Initial Perceptions

It is about 5:40 local time, Sunday. I arrived about 12 hours ago. It was still Saturday back home.

The air was hot and heavy. The terminal smelled like a damp basement. It was before 6 am but the sun was already very high in the sky. The horizon was hazy and slightly overcast.

I went quickly through a short line to have my passport checked... then again... then to pick up my bags. (the repetitive checking of the passport is something I experienced in Switzerland as well. It seems that most of the rest of the world relies on passports as identification because people in other countries travel to and from other countries so frequently.)

Picking up my bags was not unlike an American airport. Conveyor belt. Get Bags. Put on cart. Oh, the carts are free. On to customs.

Not much to say here. The man checked my passport again and took my customs declaration. At this time we passed through double doors were there were many people waiting to greet passengers. I was slightly nervous as I did not see my driver. I was with a British fellow I met on the plane and he was very kind and helpful. He and his driver waited with me until I reached Sujit on the phone. No worries... my driver was waiting outside the airport terminal with many, many more people greeting passengers.

Here I met Satadru. He is the man that set up my local cell phone and made many of my local arrangements. Satadru was very warm and friendly. I say this because when I was in Switzerland the people were somewhat cold and impersonal. This may have been because I was American and we Americans are not well respected in Europe these days but nonetheless, the Indian people are very warm, friendly, polite and very respectful.

The driver was more like a chauffeur. Dressed all in white with a hat. When I arrived I stayed with Satadru while the driver "fetched" the car... a Lexus. The contrast of this black Lexus against the backdrop of the rest of India is very odd.

They drive on the left (like the British) so the cars all have steering wheels on the right. The roads are paved but very rough. Even at 6 am there were many people walking on the roads. Traveling from the airport to the city I saw:

• Hundreds of people walking the streets.
• People working in fields.
• "Huts".
• Under nourished cows... REALLY, under nourished.
• Many rickshaws.
• Many bicycles.
• Many people carrying crops.
• Many people carrying crops on bicycles or rickshaws.
• A lot of what we call extreme poverty.
  

As we got closer to the city...

• Many, many billboards.
  
• Lot's of new construction - Mostly "high-rise" buildings, over 10 stories.
• Some dogs seemingly running wild.
• Taxis
• Police (a jeep)
  
• An ambulance (nothing like a western ambulance)
• People sleeping on the streets.
• A city park.
• An amusement park.
  
• A lot of what we call extreme poverty.

I didn't yet perceive the city to be overly poplulated. This is probably due to the time and day of the week.

It is 6:30 here now and it is getting dark already. I don't think they are on a "daylight savings" time shift. It is also raining a bit. Here is the current weather and forcast courtesy of my AccuWeather.com widget. Hot.
°F on the left, °C on the right.

The hotel (The Oberoi Grand) is VERY NICE. Again an extreme contrast to the poverty around it. It is nicer than any hotel I have stayed it. The room is about the size of larger single rooms in the states but again the decor is much better than average. It is very clean (housekeeping comes twice a day). It has a shower and bath just as you would expect. I will put up pictures someday after I have settled in and it doesn't look like an American just moved in.

Other hotel pleasures:

• Wireless Internet (I already spoke to the family over Skype today).
• In room power converters (I have ONE so this is a great convenience).
• Western TV stations including HBO (though their HBO has commercials... how odd is that?)

Check out the hotel's website for all the sales and marketing...