Monday, September 22, 2008

India Day 2&3 The Journey Continues

India Blog 2&3 of 14. These are being posted after the fact because I had almost no internet access in India. If you read them order things will make a lot more sense.


Day 2, 3
There are few things in life lonelier than waiting at the airport by yourself. Today was another one of those days. Very few people talked to me, or even noticed me there. I spent $1.25 for a 5 minute call to my dad and it was worth it. Finally, after all this waiting it was time to board the plane. The jet was huge, it was probably larger than my house. Boarding was hectic, no one wanted to wait their turn, and there was a lot of crowding and a lack of communication. Eventually though, everyone made it to their seats and it was time to fly.

Now this is the way to travel, 2 meals, a snack, and all the movies you can watch on your own tv. I watched What happens in Vegas, Drill bit Taylor, and a whole boatload of tv shows. I also watched half of the new TMNT movie and will have to give that a big thumbs down. The flight was about 13 hours total, we flew at around 30,000 feet and at around 600mph. The coldest I saw the outside temperature get was -70f. That’s just a bit colder than it felt inside. After a long, almost sleepless trip, I finally arrived in Delhi only to discover that they had forgotten to put my baggage on the jet. Of course they did, no surprise there. At least the baggage claim girls were very helpful and very good looking. 5 good looking baggage claim girls helped me fill out the forms. My baggage is still in Newark but it’s on its way, or at least it will be next time they fly from Newark to Delhi. Hey, I’ve been wearing these clothes for 3 days already so what’s 2 more? I was met at airport just like planned so that went well, although he was beginning to give up hope after the long wait.

Traffic in India is INSANE! Never in my life have I seen anything that compares to how hectic and aggressive it is here. There are tiny cars, auto rickshaws, motorbikes, large trucks, pedal rickshaws, along with vehicles that just can’t be categorized And the honking, there is more honking than I have ever heard in my life. I saw a guy on a motorbike almost get creamed and no one even blinked an eye. I even saw a lady sitting side saddle on the back of a motorcycle with here newborn in her arms. Now that’s scary. No one bothers to stay in their own lane and everyone seems to ignore basic traffic laws. If you can drive here you can drive anywhere.

The air quality here is by far, not as good as it is in the US. I’m used to waking up, walking outside and smelling my flowers. The air here is very thick, muggy, and has a distinct odor. This, combined with the time difference, and my rock hard bed is making it very difficult for me to sleep. Hopefully I will adjust to these changes very quickly though.

I miss everyone so much and will log online as often as I can. (note from the future, I was only able to log on twice and couldn’t upload any blogs) I get so home sick, I’m such a wimp. I love Cincinnati, I love you guys.

Ps. Thanks for the Suduku book Dad, that was a great last minute idea.

Pss. I adjusted to the time change on the first day. No problem. Its too much math for me to even figure out what time it is back home so most of the time I just don’t.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dan, there's healthy things on your tray. Did you steal someone else's meal?

DanThoms said...

Funny thing is, over there I ate a 90% vegetarian diet. Since I've been back my normal junk diet has been bothering my stomach. I'm getting used to it again though.