Since we missed the connecting flight from NY to Doha and had to spend 24 hours at JFK airport, our itinerary from NY underwent some changes, we were supposed to fly to Doha, then Bangalore, and bus to Mysore from Bangalore.. instead we flew to Doha, then Mumbai, then Bangalore, but Mumbai was an experience I'll remember for a while.
Since Qatar Airways doesn't run a flight from Mumbai to Bangalore we had to fly Air India, which meant we had to go through customs, pick up our bags and get to the domestic terminal, get our boarding passes and check-in, go through security and catch our flight. We had 3 hours to do everything, and in the end we would up having about 2 minutes to catch our breath before boarding our 5th and final flight to Bangalore.
Customs went well and we all got our bags, surprisingly, considering the mix up at JFK, but we had to find the Air India counter and it was in the other terminal, which the airport did not have a shuttle for, we had to hire an auto-rickshaw and taxi-van to bring us to the domestic terminal, 3 people crammed into the auto-rickshaw and 4 in the bus... I was the last one left, my suitcase was on top of the van (not strapped down) and there wasn't any room for me to sit. Talk about your panicked feeling. I ended up cramming in the back with 3 other people on our crazy Indian ride through Mumbai... and crazy it was! Did I mention this was just after 3am in Mumbai? I spent the taxi ride wincing over every bump and tight turn, hoping my suitcase stayed on top of the rack!
Indian drivers break every driving rule I've ever heard of! and they honk their horns ALL THE TIME! Buses and transport trucks have "Horn OK Please" or "Horn ON Please" painted on their bumpers. I assume they use it to let other drivers know you're there, but it almost becomes background noise because it's all you hear while you wind through traffic narrowly missing rickshaws, cows, motorcyclists, scooters, trucks and more. I think the only "rules of the road" per say, are 1) honk all the time, and 2) avoid everything bigger than you. We got a ride into the centre of Mysore today and saw a woman on a motorbike have a slow speed accident right beside us with another motorbike who just sped off... she looked okay, I think she was fine.
I've had a lot of people tell me about how badly India smells, and I think it's a double-edged sword. Mumbai was really stinky on our ride to the other terminal, but Bangalore was bearable and Mysore is pleasant, even enticing in some regard when you walk past a booth selling spices and chilies, or smell the sweet smell of jasmine as you drive by the markets. I've been told it's one of the cleaner cities in India, and it seems that way. There's still a lot of dust and dirt, but it's not completely filthy, though you do have to watch your step to avoid any cow-pies in the middle of the road!
So far India has been invigorating and frightening all at the same time. It's hard to explain the traffic, you have to see it to believe it. The next chance I get I think I'll make a video of some crazy indian driving. For now here's a picture of an auto rickshaw!!
Sounds insane. Hows the locals and the culture shock?
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