We comprise only half of our group at the moment because the rest of our group has yet to arrive. Our delegation officially starts on the 7th of June.
We got a mini taste of India on our flight to Mumbai. It was an eight hour flight from London on a big bird and this flight was full! Most of the people onboard were Indian, the lady who sat in the aisle opposite of me with her two sons turned out to be very nice when I asked her to identify an unfamiliar dish on our airline food tray. She smiled and gestured that it was a sort of sweet rice and encouraged for me to taste it.
The next morning when we had a particularly jostling landing, I stood up to retrieve my luggage along with everyone else when chaos ensued on a small scale. I am used to America where people wait patiently for their turn and have more of a sense of personal space. Instead, one of the nice woman's sons started puking, the father went over to help (he was sitting behind me) and effectively blocked the aisle. People repeatedly pushed and squeezed their way around him. I often was pushed back into my seat without as much as an apology. At first I was very put off by this, but I quickly learned to let it go as I saw that it was not personal and that I'd simply have to get used to it.
We felt the heat and humidity instantly upon landing. The airport was just...wow. The air was definitely pregnant with an interesting scent, sort of like clothes that have been forgotten in the washing machine for a few days. The exterior of the airport was covered with scaffolding made out of what appeared to be bamboo stalks tied together with some sort of odd twine-like material.
After retrieving the rest of our luggage, changing our money, and going through customs, we were suddenly outside. A throng of people and rows of black and yellow taxis and auto rickshaws greeted us.
The cars were neat, definitely from the 1940-1950s. Our taxi even had a three-on-a-tree transmission! Indians drive on the right side, there are seemingly no lane markings, and drivers like their horns and use it often and well.
I got my first taste of the patriarchial culture when checking in at the hotel with Wyatte. We were helping one another understand the male manager and female front desk clerks, but it was difficult. The manager did not wish to talk to me or deal with me, preferring instead to deal solely with Wyatte. When I attempted to talk with one of the clerks to clarify something, he impatiently waved them off.
Our room is pretty nice, it has marble tile everywhere, a couch that converts into a bed, AC, TV, etc. We could become very spoiled here. Its interesting because this hotel is obviously high class in India, yet it is surrounded by slums and doesn't seem to be in a safe neighborhood.
Our bathroom doesn't have a shower curtain, just a toilet, sink, and showerhead. This idea isn't so bad actually, saves a lot of space too!
Tamer and 8us flew in from New Delhi and talked their way into staying in our room with us. It was great seeing two familiar faces, we didn't talk much except to say hi and promptly hit the sack, the past few days having taken a toll on us.
We all woke up around 10PM and went up to the roof to check out what was a spectacular lightning storm, it was very pretty. However, we realized how hungry we were, so the hotel chef made us some food while we sat in a sort of retro dining hall, on one side for the other side was wet due to the rain and the apparent open eaves roof design of the hotel.
We also saw what appeared to be a living space in the attic space portion of the roof, as we could see people moving around, turning on lights, etc.
Two more things before I close for now, Indian people indicate "yes" by shaking their head. This was confusing at first and still is sometimes! Also, we cannot turn on the power in our room without inserting the room's key into an odd receptacle on the wall by the door. It has to be left there in order to use power, quite intriguing!
Well, we are off to hunt down some food and explore the city!
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