Part 6 continued

So the baggage guy wanted us to allow him to overcharge us. His reasoning was that foreigners rarely come into the airport so he earns very little money. He made it seem as if I and Yogita (as an NRI) owed it to him...in order to help him out.

So we paid him the money (I felt sorry for him even though I should not have). My father in law (from here on out I will refer to him as dad, I have two dads now!) told me that people like that prey on the goodwill of others.

The money we paid him was waaaaaay to much.

Anyways on the way from the airport the first thing that I noticed was of course traffic. There were so many different types of cars, motorbikes of all kinds of configurations, 2 wheelers, 3 wheelers....ect. I saw bikes, 2 wheeler, and 3 wheelers know as rickshaws. Perhaps Abu, Dad, or Yogita could correct me if I am wrong, but I think the motored 3 wheel vehicles are called tempos....heck...I think I am wrong...I will get back later about that.

Firstly traffic in India...it is a very active organism that seems to flow in a chaotic sort of way. This is to someone viewing, or experiencing it for the first time. Picture the scene: vehicles of all types moving in close proximity to one another, horns going off repeatdly, some people in other lanes (heading in the opposite direction) "flashing" their high beams.

I mean you can see huge trucks, buses, along with a myriad of smaller modes of transport all flowing along. In the car I was angry at first...I mean what smack was going on? What was the motorcycle in back of us pretty much riding up on our butt, honking his horn?! On our sides I could see cars, and other motorized vehicles coming way too close.

I was more than a little surprised. I would have to admit I was not afraid, I guess I was fascinated that it all seemed to work. When I paid closer attention I noticed that drivers had this little signs on the back of the tempos, and rickshaws that said: Please use horn. I then notice that many cars were manufactured with out side mirrors! Then I could see why...due to heavy congestion. Cars that did have side mirrors had them folded in. It soon became apparent that if one did not honk their horn, it could cause a huge accident. No one would know I was behind them. It is not easy to just crane your neck and look to see who is behind you. The honking of your horn is sort of like a reminder "hey I’m back here!” Flashing the high beams also serves a similar purpose especially at intersections. You can notify others of your intention to make a left turn, or some other maneuver.

All of this was going on in my head, while Yogita was giving directions to the taxi driver. There seemed to be a little confusion of where dad's house was. I will leave that portion of the story for another time.

I had better use spell check now...
ok I have to go...

See ya!

jeyo