to India. Didn’t really know the history or the sights to see (other than the obvious – Taj-Mahal). I had heard from friends who had visited & from John. The messages from others were filled with warnings and cautions – be careful, don’t trust anyone, it isn’t like the US, be careful of the food, people there smell, it’s really dirty, you’ll see people living on the street all over, the beggars will not leave you alone – don’t give them anything. I don’t think anyone said anything positive. So I have to admit that I was extremely apprehensive about this trip (which isn’t generally what I’m like).

Wed, Nov. 15, 2006

I have to really begin by telling about my experience in HK before I left. HK is so amazingly efficient & clean. At the train station where you get the Airport Express train, there is a huge area where you can check your luggage & get your boarding pass. You can do this as early as you want on the day of your flight. I checked in a few hours early, then wandered the mall. I got a book for the trip & some Power Bars (just in case I couldn’t eat the food). Took the train to the airport – takes just under 30 minutes. Got to my gate without difficulty.

While I sat reading & waiting, I was reminded of my experience at the Indian Embassy when I went to get my visa (loud & argumentative). There was a group of about 7 or 8 people in the waiting area that appeared to be Indian. They were really really loud & seemed to be arguing most of the time we waited. They also were throwing their trash right on the floor (something you just don’t do in HK). They could hold their own in NYC for sure!

When we were asked to board, we had to go through another security check. They were taking away water bottles & lotion, etc…. All of the things every person flying has been warned about. Well this really large Indian man (one of the group that was so loud) walked right past everyone else waiting & straight to the front of the line. The Chinese are so reserved, nobody said anything, but the Chinese also know how to make their point. The guard doing the checking made this guy wait until everyone else went through. It was so funny. He just ignored the man’s ranting & raving & calmly checked the other people through in his polite Chinese way. Culture clash at it’s best or worst!

I was flying Air India (I was told I shouldn’t because it is always late, but it was the only non-stop to Delhi & the price was right). We boarded about 45 minutes late. I had the window bulkhead seat & to my surprise nobody was seated next to me. The loud group from the waiting area continued to be loud on the plane as people were seated. The large man who had to wait was particularly loud. The attendant asked him to sit down as we readied for take off, but he ignored her. He was on the other side of the plane, but obviously saw the empty seat next to me & came over & plopped himself down in it. He made some comment about there not being that much leg room & he got up again. Once again the attendant told him to sit, but he ignored her & went back to his original seat. I was much relieved.

The plane looked really old which didn’t much help my apprehension about this entire India experience. Everything appeared very well used & not updated. The headphones, although free, feel apart when I tried to put them on. But it was OK, because they didn’t have a movie, just lots of Indian MTV type stuff & reruns of Frazier & Everyone Loves Raymond. The bathroom was really awful – stuff was falling apart, the paper on the wall was peeling off. It made me think of when you go into an old person’s house & they haven’t updated anything since they bought the house 30 or 40 years ago. I did get a meal & the attendant suggested I not get the curry, so I had oriental chicken & it was fine.

Got to Delhi & for some reason they collect your boarding pass stub when you get off the plane. It kind of upset some people, so there was more arguing. Most international flights give you the immigration forms on the plane so you can complete them & have them ready, but not here. You had to stop at these big desks & complete the form, it was all very confusing. The airport reminded me of the plane, old & outdated. It was pretty confusing trying to figure out where the luggage came out, but I managed to find it. It was funny waiting for my bag, because there were about 5 men who must work for the airport who must have unloaded the unclaimed bags from the previous flight. Two of them had the bags overloaded onto luggage carts & 3 of them were yelling directions at them. They guys with the carts would start going one way, then one of the other guys would yell at him & point in the opposite direction & they would turn & the bags would fall off. They were all yelling at the same time & arguing. It must have taken them about 5 minutes before they finally left the area. If you haven’t already figured it out, India is a very noisy country.

Put my bag onto a cart & headed for the door. The exit was lined with men with signs, there must have been 100 of them. Fortunately my name was one of the first ones (I felt like in a movie with my name on a sign). The hotel had sent a driver for me, thank goodness. As we walked out of terminal there were tons of taxi drivers trying to get riders. It was loud & confusing. I actually didn’t even realize we had left the terminal until I noticed cars moving around. There were cars & motorcycles & mopeds everywhere. No kind of parking, just cars everywhere. We walked across the street & into a huge parking lot. We first went past hundreds of motorcycles & mopeds parked. Then there were cars parked all over. The lot was dirt & the cars looked very outdated & beat up – lots of dents. The car we had was an older Toyota & was nothing special, but it did have A/C. As we left the parking lot I saw a group of men sitting on a blanket in the middle of the parking lot playing cards. It was like 10:30pm. It just looked really strange.

OK, so driving in India is another incredible experience. I soon realized that most rules we have in the US are merely suggestions in India. Take lanes for instance – there may be 3 lanes painted on the road, but they are totally ignored. A 3 lane road will have 6 lanes of traffic traveling on it. They squeeze into any & every space that is available on the road, thus the dented up cars. I don’t think I saw one car that wasn’t dented. There are also many types of vehicles are jockeying for position on the road. The highway from the airport had huge trucks (which are very brightly decorated with bright paint & tassles), buses, vans, cars, motorcycles, mopeds, motorized rickshaws, human powered rickshaws & bicycles. And along with all of that, it seems mandatory for every driver to honk their horn at least 30 times a minute. If they want to get by another car, they honk like crazy until they are past. If they don’t want someone getting past them, they honk. It is pretty much constant honking. I guess since they can’t yell at each other, honking is the next best thing.

Red lights – another suggestion, not rule. We were stopped at a red light & when it turned green, the other cars just kept coming in front of us. The cars stopped with us just slowly crept out until they forced the other cars to stop. When we were going to the train station early one morning our driver never stopped at a single red light. When I asked our friends about this, you only really have to worry about red lights when the streets are busy, otherwise people usually ignore them. Driving direction – appeared to be optional as well. I noticed motorcycles going the opposite direction against traffic several times. Later in our trip when we were in Agra, our taxi driver went about 500 yards going the wrong way on a divided road. When we said something our guide just smiled & said “Incredible India, right!?” We had to go around a truck coming at us, fortunately we were both going very slowly.

Got to the hotel and I’m sure I was supposed to tip the driver, he walked me to the front desk & hung around. John had given me some Rupees, but I had no idea what they were worth, so I just smiled & thanked him. They will not allow you to take your bag anywhere in a hotel, even if it is small – they want the tip. John says they even try to take his brief case from him, they are very insistent. The hotel lobby was very nice & it was a huge hotel. Got to the room which was comfortable, but the bed was not the king size bed that John had asked for. Again, the room looked like it must have been nice maybe 10 years ago, but things just were not in good repair. At least the A/C worked well!! John arrived about an hour later & we went down to one of the many restaurants (Russian) for a beer.