Arriving in India

When you land in Bangalore, India, its a lot like landing in most countries. The routine of passing immigration and collecting your bags in an ultra-modern airport was not expected but appreciated. Even AP said: "Welcome to the most modern city in India!" However, after collecting your bags you realize that you are still in India. There's the token shady guy who tries desperately to make you believe that if you don't go with him you will most certainly be stranded at the airport. The fact that there was (like usual) a large sign saying "Taxi Stand" always seems to weaken their proposition.  Once we were in the legal taxi we were traveling quite quickly on a beautiful 4 lane highway. After about a half hour of what had been a peaceful, if not boring ride, things got interesting. See once you enter the actual city, the entire concept of lanes is utterly lost. In its place is the "sea" concept where straight, orderly lanes melt into a sea of vehicles heading in all directions (not all of them of course) but at any one time there is sure to be at least a few cars coming straight at you and from both sides as well. And the sea does not just consist  of cars, trucks, and buses, there are large wooden push carts, auto rickshaws lots of pedestrians, and cows. Yep this bovine breed, known officially as the "urban cow" move right along with traffic, sleep on the side some of the most congested roads, and maintain a diet that consists of plastic bottles, food scraps, and just enough wild weeds. 

You may be wondering how this whole system could possibly work? The answer is simple...HONKING- lots and lots of honking. Unlike in many countries, the U.S being one of them, the honk is reserved for moments of aggression- it is used to display your anger at a fellow driver. In India, the honk has a much higher level of utility as it is used to notify other drivers of your proximity and intention. The honk pretty much screams out to the vehicle next to you that "Don't move I'm passing on the right" being that the distance between them is never more than a centimeter or two- its important that this complex honking system is carefully adhered to. Now despite its obvious purpose, please know this system is maddening to one's ears and general state of well being.

So with both our visual and auditory senses very much fulfilled, we took a moment to let our noses take in its new surrroundings. As described by many India most certainly has its own pungent aroma. The air in India is filled with a combination of spices, incense, sewage,animals, and exhaust and it comes in only one variety-- strong and thick. When you are riding in an autorickshaw (like a bicycle rickshaw but instead powered by a three-wheel motor vehicle) which we soon discovered would be our main mode of transport other than walking- the scent of the city is right there for your sniffing pleasure. At first it was overwhelming, but after a bit of time, not only do your nostrils adjust, but they begin to enjoy the olfactory overload - though I have noticed that I generally find the aroma to be more pleasing when its more heavily scented with incense and spices rather than sewage and exhaust.

As many people swore to us, India is a shock to every one of your senses and like promised it most certainly was... its a good thing too, or else we would have been disappointed.