The Drive

After disembarkment, I first approached a large area with military personnel carrying weapons and a ton of people sitting at booths with surgical masks. Did I feel like I was in a third world country yet? In the words of Sarah Palin, "You betcha". Obviously, this was precautionary for Swine Flu, and after I passed my 'test', I was able to proceed to baggage claim and customs.

Then came my first experience on the infamous roads of India on my ride from the Bengaluru International Airport. It was approximately 45km, or about 28 miles, and I can already tell that my commutes to and from the office each day will probably be adventures in and of themselves.

Although it was after 1am local time, there still was a decent amount of traffic. And over this 45km ride, I still am unsure if they have any traffic signals. There were stop signs, at least, but my driver never actually stopped at any of them. It was almost like a stop sign on the 'busier' road meant you treated it like a yellow blinking light, while also blowing your horn while passing through so that the other vehicles would yield. Since I've never traveled internationally before, this was also my first experience driving on the wrong side of the road, or rather, on the left.

I counted about 20 dogs on the side of the road that basically just looked mean and barked at all the cars driving by. Sadly, I think they probably all have rabies. At least my Doc back in the states warned me not to get near any stray dogs, not that I intended to anyway. No cow or other animal sightings on the roads just yet, but give me a few days and I’m sure they’ll be something.

On the drive we passed by the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, which is one of the premier cricket stadiums of India. It's only about 10 minutes away, so I guess I'll have to check out a cricket match at some point. As some of you probably know, and as evidenced in Slumdog Millionaire as one of the questions, cricket is the national sport of India.