One should never underestimate flying halfway around the world. Yes, its a whole lot of sitting and waiting around but after a while it reaches a level of manic sleep deprivation which is the point I wish I was at. I passed that point around 25 or so hours in. I flew from Buffalo to JFK which was a small hop skip and jump across New York. JFK to Dubai was a relatively comfortable flight for twelve and a half hours. I did have to deal with a Bengalese man with a low tolerance for booze who was acting like a child for a few hours. Emirates solution to dealing with someone who has drank too much.........give them more booze until they pass out. Not the best strategy but it worked thankfully.
I then had a six hour layover in the Dubai airport. It was a relatively nice place with a huge assortment of people from all spans of the globe. All the facilities were top notch and there were even prayer rooms if that's your thing. My flight from Dubai to Chennai was a relatively quick 5 hour flight comparably. At this point I had been up for the better part of 27 or so hours. A taxi was waiting for me at the airport for the ride down to Pondicherry to FERAL, the organization I will be volunteering at for the next three months. So the driver and I set off from the airport around 10 pm or so after waiting an hour and a half to get my checked luggage.......without any headlights.
Now in the states, no headlights and driving at night seems like a terrible situation right? In India the roads are kind of a open format where people pass as they please and the margin of space between fatal collision and getting back onto your side of the road is about two or three meters. Anyone who has been to a developing nation knows how the driving is and it can best be described as organized chaos. To pass someone at night the driver uses their high beams and horn to indicated a pass to oncoming traffic and the vehicle being passed. Makes sense. Without headlight, shit gets a little dangerous. After being up for over a day I was amused and exhausted beyond caring because I knew it was a least a 2 hour ride to Pondicherry from Chennai. The familiar loud ass honking and noise kept me from dosing off and the sweet smell of humidity and diesel fumes invaded my nostrils. The driver stopped along multiple street repair shops and after waiting another hour and a half to two hours the 'repair guy' switched around all the fuses in the fuse box enough to miraculously get only the high beams working but it was better than nothing.
I got to FERAL in Pondicherry at 2:30 in the morning. the nightwatchmen woke up and had no idea who the hell I was nor was he expecting me to show up. Between my sleepwalking state and his simple English I was able to convince him to not worry about me and that I'd figure shit out in the morning. I had no idea what my sleeping arangements where and frankly at this point didn't care. I laid in a hammock under one of the students capsules (raised thatch hut) and conked out. January is a harvest festival month in southern India. Temple music started blaring at 4 am. An hour and a half of sleep after being up for 36 strait hours. Welcome back to India.
I then had a six hour layover in the Dubai airport. It was a relatively nice place with a huge assortment of people from all spans of the globe. All the facilities were top notch and there were even prayer rooms if that's your thing. My flight from Dubai to Chennai was a relatively quick 5 hour flight comparably. At this point I had been up for the better part of 27 or so hours. A taxi was waiting for me at the airport for the ride down to Pondicherry to FERAL, the organization I will be volunteering at for the next three months. So the driver and I set off from the airport around 10 pm or so after waiting an hour and a half to get my checked luggage.......without any headlights.
Now in the states, no headlights and driving at night seems like a terrible situation right? In India the roads are kind of a open format where people pass as they please and the margin of space between fatal collision and getting back onto your side of the road is about two or three meters. Anyone who has been to a developing nation knows how the driving is and it can best be described as organized chaos. To pass someone at night the driver uses their high beams and horn to indicated a pass to oncoming traffic and the vehicle being passed. Makes sense. Without headlight, shit gets a little dangerous. After being up for over a day I was amused and exhausted beyond caring because I knew it was a least a 2 hour ride to Pondicherry from Chennai. The familiar loud ass honking and noise kept me from dosing off and the sweet smell of humidity and diesel fumes invaded my nostrils. The driver stopped along multiple street repair shops and after waiting another hour and a half to two hours the 'repair guy' switched around all the fuses in the fuse box enough to miraculously get only the high beams working but it was better than nothing.
I got to FERAL in Pondicherry at 2:30 in the morning. the nightwatchmen woke up and had no idea who the hell I was nor was he expecting me to show up. Between my sleepwalking state and his simple English I was able to convince him to not worry about me and that I'd figure shit out in the morning. I had no idea what my sleeping arangements where and frankly at this point didn't care. I laid in a hammock under one of the students capsules (raised thatch hut) and conked out. January is a harvest festival month in southern India. Temple music started blaring at 4 am. An hour and a half of sleep after being up for 36 strait hours. Welcome back to India.
