First India / Chennai Experiences.... wow!
After about an hour stay in Shanghi, we were off again towards Bombay (Mumbai). I really didn't feel like sleeping, though it was technically night, so I began to watch "10,000 BC" (horrible movie!). After about 30 minutes I turned off the movie and went to sleep. I was awakened a couple of hours later to Kung Po Chicken and a glass of white wine from Chile.
We landed in Mumbai an hour and a half early (so we only had a 22 hour flight to India, including refueling time). After clearing customs, we changed some money into rupees and ate at a sandwich shop. Our next flight (Mumbai -> Chennai) took 1.5 hours, during which we had delicious rice and chicken with lintels. Jet Airways really takes care of us! After the flight our driver picked us up - that is where our crazy driving adventure began!
Our driver drove a stick-shift 10-passenger van. We sat in seats without seat belts as were were thrown through a high-speed amusement-park like race through the city. Our driver explained that nobody obeys traffic laws in India -- he was right! While lines were drawn on the street, no one followed them. Neither did they use turn signals. They (our driver included) simply drove at 50MPH, zipping between large trucks and missing motorists by inches. Everyone honks their horns all the time, as to alert others to their presence.
We finally arrived at the Inter-Church Service Association (ICSA) a few minutes later, where we were warmly greeted by the front desk worker. Our room is small, with 3 hard beds, but this is our home for the next 25 days. After showering and a 2-hour nap, we waled to dinner where we met 10 very enthusiastic kids who were at ICSA for a conference. Their English was rough, but my Tamil is nonexistent so we spoke English. I'm having trouble pronouncing names -- they are, too! I guess Indians don't say the letter 'T' to often. They were very cute, and we sang a few songs with them.
For dinner, the chef had taken our order (what service!). Our 'Americanized' Indian food was stil very spicy, but delicious. We ate with our hands, as is the custom. It's now 9:43pm here, so 11:13 in MN. We're going to bed so we can wake up for 8:00 breakfast and 9:00 church.
We landed in Mumbai an hour and a half early (so we only had a 22 hour flight to India, including refueling time). After clearing customs, we changed some money into rupees and ate at a sandwich shop. Our next flight (Mumbai -> Chennai) took 1.5 hours, during which we had delicious rice and chicken with lintels. Jet Airways really takes care of us! After the flight our driver picked us up - that is where our crazy driving adventure began!
Our driver drove a stick-shift 10-passenger van. We sat in seats without seat belts as were were thrown through a high-speed amusement-park like race through the city. Our driver explained that nobody obeys traffic laws in India -- he was right! While lines were drawn on the street, no one followed them. Neither did they use turn signals. They (our driver included) simply drove at 50MPH, zipping between large trucks and missing motorists by inches. Everyone honks their horns all the time, as to alert others to their presence.
We finally arrived at the Inter-Church Service Association (ICSA) a few minutes later, where we were warmly greeted by the front desk worker. Our room is small, with 3 hard beds, but this is our home for the next 25 days. After showering and a 2-hour nap, we waled to dinner where we met 10 very enthusiastic kids who were at ICSA for a conference. Their English was rough, but my Tamil is nonexistent so we spoke English. I'm having trouble pronouncing names -- they are, too! I guess Indians don't say the letter 'T' to often. They were very cute, and we sang a few songs with them.
For dinner, the chef had taken our order (what service!). Our 'Americanized' Indian food was stil very spicy, but delicious. We ate with our hands, as is the custom. It's now 9:43pm here, so 11:13 in MN. We're going to bed so we can wake up for 8:00 breakfast and 9:00 church.
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