Jetrader - September/October 2008 - (Page 20) Sweet Dreams, Nightmarish Travel ©Utkrash Jha/licensed under cc-by-sa-2.0 A personal look at the possibilities of air travel in India By Kristen Chmielewski This is a personal document on the author’s experiences traveling throughout India and is a follow up to “An Up Close and Personal Analysis of Indian Aviation,” which appeared in the July/August 2008 issue of Jetrader. y flight arrived late at Bangalore’s HAL airport around 2:20 a.m. Before I could orient myself to my surroundings, all of us jetlagged passengers were corralled into an immigration and customs clearance checkpoint, which did not distinguish between nationals and foreigners. Searching for any sort of sign or direction, I walked aimlessly into the baggage claim. The fourth luggage cart I wrestled loose had wheels functional enough to squeak toward the lonely baggage claim. I raised my weary face to the lights above as if in anticipation of some sort of heavenly release from this nightmare. I awoke, shaken back into HAL’s grim reality when drops of foul brown water leaked onto my face from cracks in the ceiling. Fighting off pushy porters, outside I was further bombarded by an overwhelming amount of frenzied drivers holding signs, peddlers grabbing onto my skirt and mosquitoes latching on to any available piece of flesh—all of which was compounded by the nauseating stench of stagnant sewage water. Having no previous expectations concerning the infrastructure or facilities within India, upon my startling welcome at HAL I began to fear I was destined for a month in hell. Undoubtedly, as early as the next day I found that Bangalore indeed lived up to its global reputation as one of India’s leading cities. I remain infinitely relieved my reception at HAL did not speak for the city as a whole. M 20 The official publication of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading
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