I'm here. Finally. But my conscious mind is still asleep. I faintly see a figure in the distance as I step off the plane. Raj, my host (in a nutshell) is there waiting for me. The airport is significantly smaller than that of Delhi. Within minutes of entering the building from the runways, I see my backpack pass into my periferal view on one of two luggage belts at one end of the building. Lifted by relief but spinning with fatigue at the same time, I throw myself into the car that Raj had hired for the commute back to his flat. As we drive out of the parking lot, I struggle to keep my eyes open, while Raj enthusiastically welcomes me to the city.
First impressions ...
- Constant honking of various tones and pitch
- Reckless lane-changing, thus the wreckless honking
- Drivers signaling with their arms sticking out their vehicle windows/openings while performing lane-changes
- Cars, scooters, bikers, rickshaws and pedestrians moving harmoniously, but at extremely different speeds, along this "airport artery"
- My seatbelt didn't work
- Slums right up against the road edges(semi-permanent structures, children and men selling/loitering/washing out front, vibrant curtains with women peering from behind, men with fruit stands/trolleys)
- Many landscaped traffic circles with golden statues of government figures standing in the center
- Cattle
- Dust
- Abadonned buildings
- Huge estates bordered by vegitation
- More honks
...
There are no images due to utter exhaustion and enthrallment.
hahaha yeah! the honking neverrrr ends. never. that's why it's nice to getaway to the mountains ;D
ReplyDeleteit's interesting the system the indians have for driving though: honk when you're passing somebody (which often means endless honking since they are always passing people or trying to), flash your highbeams at someone if they're in the lane of oncoming traffic and you don't think they'll get out before you hit them. Have you heard the honks busses make? So ridiculous!
annnd aren't the cows so nice? :) just be careful not to step in their pooh (you will inevitably do this at least 3 times)
ooooha, you're in India !
ReplyDeleteyes, you will return damaged hearing, to some degree, especially if you walk around a lot.
such great pictures on this blog too
It's like playing chicken every 2 seconds! The blaring sound is starting to fade into the background though.
ReplyDelete