On the Way to India: 19 to 21 April: Getting There: Oh, the joys of transportation in the modern age!

Really, the trip to Bangalore was uneventful, just… long.  We arrived in Bangalore about 26 hours after we left Winnipeg.  Of course, we had layovers in Toronto and in Frankfurt.  I think I caught an hours’ sleep, total, over the whole stretch.  I watched Casablanca (I cried, again) and I don’t know what all else; I tried to watch Skyfall on the airplane system but had trouble making any sense of it, as it was either drowned out by noise, muffled, or public address announcements pre-empted it.  I read.  I relaxed.  I shifted from side to side.  I took a walk… or two.

A bit punch drunk, I sit in a restaurant at Frankfurt International Airport after we had breakfast… for the third time

My colleague Norbert looks more relaxed than I do, in that restaurant in the Frankfurt International Airport.  He has a German background and he understands the language!

So, after this long, gruelling, but largely uneventful journey, we land in Bangalore at 1:10 AM.  It’s hot, even in the middle of the night.  Customs was easy, we picked up our luggage, and went outside.

Well it’s just like in the movies.  Hundreds of guys waiting to pick up fares.  They all want to be helpful, they all want to know if you need a ride.  We finally found one fellow holding a sign with Norbert’s name on it, and we were off to the hotel.

OK, so the first ride in a car in India.  More on the general experience of driving in India later… or rather, riding in a car – you won’t catch me trying to drive here!

We got to our hotel at about 3 AM, checked in, and promptly zonked out.  I can’t imagine why – something about being on the go for, um, 35 hours straight?