I will have to come back to Seoul, but wanted to get my first impressions of India down while they are fresh on my mind. I arrived into Mumbai Airport initially and had to catch a plane to Chennai about four hours after I arrived. I spoke with a man on the plane about the layover and he said things are slower here. When we arrived everyone crowded the isle like America but once they were moving they sauntered along like there was no hurry at all, and I thought the man was on to something.
The first thing to hit me when I stepped off the plane was the smell of burning trash that was reminiscent of Iraq. The airport seemed to be wrapped in smog from the fires and when I left for Chennai, it seemed to cover the earth below like a thin film leaving everything in the dawn light looking brown and out of focus.
The next thing was my first beggars of the trip, the mosquitoes, looking for an ounce from my veins. I haven't seen mosquitoes through my winter travel, but I guess never have an off season here. I guess it is the lack of season that makes them a little more lazy here. They seemed quite passive and did more floating around waiting for a victim to run into them, rather than seeking you out. One even drifted into my backpack when I opened it briefly apparently to lazy to even fly and trying to catch a free ride wherever I was going.
After my reshuffling through buses and security to the domestic terminal waiting area, we then filed out the door to catch a bus to our aircraft at the same spot we were dropped off at the domestic terminal. The system was a little chaotic as they had passengers for about five different flights crowding the curb and small signs for where you should stand to catch a bus for your respective flight. The sign for my flight was at the end of the curb and once we were on the bus, it pulled forward about 20 yards, and turned left so we could get off the bus at the plane that was directly across from the door to the waiting area we just left. The walk to the plane was probably a shorter walk than it was to the bus pick-up point. It was amusing, but it seems they have many small jobs that the system could due without, but they help the overall population and economy by keeping people employed. I saw similar efforts in Japan where we watched a team of three men direct traffic into a parking garage, and the light and arrow on the street would surely have done just as effective of a job.
Anyway, I arrived in Chennai at about 8:00 am, and I could tell it was warmer and more humid by the way the planes wing began to sweat as soon as we landed. I retrieved my bags and began dealing with the barrage of friendly Indians all trying to help me for a price. The first were the taxi pre-pay booth personnel that wanted to get me a ride and then wanted to exchange my money but when I asked for an ATM they became very short and cold and shooed me off in the proper direction. Then I got outside and began working my way through the crowd of Rickshaw and taxi drivers to get to the ATM. One persistent Rickshaw driver was persistent and led me to the ATM and waited for me outside. He charged as much as a taxi, but claimed to be giving me a deal. I figured since it was my first 'took took'- three wheeled rickshaw- experience I might as well just take him up on the offer. He then walks me about two blocks past dozens of waiting taxis and rickshaws telling them all my destination, which sounds a lot like he is bragging about a trophy fair, before we finally get to his rickshaw. Along the way I kid and ask him if we were going to walk to my hotel or if he was giving me a ride, at which point he quickly flags down another rickshaw to drive us to his rickshaw. I pass and tell him I'm kidding. I get an hour tour of India traffic with a free stop at a gas station, where he takes my fair to fill his tank, plus breathe in enough early morning exhaust fumes to trim my life by a year, before we arrive at my hotel.
After checking in I meet my roommate, Ross, who had arrived about three that morning and we took off to see some of the local sites. We started walking for downtown, but soon gave up and took a left to the beach, which looked much closer. Along the route we were propositioned by every passing and parked rickshaw driver to give us a ride and we finally gave it at the beach were we had pulled out our map to determine where we were, and found this is equivalent to waving a 'rickshaw please' flag. Several drivers had offered to give us a tour of popular sights for about 150 rupees each and we haggled this driver down to 100 for the two of us (about $2). He then gets on the phone with a friend and pulls us around to pick up his friend before we start our tour, so it is now an even two on two 'fight'. The friend is our 'translator' and begins by telling us how he is in college and makes it a point to inform us that he is a Christian and 'loves Jesus', which I'm not sure of the relevancy but we go on with introductions as we drive. He then notices Ross is smoking a cigarette he had rolled himself and asks if we want marijuana, and that Chennai has the best marijuana. We pass on this and then he asks if we like Indian girls, which we also tell him we are not in the market for them either.
Our first stop is St Thomas Basilica, where St Thomas had reportedly built a church when he came to India spreading the word, and he is also reportedly buried below the church. It was an impressive church and they had a museum and pictures of Pope John Paul II, visit to the church along with other memorabilia in the small museum. Next our driver and translator took us to Kapaleeswarar Temple, the most popular Hindu Shrine in Chennai. It was interesting, but we were barraged with beggars and more friendly locals offering to give us tours of the area, for a price. From here the tour turned into a 'driver benefit tour,' which was apparent as it developed and we later read about in Ross' Lonely Planet guide.
We went to antique and jewelery shops, that were 'the best in town.' And then they brought us to a good restaurant for lunch. They of course joined us, but when the bill was requested, only one was requested; and when we asked how we were splitting it, they suddenly could not understand our English. We picked up the tab and the meal cost about double, per person, what it would cost at any comparable restaurant. After lunch we need to stop at an ATM and then we wanted to go back to the hotel, but our guides wanted to show us two more shops. We told them we had no interest in buying souvenirs, but would look around if it would help them out, which is when they explained they got gas coupons from the businesses for bringing in tourists.
We finally arrived back at our hotel and ended up paying 100 rupees per person, rather than total. We also came full circle with all the 'translators' talk of college, tests, his broke down rickshaw... he wanted us to give him money to help pay for his upcoming college tests. 'Not much, just ten dollars each' (500 rupees). We declined and reminded him we paid double the agreed fair and bought him lunch, and went to all the shops we had no interest in, which he blew off as the past and offered us a deal, five dollars each. It seemed nothing mattered, but what we could do for them next.
During the first half of the tour we ran into another pair of travellers at 4 of the same stops and were sure there were many more suckers out there just like us and wished we could compare notes with them at the end to see how each of us had fared and what the various nuances of each experience were. In the Lonely Planet guide we read that the Rickshaw drivers often get a commission from the places they bring you and that the prices are always inflated. Plus at some hotel restaurants they won't even allow the drivers in because they apparently will demand commissions, if they are not already established.
Finally, to add insult to injury, we discovered the temple and basillica we had visited where literally right around the corner from our hotel, and our Intrepid tour guide was going to take us to see them the following night on our first walk around the area.
And this is India, the land of the kindest fleecings in the world. Where your are robbed in front of your face, thanked for it with a smile, and then asked for a little more. However, as you walk down the road and see people sleeping the the gutter next to another man pissing in the same gutter, you cannot help but feel for them and applaud their efforts to get by, even if it means a few extra dollars on top of your fair and a free lunch among new 'friends.'
The first thing to hit me when I stepped off the plane was the smell of burning trash that was reminiscent of Iraq. The airport seemed to be wrapped in smog from the fires and when I left for Chennai, it seemed to cover the earth below like a thin film leaving everything in the dawn light looking brown and out of focus.
The next thing was my first beggars of the trip, the mosquitoes, looking for an ounce from my veins. I haven't seen mosquitoes through my winter travel, but I guess never have an off season here. I guess it is the lack of season that makes them a little more lazy here. They seemed quite passive and did more floating around waiting for a victim to run into them, rather than seeking you out. One even drifted into my backpack when I opened it briefly apparently to lazy to even fly and trying to catch a free ride wherever I was going.
After my reshuffling through buses and security to the domestic terminal waiting area, we then filed out the door to catch a bus to our aircraft at the same spot we were dropped off at the domestic terminal. The system was a little chaotic as they had passengers for about five different flights crowding the curb and small signs for where you should stand to catch a bus for your respective flight. The sign for my flight was at the end of the curb and once we were on the bus, it pulled forward about 20 yards, and turned left so we could get off the bus at the plane that was directly across from the door to the waiting area we just left. The walk to the plane was probably a shorter walk than it was to the bus pick-up point. It was amusing, but it seems they have many small jobs that the system could due without, but they help the overall population and economy by keeping people employed. I saw similar efforts in Japan where we watched a team of three men direct traffic into a parking garage, and the light and arrow on the street would surely have done just as effective of a job.
Anyway, I arrived in Chennai at about 8:00 am, and I could tell it was warmer and more humid by the way the planes wing began to sweat as soon as we landed. I retrieved my bags and began dealing with the barrage of friendly Indians all trying to help me for a price. The first were the taxi pre-pay booth personnel that wanted to get me a ride and then wanted to exchange my money but when I asked for an ATM they became very short and cold and shooed me off in the proper direction. Then I got outside and began working my way through the crowd of Rickshaw and taxi drivers to get to the ATM. One persistent Rickshaw driver was persistent and led me to the ATM and waited for me outside. He charged as much as a taxi, but claimed to be giving me a deal. I figured since it was my first 'took took'- three wheeled rickshaw- experience I might as well just take him up on the offer. He then walks me about two blocks past dozens of waiting taxis and rickshaws telling them all my destination, which sounds a lot like he is bragging about a trophy fair, before we finally get to his rickshaw. Along the way I kid and ask him if we were going to walk to my hotel or if he was giving me a ride, at which point he quickly flags down another rickshaw to drive us to his rickshaw. I pass and tell him I'm kidding. I get an hour tour of India traffic with a free stop at a gas station, where he takes my fair to fill his tank, plus breathe in enough early morning exhaust fumes to trim my life by a year, before we arrive at my hotel.
After checking in I meet my roommate, Ross, who had arrived about three that morning and we took off to see some of the local sites. We started walking for downtown, but soon gave up and took a left to the beach, which looked much closer. Along the route we were propositioned by every passing and parked rickshaw driver to give us a ride and we finally gave it at the beach were we had pulled out our map to determine where we were, and found this is equivalent to waving a 'rickshaw please' flag. Several drivers had offered to give us a tour of popular sights for about 150 rupees each and we haggled this driver down to 100 for the two of us (about $2). He then gets on the phone with a friend and pulls us around to pick up his friend before we start our tour, so it is now an even two on two 'fight'. The friend is our 'translator' and begins by telling us how he is in college and makes it a point to inform us that he is a Christian and 'loves Jesus', which I'm not sure of the relevancy but we go on with introductions as we drive. He then notices Ross is smoking a cigarette he had rolled himself and asks if we want marijuana, and that Chennai has the best marijuana. We pass on this and then he asks if we like Indian girls, which we also tell him we are not in the market for them either.
Our first stop is St Thomas Basilica, where St Thomas had reportedly built a church when he came to India spreading the word, and he is also reportedly buried below the church. It was an impressive church and they had a museum and pictures of Pope John Paul II, visit to the church along with other memorabilia in the small museum. Next our driver and translator took us to Kapaleeswarar Temple, the most popular Hindu Shrine in Chennai. It was interesting, but we were barraged with beggars and more friendly locals offering to give us tours of the area, for a price. From here the tour turned into a 'driver benefit tour,' which was apparent as it developed and we later read about in Ross' Lonely Planet guide.
We went to antique and jewelery shops, that were 'the best in town.' And then they brought us to a good restaurant for lunch. They of course joined us, but when the bill was requested, only one was requested; and when we asked how we were splitting it, they suddenly could not understand our English. We picked up the tab and the meal cost about double, per person, what it would cost at any comparable restaurant. After lunch we need to stop at an ATM and then we wanted to go back to the hotel, but our guides wanted to show us two more shops. We told them we had no interest in buying souvenirs, but would look around if it would help them out, which is when they explained they got gas coupons from the businesses for bringing in tourists.
We finally arrived back at our hotel and ended up paying 100 rupees per person, rather than total. We also came full circle with all the 'translators' talk of college, tests, his broke down rickshaw... he wanted us to give him money to help pay for his upcoming college tests. 'Not much, just ten dollars each' (500 rupees). We declined and reminded him we paid double the agreed fair and bought him lunch, and went to all the shops we had no interest in, which he blew off as the past and offered us a deal, five dollars each. It seemed nothing mattered, but what we could do for them next.
During the first half of the tour we ran into another pair of travellers at 4 of the same stops and were sure there were many more suckers out there just like us and wished we could compare notes with them at the end to see how each of us had fared and what the various nuances of each experience were. In the Lonely Planet guide we read that the Rickshaw drivers often get a commission from the places they bring you and that the prices are always inflated. Plus at some hotel restaurants they won't even allow the drivers in because they apparently will demand commissions, if they are not already established.
Finally, to add insult to injury, we discovered the temple and basillica we had visited where literally right around the corner from our hotel, and our Intrepid tour guide was going to take us to see them the following night on our first walk around the area.
And this is India, the land of the kindest fleecings in the world. Where your are robbed in front of your face, thanked for it with a smile, and then asked for a little more. However, as you walk down the road and see people sleeping the the gutter next to another man pissing in the same gutter, you cannot help but feel for them and applaud their efforts to get by, even if it means a few extra dollars on top of your fair and a free lunch among new 'friends.'
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