Arrival & First Impressions

I am not quite sure what time it is as I am writing this. I took my flight from Terminal 5 yesterday. After a 9 hour flight in which I did very little except sleep, I landed. Apart from the enormous queue, passport control was quick and easy. I spent half an hour waiting for my bag, wondering if it would ever come.

I decided to take the public bus from the airport to my hotel. After battling through the taxi drivers all wanting to give me a lift, I found the right bus. It cost 180 rupees for the 55 minute bus ride, about £2.50. The one thing which has hit me on arrival is the behaviour of the traffic. The bus seemed to weave it's way along the road, dodging motorcycles, trucks piled high with stuff and blaring the horn at any moment another vehicle obscured its path. How I found the hotel I am not really sure, however the bus seemed to drop me off within 100 metres of it. I even found the SELCO head office before the hotel. All it took was a little help from the conductor, who waved his hand in the right direction.

The poverty is visible: The houses, the women washing clothes and cooking on smoky fires open fires, the cows on the street, the large number of stray dogs and the rubbish. But strangely, this is a place I will get used to and I have been prepared for the culture shock. When I arrived the roads were mainly clear however as its got later the traffic has got heavier, and I have had to re-learn the way to cross a road safely, without being run over by a rickshaw, motorcycle or moped (there are no pavements)

I am being shown around the SELCO head office later today, and am taking an overnight bus on Sunday night to Ujire, where my placement is based. I am hoping to spend some of the day tomorrow exploring Bangalore city centre.