Pirates

It was a two hour flight from Mumbai into the seething den of piracy known as New Delhi. The cab which was to take me to the domestic airport however, as I have found with most of the drivers in India, he didn't know the city well enough to realize there was a difference between the international and domestic air terminal. Pulling up to the wrong airport, already late due to traffic and stopping too many times to ask for directions, we were redirected, this time in Hindi by the guard on the drive through street. I made mention that I was late to the annoyance of the cabby but frankly I didn't care if he was annoyed. Faster, faster. When we got to the correct terminal I was told that I owed him "500 rupees". I asked to check the card (a standard drivers carry so the innocents don't get ripped off) and found I only owed 250. Grrr. I threw him the bills and dashed off to check in.

Finding that my flight had been delayed and hour I had time to get a coffee and slice of sweet bread at the Cafe Coffee Day booth in the nice new looking terminal. The difference between the international and the domestic terminals was staggering to me. The first terminal looked and felt dirty and over used, like maintenance couldn't ever keep up with the task of changing light bulbs and sweeping floors. The second port, while obviously newer, was like a breath of fresh air. Clean, shining floors, organized lines everywhere, clear instructions for travelers, and a fine coffee bar ready to serve.

Once on the plane however (Goair) they had us sitting there for a good 20 minutes without any air circulation. The uber-statuesque female and male attendants were chattering amongst themselves seemingly unaware of the hundreds of brown arms reaching up to see if their air flow was working or not. None were. Once we were in the air it was better of course. I had a vegetable sandwich (butter on a roll with marinated carrots and green beans in it)and a bottle of mineral water. You have to pay for this (taking cues from US airlines). They also have this bidding thing they do, I guess in lieu of a movie or something. There was a fold up sheet in the pocket of the seat in front of me with items like a Swiss Army watch and a Jansport shoulder bag, etc. You would write your bid on it (how many rupees you were willing to pay for it) and then the three top bidders got to buy that item before they got off the flight. This was a weird sort of HSC meets Delta experience. I just couldn't change the channel.

Finally I touched down in the pit of vipers; the den of pirates itself, New Delhi. Actually modern day pirates are everywhere here. It seems to be the national pastime next to cricket. All of the 'help' in Delhi I should have received was really a lazy attempt to get back to chai while touts were swarming to mislead me for their own gain. I was successful in my attempts to thwart many of them but the 'government tourist booth' in the terminal and the tourist police outside the New Delhi train station were sad emblems of authority. The Tourist Police are there to make certain the touts do not misdirect you, having a knowledge of the means and methods necessary to do what you need to have done. This one handed me back over to a tout who misled me across town into a fake government tourist office who couldn't get me on any train because he 'couldn't access the website'. Riiiiight.

I made instead for the bus terminal. Well not a terminal really but a corner of town that closely resembled a bazaar with rickety buses on one side of the road. I was told to board a bus and it would take me to Agra. I did and it did, for only Rp 120, which was one quarter of the charge it had taken me to get this far already since I had landed. The bus to Agra was a 5 hour ordeal replete with pirates and paranoia. I did however make it (past midnight) to the hotel I was booked at (yay) after walking for two blocks in the dark after a rickshaw ride through the scary narrow alleys in a developing third world country. Woohoooo. All Photos in this post were taken here in Agra. So yes, I am here and I did survive the ordeal.