India: Day 1 – Travel
Penguin August 22nd, 2007
Pre-flight
Rob was kind enough to drive me to Newark airport. I got there early and checked in, went through security, no problem. The entire process took, maybe 30 minutes. Not bad for an international flight.
Right before I went through security, I looked around to see if I could find something to eat. Our flight didn’t take off until 8:20, so I had about two hours to kill. But when I looked at the boarding pass, it said that boarding started at 1900. 19 minus 12 is 7. It’s 6:30. I didn’t know how long security would be, so I went through. There was no one.
I met up with Karen and we just talked about her day of travel from Madison to Chicago to Newark. She had been at Newark since 2pm.
7:30 rolls around, and we still haven’t boarded yet. I was starting to get hungry and I didn’t know when my next meal would be, so I grabbed some food at a snack bar. Ended up paying 9$ USD for a turkey club. Yay for airport inflation! Right as I got my food and started eating, we started boarding. It ended up being good, because our flight was delayed for a little more than an hour. By the time we took off, it was a little past 9:30.
While we were waiting to board, Karen got a call. I had already turned off my cell. It was a frantic Emmy telling us that she had brought the wrong passport! She sent her husband back to get one that wasn’t expired, but she wasn’t sure if she’d make the flight. Even with the hour delay, Emmy didn’t make it.
The plane wasn’t packed, so I shared my row with one other guy. I introduced myself and we started chatting. He works at Bloomburg doing software, he enjoys photography (just got a Canon Rebel XTI), F1 racing, has 4 weeks of vacation after only 1.5 years, and loves Monty Python.
I shared with him what we were doing in India and he seemed rather impressed that I would use my vacation time to volunteer in this way. For some reason, people can’t get their heads around the fact that it’s not work. Even though we’re doing work, it’s not related to our day jobs. The whole thing is very contrary to a lot of their world views.
In the Air
Once we got in the air, I popped a Unisom (courtesy of Johnny) and finished off the rest of my turkey club. As we were taking off, I looked out the window at the clouds. There were bursts of light everywhere eminating from arcing lightning. The sight was breathtaking. If I wasn’t a monotheist, I would think that the gods were waring over our fates or something. I was quite surprised at how the lightning would consistently flash in the same places and a pretty regular internal.
Not long after I finished my sandwich, they served our first meal. Chicken or veg. I figure, I’d get plenty of vegetables, I opted for the chicken. Considering how the rest of the food was, I’m glad. The Unisom started kicking in and tried to sleep. But, as with most times I fly, I couldn’t really get much sleep. I would sleep for an hour, wake up, another hour, wake, meal, sleep. Even now, as I’m writing this, my back still hurts a bit.
The Plane
Jet Airways has some pretty nice planes. In the back of each seat is a monitor to watch movies or tv on demand. They even have a controller/remote that you can play crappy games on. The seats also had these headrests that could adjust vertically. Interesting at first, it ended up not being as comfortable as it would seem.
Even though I had a window seat and the seat to the left of me was empty, I couldn’t really get comfortable. It was hard trying to spread out over two seats. And yes, there was this “foot netting” where I could put my feet, it really wasn’t all that comfortable either. The overall feel of the flight was, “good idea, not in practice.”
Brussels
I was tricked when they told me it was a direct flight to Mumbai. We made a quick stop in Brussels, Belgium to refuel. It was a short two hour layover which gave us a chance to brush our teeth (with toothbrush and toothpaste provided by Jet Airways).
The first thing that I noticed in the bathroom, was how cold and uninviting it seemed. There were urinals, with no flushers. Neither handles nor sensors. Instead of stalls, they had death cabinets: big intimidating doors that seeled you in with the toilet.
Total flight time so far: 6:50
Total travel time so far: 10:00
Mumbai
Then it was back in the air for the same routine. Popped another Unisom and failed to sleep. This time, I stayed up for the last two hours or so of the flight. This was a mistake, because we had to circle, twice, before we were aloud to land.
The airport, although air conditioned, was still extremely humid. The friend that I made on the plane told me it would be hotter and more humid in Calcutta. Fantastic!
We had to grab our luggage to check them back in again. Which was fine because we had a 6 hour lay over. I was at the point where I couldn’t really sit anymore, but I was still too tired to stand. Sitting and waiting in the cold, humid concourse was interesting too. I couldn’t really fall asleep for the fear of someone jacking my stuff.
Finally, we were able to board for the final leg of our journey. We got on a bus that took us in a big loop to, literally, 10 feet from where we started. I could’ve walked to the plane in the time that it took to get on/off the bus and to drive there. It was like something out of a bad movie.
Total flight time so far: 15:00
Total travel time so far: 24:10
Calcutta
While we were at Mumbai, we thought about exchanging some money. There was a stand that was offering 40 RS to 1 USD, which was a fairly good rate. We thought, we could get it changed in Calcutta, so we waited. It would’ve been nice to have some cash to buy snacks or whatever.
The flight over was uneventful. I ate the inflight meal and tried to sleep as much as I could.
Total flight time so far: 18:00
Total travel time so far: 27:10
We’re Here!
We grabbed our luggage and looked for a currency exchange. I guess we couldn’t find one becase we were at the domestic airport. Seriously, why would you need currency exchange at a domestic airport? That’s alright.
We exited and were promptly greeted by our names. I looked into the crowd and an older man introduced himself as Hamadri. We shook hands and Karl, our driver, took our carts. We went to the van and this little boy kept asking me for money. I tried showing him my empty pockets, but that didn’t deter him.
There was some debate about whether we should wait for Alice and Michelle to arrive. They wouldn’t land until 3:15, Himadri had misread and thought they would be landing around noon. We headed back to the apartment.
I’ve kind of become used to the bad driving, lack of traffic laws, and the views of a third world city in Cambodia. So this was nothing new for me. This was a first for Karen, and I think she was kind of dumbfounded and excited by it all.
My Home
They dropped me off at my apartment, my home for the next two weeks. It was a concrete box, with a living area, a seperated sleeping area, a small bathroom and a small kitchen. After they left. I stood and looked at the sparse furnishings and accomodations.
Although I had been to third world countries before, my accomodations have always been pretty good. Air conditioning, fridge, TV, shower, toilet. This was different. I had a fridge, but this was more out of necessity than a luxury. There’s a toilet, but you have to manually flush it by dumping water into it. There’s a shower, but it only has cold water and you have to flip a switch to turn it on.
I thought about whether I’d be able to live like this for a year. What about two years? Five years? I don’t know.
I took a quick cold shower w/ the bucket (I hadn’t discovered the power switch for the shower yet). I plugged in my voltage converter, my power strip, NDS, iPod, and felt like I was at home .
Himadri said he’d be back to grab me at 12:30, so I had a little more than an hour to kill. I don’t know what I would’ve done without my DS. An hour turned into an hour and a half.
Getting in and out of the apartment is a bit of a chore. I have two padlocks that I have to actually turn the key to lock. One locks the door, the other locks a metal gate in front of the door. I understand why we need this, and it wouldn’t be so bad if the door required a bit of effort to close all the way and the cage didn’t turn my hands all greasy.
Lunch, Chinese
We picked up Karen and headed to the Penguin restaurant. Funny name for a restaurant that serves Chinese food. They call it that because it was freezing cold inside. There was an entire wall of air conditioners cooling the place.
I don’t know what it is about our hosts, but they’re always very intent on serving us Chinese food, as if it’s the only food we eat. I appreciate the gesture, I just find it really interesting.
The food wasn’t bad. I had real authentic naan, and it was so good. It was buttery and soft. Tasty. We ordered this one chicken dish that wasn’t too spicy. But because it was red, Karen was EXTREMELY reluctant to try it (read: didn’t).
Where Are They Going?
After a quick lunch, we went to the airport to pick up Alice and Michelle. Before hand, we stopped by a shop to buy Karen some snacks. I looked around, but couldn’t really find anything. It wasn’t until she started checking out her chips and cookies that I saw nuts. Almonds, pistachios, and what appeared to be cashews. If these were home grown, I would love to have some. Maybe I’ll grab some tomorrow.
The girls’ flight was on time. But as we were standing outside the exit for them, we saw them walk past the exit. It wasn’t until 30 minutes later that they came out.
It turned out that they went to find phones to call their parents. But the phones only accepted RS, so they had to get it exchanged. There was a kind man who gave them 100 RS, but they still wanted to exchange. They found someone who changed at a rate of 30 RS to 1 USD.
No Energy
On the way home, I passed out. I hadn’t realized how tired I was until the whole traveling business was over. It was about 4:30 when I got back, plugged in my pod and fell asleep.
Four hours later, I hear furious knocking at the door. It had gotten really dark. It was dark before, because of the rain and the clouds, but this was almost pitch black. I fumbled for ineffective switches. I remembered my headlamp, but it was in my suitcase. I tried feeling for it, but just felt a mess of wires and plugs. I felt the distintive touch of the DS and cracked it open for light.
With headlamp mounted to my forehead, I unlocked the front door. Apparently, the whole block lost power. I greeted the girls, and we were off to dinner. More chinese food!
Dinner, or How to Tear Bread
At lunch, Himadri taught me how to eat naan with one hand. You grib the bread between your thumb and index finger. Using your middle and ring finger, you would push down on the bread. Then you you simultaneously push with your middle, and pull with your index, to start tearing at the bread. In this manner, you’d be able to rip of small or large chunks of naan.
I saw the girls fumbling with the technique, so I gave them a quick tutorial. They seemed to pick it up, no problem.
My First Number 2
It was a few hours before Wenhai would be landing, so we all went home. As I was locking up, I managed to pinch the meat at the base of my thumb. The small hole was bleeding like crazy and I promptly washed it out. I grabbed my New Skin and started putting it on. It was a sight to see the blood build a small bubble underneath the liquid bandage.
I grabbed some TP and wiped the blood away. I should probably wait for it to stop bleeding before I apply the liquid bandage again. The New Skin stung like crazy as it mixed with the blood.
I don’t know if it was from lunch or because I was backed up, but I REALLY had to drop a deuce. I brough one roll of TP, but I don’t know if it’ll be enough. I hope Wenhai brought his own roll too.
Feeling a bit unclean after the dump, I took a quick shower. Now, I just have to wait for Wenhai, and then I can sleep.
The adventure begins!
-Penguin
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