Jim Stuff

India Post 1 - (F10)

Well I'm here. In India, in Chennai, in the Force10 guesthouse. When they described it as spartan, they really should have emphasized spartan :-) actually it's not bad. 3 bedrooms each with locking doors, each with private bathroom/shower combo. The shower is interesting, apparently it just showers on the floor and drains down a drain. no seperate enclosure to catch the water. It is also clear that I won't be doing any actual cooking in the kitchen. Likely well populated with cooking 'tools' but nothing like America standards of course. There is another Force10 chap here in the guest apartment already that I know. That is good. another I know should be coming in tommorrow. Both guys I have a good relationship with. That helps to make me feel at home.

The flights were routine - no issues, very nice airlines Singapore Airlines. I'd recommend them to everyone.
Hong Kong layover was short and the airport was nice (got an actual Starbucks there - I expect it will be my last for 3 weeks.
Singapore layover was long (9 hours). The airport is very nice though. Lts of shops, free internet and stuff. It is very layover friendly.
Chennai airport - Well, not quite as modern as Singapore or Hong Kong :-) (to be nice). Immigration was quite efficient though (interestingly they do not look in your luggage) at least not once you have it in hand - maybe they do it before they release it to you, that did seem to take awhile.

Now driving in Chennai - I heard ALL the stories, but nothing can prepare you for actually being in it. These cars (like out of a 40s movie) clearly do not have blinkers or seat belts. Any car that does not have a horn would be smashed I'm convinced. The horn serves as everything - blinker, greeter, finger, everything. As promised there are some actual traffic lines on the roads, but they were clearly put there by some overly ambitious foreigner who does not understand that such 'advisory' conveniences are largely ignored. The most interesting intersection was a four way about the size of Leigh/Camden with a booth in the center, no lights or signs. Cars and motorbikes comeing from all directions. My driver decided it wasn't really supposed to function like a roundabout so he took the straight path of making a strict right turn. The problem is we are driving on the left so this is analygous to making a left turn into oncoming traffic - and well, everyone just accepts it, avoids you and moves on. Very exciting.

The uplink here at the guest apartment seems quite slow. it brings in web pages more like a modem than DSL. I'm runing a test to see what the actual time is. It's midnight here so the speed should be as optimal as it's going to get. Okay, aborting the DSL download test, it's taking way too long and does not look like it will be terminating soon. Formal classification: really slow :-)

it's at least 80F outside and the humidity is tangable. Should be interesting tommorrow when the sun it out. I arrived under a full moon and slight cloud cover. Beautiful sky. As we were zipping through town (I'm about 25 min from the airport), even though it is dark, I can see the contrast that people talk about. So may small business that make the town run. Homeless sleep right on the sidewalks in the darker areas. People seemingly everywhere even at 11:30 at night! hanging out it looks like. Amazing culture.

Well, need to take some herbs and vitamins and get some sleep.

Renee - give Janae and David a PBJ hug for me. :-)

Love you guys.

posted by Winya @ 9:44 AM