So I have been lazy, and by the time I stopped being lazy I did not have reliable access to the internet, but I am finally getting this thing up and running, so everyone can spy on me. For those of you who don’t know, I am now on the other side of the planet. On Monday (several weeks ago), Grace and I drove from Asheville to Charlotte, and caught a plane from Charlotte to New York. After visiting with Grace’s friend Ray and eating dinner in China town, we got a good night’s sleep in preparation for our travels the next day. On Tuesday, we woke up early, made our way down to JFK International Airport, got our tickets, made our way through security, and to our gate. While sitting at the gate, I managed to do some of the things I had not gotten around to such as suspending my cell phone service for the time I am away. Shortly there after, we hopped on a plane for a 12hr flight to Dubai. We flew Etihad Airways, and I must say that it was the most enjoyable flight I have ever taken. It was the least expensive of all the flights we looked at, and as it turns out, probably the nicest too. We flew economy, but it was nicer than most airlines’ business class, and the business class was even nicer than most airlines’ first class. If you ever have the option of flying on Etihad airways, I highly recommend it… and if you really want to live in luxury, check out their “Diamond First Class”: http://www.etihadairways.com/etihadairways/us/en/experienceetihad/ourguestzones/Diamond.htm It’s a good thing it’s not expensive J
Anyways, we made it to Dubai a few minutes ahead of schedule, more refreshed than I have ever been after getting off of an airplane, especially a 12hr flight. After an hour and a half in Abu Dabi International Airport, we made our way to the gate, where we caught a shuttle bus to the plane. At this point I should mention that Grace was in a wheelchair and that the shuttle bus had no lift… no worries, there were people there to literally pick up the chair (and Grace) and lift her into and out of the shuttle by hand. I guess that’s what happens when labor is cheaper than equipment. The irony was that when we got to the plane, there was an entire truck specifically for lifting people in wheelchairs into the plane. As we would soon discover, this kind of irony was not unique for this part of the world. The flight was just as enjoyable as the first. Again, if you are going to fly to Asia or the Middle East, check out Etihad Airways. They rock!
Five hours later, we were in Chennai India, otherwise known as Madras. Grace had gotten in touch with a friend of a friend of a friend who agreed to help us find a place to stay. I usually just wing it, but grace was determined to have a place pre-arranged; so much so that she reserved (and apparently paid for) a room at another hotel in addition to asking someone else to help us find a place. The funny thing is that the hotel did not send us confirmation until after we were already in India (so we would not have any way to get it), canceling the room cost us the same as if we had stayed there for one night, and the other hotel actually cost more after taxes than the first. Not only did the pre-planning not help us any, but it also wound up costing us more money in the long run… damn, it’s hard being right all the time.
Anyways, so we get through customs, get Grace’s checked bag, and go outside to meet up with our contact. The problem is that our contact is nowhere to be found. After several phone calls on other people’s cell phones and difficulty by both sides trying to understand each other, we end up discovering that the contact is coming to meet us at the airport but he is going to be late. So after standing around in the sun for close to an hour, our contact shows up on foot… who knows how he got there, but he definitely did not drive a car.
So we end up taking a taxi, and when I say taxi, I mean it in the most Indian sense of the word. It’s a Hindustan Ambassador which has is pretty much unchanged since the 1950’s, no seatbelts of course. The thing about India though, is that lanes on the road are more of a suggestion. There are so many people in such a small space in India that they just drive wherever they like. I’m pretty sure there are traffic laws, but you would not know it by the way people drive. If there is no one in the oncoming lane people feel free to use it… which usually means your driver is swerving into oncoming traffic, leaving you staring at the front of a bus, and as you prepare for your impending doom, your driver swerves back at the last moment, missing the bus by inches. Quite a joy. We eventually get to the hotel and settle in. I crash out immediately (I had gotten 4hrs of sleep in the past 36hrs). I wake up at like 10:30 pm (Indian Standard Time) and realize I have not eaten since breakfast. Time for some room service! About 20 minutes later and I am presented with some butter chicken masala, flatbread, and a bowl of mango ice cream. Nice! J Watch a few Indian music videos and it is time to go back to bed… you know, living the hard life.
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