Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
There are so many things about India that are enchanting and endearing. One of the first things you cannot help but notice is the commitment to security. Starting with the airport, there are very visible military presence everywhere, all toting machine guns. The airports are also off-limits if you are not carrying a paper copy of your plane ticket/reservation. As you approach the door to the terminal, an armed guard is waiting to see your print out and passport. Forget showing the e-ticket on your smart phone - here it is paper only!!! Similarly, as you arrive by car to any facility; hotel, shopping center, etc. the car is stopped by armed guards and the driver must open the hood and trunk of the car for inspection before you are permitted entry. There are posts that come up out of the ground and block the way until the guards grant entry. Once the vehicle passes, you and any bags you are carrying must go through security screening. This is just like at an airport, bags on the belt and women and ushered into a curtained booth for private wand screening and pat down. Once inside, you also have enhanced security in your room. Each room, regardless of the cheapest or most expensive hotel I stayed in, had a door bell plus a neat feature that is in place of a deadbolt. It just looks like a little switch that you toggle on/off, but what it does is attach a chain to the door so that if the door is opened without toggling the switch off, the chain blocks the door from opening.
All rather genius, charming, and they go a long way to helping a solo female traveler feel secure!!
Another observation is how formal many Indians are, particularly those working in hospitality. I don't think I've ever been "ma'am'd" so much in my life!
But then there are the contrasts, like the traffic. I thought Bangkok free-for-all was the worst, but India is something else all together. All large trucks have "OK blow horn" painted on the back and "use dipper at night". This basically means honk as you are attempting to pass and/or are passing. On the inside or outside is OK. At night the rule seems to be to flick your high beams instead. It all works although can be quite unnerving as you push your way through what appears to be immovable traffic. There are subtle hand signals too. The driver is supposed to put his hand out the window and gesture whether it's OK to pass ( slight flick of hand/fingers forward) or to wait, a gesture downwards. It all seems to work and you rarely see frustration in the drivers. The honk is not so much a "hey, a******, get out of the way!" as much as it is an "excuse me please, coming through!" Again, India's contrasts and extremes, while unsettling and nerve wracking at the beginning end up being quite charming in the end.
- comments