India has arrived

It was 9pm in Singapore.  John and I were each 4-7 beers deep and smiling ear to ear.  As I gulped my last one down we both realized I had only an hour before my plane took off.  

John rushed into the street scanning in both directions for a cab.  “The most difficult thing about this city is getting a cab when you need one,” John explained earlier in the day when we began our get together.

His anxiety was obvious and he paced back and forth searching for an empty taxi.  Another full cab crossed our position when it suddenly stopped 150 feet down the road to let its customer out.  John recognized his opportunity and in flip flops and cargo shorts, sprinted down the road screaming at the top of lungs, “Taxi!  Taxi!”  I did my best to keep up, but my pace was much less inspired.

“Got it,” John huffed.  I thanked him for his efforts, gave him a hug, and hopped into the cab.  The spicy sting ray, cold beer, and invigorating conversation amplified my excitement for my Indian Adventure.  I was at 11.

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My travel arrangements for India were put together quite hastily a few weeks before my departure date.  I had the assistance of two coworkers from our Bangalore office who were going to find me a “good Indian deal” for my accommodations (as I was put on a tight budget).  After struggling to find a place which would be in a bustling neighborhood, but also financially viable, we finally booked a room a week before I left. 

The cab ride to my room was interesting, to say the least.  It was actually more like getting punched in the face or jumping in naked to a snow fed river at Rocky Mountain National Park.  We weaved in and out of lanes which weren’t marked, with cars offset at different widths depending on which row of traffic they were in.  Construction to build an expressway from downtown to the airport 30km away forced traffic to drive between the main road, over a bumpy median, onto a frontage road, and back to the main road at blistering speeds.  My driver had been working this same route for over 2 years and his familiarity showed as he raced to a nonexistent finish.

A phone call to my new residence for the final directions brought us down a mysterious alley to my new home.  I was greeted in the dark, short ceilinged, simple lobby by a young man at the front desk.  He was expecting me and recommended I head up to bed, leaving the paperwork for tomorrow.  A small man, who did not speak English, took the heavier of my two bags and opened the elevator door by hand.  We got off the elevator into a pitch black hallway and entered my room on the 3^rd floor.   

Aged and patchy furniture lined the family room and kitchen.  There were two numbered doors on the back wall of the sitting area.  “Bedroom,” the short man explained.

“Is the other room a bedroom too?  Is anyone else staying here?” I asked to no avail.  I decided to see the bedroom first before I brought my questions to the young man managing the front desk.

Two small beds followed the theme of the family room, aged and clean but dirty (similar to the pit stains on my shirts :)).  The bathroom was not much better, with a shower directly next to the toilet (no curtain or tub).

“Internet?” I asked the short man, hoping I had found a word that had no language barriers.  I showed him my phone with the available wireless networks and he pointed to the one I should use. 

I thanked the small man for his help and locked the door to the hallway.  Turning off the lights in the family room and dead bolting myself into my bedroom I contemplated my new digs. 

“Can I really do this?”  I knew I was going to be roughing it a little, being away from my Kelly and our lovely home, but was this place really sustainable for 2 months?

I showered quickly in the freezing cold water, slithered into bed, trying to touch as little of the sheets as possible and decided this was something I had to sleep on (thanks Jake and John for your tips during Bermuda). 

My first night in India was spent locked in a small bedroom, under a noisy fan, as I struggled to stay logged into the internet for more than 20 seconds trying to get a glimpse back at the world I had just left.