Lessons on India

We arrived in Bangalore this morning at 4:30am local time. We've been traveling for about 24 hours, and have managed about 4 hours total sleep during that time. The Bangalore airport is brand new and very nice. Customs and Immigration were both very quick and easy, despite the fact there were several flights arriving at that hour. All of our luggage arrived (thankfully!), and we were able to quickly change some dollars to rupees and exit the airport to find Shankar, our driver.

The Bangalore airport is about 45 minutes away from downtown, and I'm sure the ride is quite harrowing when the roads are packed. The roads are not lit, and there are random speed bumps on what appears to be a highway, which requires the drivers to slow down to a crawl.

Some of the lessons we have learned so far:

• The driver of the car sits on the right-hand side, and traffic is on the wrong side of the road.
• The lines painted on the road are optional. There should be three lanes of traffic, but it's common to straddle the lines and have only two lanes of traffic moving.
• Horns are not used in anger or aggression - horns are honked very regularly as a notification that we're approaching on your right and will be passing you.
• Cows and dogs roaming the street is standard practice.
• Superior service is highly valued. We walked into the lobby, and had four employees asking us if we needed help. Our luggage has been carried everywhere for us. Rooms are cleaned and tidied immediately upon your departure, so that everything is spotless upon your return.

If you're worried about our security, things are definitely safe here. There are guards outside with rifles, all visitors must go through a metal detector, and the luggage is hand screened by security. The hotel also has a manned gate, so we're in our own little fortress.

I'll try to post some pictures from our hotel room later today... but for now, I'm going to nap :)