Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Amazing Race Goes to India!
How cool is this? I'm catching up on The Amazing Race and they go to India!!! They started in Jaipur at the Amber Fort where we went. (Trivia buffs should know that it is pronounced Amer Fort). One of their choices is to either bicycle through the town with a load of barrels or dress up and dance for 100 rupees ($2). No contest. You'd have to be CRAZY to navigate Indian traffic. Several commented on the driving and I laughed when one woman said the horns were driving her up the wall!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Highway Code of India
Our Trip Leader was gracious enough to give us a copy of the Highway Code of India so we could understand what was going on with the traffic. I believe we personally experienced each one of these.
Article I: The assumption of immortality is required of all road users.
Article II: Indian traffic like Indian society is structured on a strict caste system. The following precedence must be accorded at all times. In descending order, give way to: cows, elephants, camels, buffalo, pigs, goats, dogs, heavy trucks, buses, official cars, pedal rickshaws, private cars, motorcycles, scooters, auto-rickshaws, handcarts and pedestrians.
Article III: All wheeled vehicles shall be driven in accordance with the maxim: to slow be to falter, to brake is to fail; to stop is defeat. This is the Indian drivers' mantra.
Article IV: Use of horn (also known as the sonic fender or the language of the road) Cars: Short blasts (urgent) indicate supremacy, i.e. in cleaning dogs, rickshaws and pedestrians from path. Long blasts (desperate) denote supplication, i.e. to oncoming trucks "I am going too fast to stop, so unless you slow down we shall both die" In extreme cases this may be accompanied by flashing of headlights (frantic). Single blast (casual) means: "I have seen someone out of India's 1 billion whom I recognize", "There is a bird in the road which at this speed could go through my windscreen", or "I have not blown my horn for several minutes."
Trucks and Buses: All horn signals have the same meaning. "I have an all-up weight of approximately 12.5 tons and have no intention of stopping, even if I could" This signal may be emphasized by the use of headlamps.
Article V: All maneuvers, use of horn and evasive action shall be left until the last possible moment.
Article VI: In the absence of seat belts (which there is) car occupants shall wear garlands of marigolds. These should be kept fastened at all times.
Article VII: Rights of way: Traffic entering a road from the left has priority. So has traffic from the right, and also traffic in the middle. Lane discipline: All Indian traffic at all times and irrespective of direction of travel shall occupy the centre of the road.
Article VIII: Traffic Management: It's a jungle out there. Apparent traffic islands in the middle of the crossroads have no traffic management function. Any other impression should be ignored.
Article IX: Overtaking is mandatory. Every moving vehicle is required to overtake every other moving vehicle, irrespective of whether it has just overtaken you. Overtaking should only be undertaken in suitable conditions, such as in the face of oncoming traffic, on blind bends at junctions and in the middle of villages/city centers. No more than two inches should be allowed between your vehicle and the one you are passing - one inch in the case of bicycles or pedestrians.
Article X: Nirvana may be obtained through the head-on crash. Note: OK, we didn't personally experience this one but it wasn't because our drivers weren't trying!)
Article XI: Reversing: What's this? Not many drivers in India like to use this gear. It's against their driver's mantra.
Article XII: The 10th incarnation of God was an articulated tanker.
Article I: The assumption of immortality is required of all road users.
Article II: Indian traffic like Indian society is structured on a strict caste system. The following precedence must be accorded at all times. In descending order, give way to: cows, elephants, camels, buffalo, pigs, goats, dogs, heavy trucks, buses, official cars, pedal rickshaws, private cars, motorcycles, scooters, auto-rickshaws, handcarts and pedestrians.
Article III: All wheeled vehicles shall be driven in accordance with the maxim: to slow be to falter, to brake is to fail; to stop is defeat. This is the Indian drivers' mantra.
Article IV: Use of horn (also known as the sonic fender or the language of the road) Cars: Short blasts (urgent) indicate supremacy, i.e. in cleaning dogs, rickshaws and pedestrians from path. Long blasts (desperate) denote supplication, i.e. to oncoming trucks "I am going too fast to stop, so unless you slow down we shall both die" In extreme cases this may be accompanied by flashing of headlights (frantic). Single blast (casual) means: "I have seen someone out of India's 1 billion whom I recognize", "There is a bird in the road which at this speed could go through my windscreen", or "I have not blown my horn for several minutes."
Trucks and Buses: All horn signals have the same meaning. "I have an all-up weight of approximately 12.5 tons and have no intention of stopping, even if I could" This signal may be emphasized by the use of headlamps.
Article V: All maneuvers, use of horn and evasive action shall be left until the last possible moment.
Article VI: In the absence of seat belts (which there is) car occupants shall wear garlands of marigolds. These should be kept fastened at all times.
Article VII: Rights of way: Traffic entering a road from the left has priority. So has traffic from the right, and also traffic in the middle. Lane discipline: All Indian traffic at all times and irrespective of direction of travel shall occupy the centre of the road.
Article VIII: Traffic Management: It's a jungle out there. Apparent traffic islands in the middle of the crossroads have no traffic management function. Any other impression should be ignored.
Article IX: Overtaking is mandatory. Every moving vehicle is required to overtake every other moving vehicle, irrespective of whether it has just overtaken you. Overtaking should only be undertaken in suitable conditions, such as in the face of oncoming traffic, on blind bends at junctions and in the middle of villages/city centers. No more than two inches should be allowed between your vehicle and the one you are passing - one inch in the case of bicycles or pedestrians.
Article X: Nirvana may be obtained through the head-on crash. Note: OK, we didn't personally experience this one but it wasn't because our drivers weren't trying!)
Article XI: Reversing: What's this? Not many drivers in India like to use this gear. It's against their driver's mantra.
Article XII: The 10th incarnation of God was an articulated tanker.
Picture Count
I have loaded the pictures on the computer. We took 2,447 pictures!!! I filled up three notebooks full of notes. We have our work cut out for us!!
Long Ride Home
Yes, we ARE home!! We did about 3 hours sleep in the hotel bed from about 6-9 p.m. At 11 we left the hotel. Plane was on time so we left Mumbai about 2:40 a.m. So that meant we had "dinner" at 4 a.m. and breakfast at noon. Arrived in London after a 9 hour flight - London time 7:00 a.m. Then at 10:45 London time boarded the last leg home. Another 9 hour flight (icky plane food) and landed in DFW about 4:30 p.m. Dallas time. Got through customs easily enough and home in Clifton about 7:30 p.m. Clifton time. Body time it was 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning - just about 48 hours since we got up at 5:15 a.m. in Mumbai Friday. And to think we pay good money to be subject to torture like this!
Rides home were exciting. We had just settled on the plane in Mumbai when someone spotted a mosquito in the plane and the announcement was made that they were going to spray the airplane! Actually announced that the spray was not toxic to humans. Good thing since they had about 300 people squeezed in a tiny space. Did suggest covering nose and mouth and eyes if you wore contact lenses. You would think they could have done that BEFORE boarding. We just laughed - what else could you do.
After we settled on the plane to DFW, Kathy appeared and said she had "lost" her passport. She KNEW she had it when she boarded the plane so we knew it was somewhere. After everyone else had cleared the plane we searched again and the cabin attendant found it stuck in the lining of her bag.
As we were coming into DFW, the pilot announced it was chilly on the ground and 30-35 mph winds. We had a couple of roller coaster dips and I thought "Great! Fly halfway round the world to crash on our own doorstep!" I began praying that 1) the passport would be found and 2) that the wind would die down and the pilot would have the skill to land the plane safely. That was the SMOOTHEST landing we had the entire trip. Didn't even FEEL when we touched down. Is our God great, or what?? :-)
So good to be home where you can brush your teeth with water from the tap! The small things we take for granted!!
Rides home were exciting. We had just settled on the plane in Mumbai when someone spotted a mosquito in the plane and the announcement was made that they were going to spray the airplane! Actually announced that the spray was not toxic to humans. Good thing since they had about 300 people squeezed in a tiny space. Did suggest covering nose and mouth and eyes if you wore contact lenses. You would think they could have done that BEFORE boarding. We just laughed - what else could you do.
After we settled on the plane to DFW, Kathy appeared and said she had "lost" her passport. She KNEW she had it when she boarded the plane so we knew it was somewhere. After everyone else had cleared the plane we searched again and the cabin attendant found it stuck in the lining of her bag.
As we were coming into DFW, the pilot announced it was chilly on the ground and 30-35 mph winds. We had a couple of roller coaster dips and I thought "Great! Fly halfway round the world to crash on our own doorstep!" I began praying that 1) the passport would be found and 2) that the wind would die down and the pilot would have the skill to land the plane safely. That was the SMOOTHEST landing we had the entire trip. Didn't even FEEL when we touched down. Is our God great, or what?? :-)
So good to be home where you can brush your teeth with water from the tap! The small things we take for granted!!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Headed Home
We got a wakeup call this morning at 5:15 in order to catch our 8:30 flight to Mumbai. After our city tour we arrived at our hotel about 4:00 p.m. We leave tonight at 11:00 p.m., giving us 7 hours to re-pack for the flights home, hopefully catch a few winks, shower and get as fresh as we can for the trek home. Our flight from Mumbai leaves at 2:40 a.m. We have about a 4 hours layover at Heathrow and another long flight to DFW. If all goes well we should be at DFW about 5:00 Sat. night and be at home in Clifton by 9:00 (hopefully) after getting luggage, through customs, etc. etc. (Oh yes, I have to mention that today we stopped at McDonalds for lunch. French Fries and Chocolate Shakes! Yum!!!) Not looking forward to airplane food. I figure by the time we get home we will have not slept in a bed for about 48 hours. *groan* That's the price you pay for travel! :-) Ben finally had to put in a new chip in the camera so he has taken over 2000 pictures!! Will post when we are home.
Mumbai
Well, we finished at Cochin with a sunset cruise around the harbor and got pictures of the sun setting behind the Chinese fishing boats which seems to be "the picture" for Cochin advertisements. We flew to Mumbai this morning and OAT arranged a city tour for us of Mumbai. We saw the Victoria Terminus Railway Station and the Taj Mahal Hotel that was hit by terrorists in November. The Taj already has a monument for the people who were killed. At a result of those attacks, all hotels now have tight security, which is a good thing. Mumbai is and is not what I expected. I did expect a big city (33,000,000 people) and I did expect slums (per the movie Slumdog Millionaire) What I didn't expect is that Mumbai is more of a European city architecturally wise. They do have the small little shops jammed together but they also have larger drab concrete apartments like we saw in China with the laundry hanging out the windows. The buildings have a more European feel. Driving in the city is just as "adventurous" as the country - not as exciting as in watching semi's head right toward you but as in a very confusing street design. Driving in India is not for the faint of heart. RIDING in India is not for the faint of heart! :-) We did see the slums that looked just like in the movie. I can attest to the fact that the movie was accurate as far as the slums although forturnately we only saw them from a distance but they cover huge areas of land - some are two story and all crowded together. All in all I guess we have seen three different aspects of India. North, South and Mumbai.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Eating off a banana leaf
Have to quickly post this! The houseboat crew got some banana leaves and fixed us a typical South Indian meal. We must have had 20 different curries on the banana leaf. Guide explained what each was. Thankfully, South Indian food is not as spicy as North Indian food. We even had French Fries today for lunch!!! We are doing much better with the food and digestive tract. Only need to make it a few more days! Continue to pray for us! :-) Got some cool shots of the banana leaf feast. Fortunately, you don't have to eat the banana leaf!!!
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