I landed in Bangalore in the early hours of the morning yesterday. Customs and immigration on arrival was pretty much a non-event. Actually, the only hassle was when I was leaving the US and the staff at United tried to keep me from boarding the plane without a return ticket. I explained that since I have a five-year business visa (which stipulates that I cannot stay in India for more than 180 consecutive days--sounds like a good excuse to visit other countries in the region every six months or so), I don't need a return ticket. And finally, after 20 minutes on the phone, he informed me that I was correct and let me go.
Getting from the airport in Bangalore to the apartment where I am staying while I get settled was a bit more difficult. The taxi driver did not have navigation on his smartphone (apparently more and more drivers are using Google Maps and other apps to navigate) and my US SIM card did not allow me to connect to the internet to navigate. We were only a few blocks away from where we needed to be, but neither of us knew the neighborhood, and no one was on the street to give us directions since it was 4am. Finally, I called a friend on the driver's phone and she helped direct us to the apartment.
Then, after dropping off my bags, getting some sleep and settling in a little bit, I booked a ticket for an overnight bus from Bangalore to Chennai (about 350km or 220 miles). I took an auto-rickshaw (a 3-wheel taxi, also called a tuk-tuk in some parts of the world) to the bus station and boarded my bus. Instead of seats, this bus had beds. There were five rows of beds, with three beds per row, and two levels. I was happy to have a bottom bunk, and one that was on the side of the aisle with only one bed. (Picture an aisle between beds B and C in the arrangement AB C.) The bunk had an outlet for charging a phone (actually, the outlet in my bunk was broken, so I was glad I charged my phone before leaving) and a sheet over the bed (I brought my sleeping bag, rather than using bus-provided linens).
I got a good night's sleep and arrived in Chennai a little before 5 in the morning. The bus driver pointed me to the city train and I bought a ticket for 5 rupees (about 8 cents) and rode the train for 45 minutes until I reached my stop. Since it was still 6am when I arrived, there weren't a lot of transport options, and I wasn't sure which way to go, I took a ride from the first auto-rickshaw that I found. He refused to take me for less than 150 rupees, which I grudgingly accepted (I'm not a morning person and did not feel like aggressively bargaining). It ended up being a 7 minute ride, so I felt duly ripped off (the proper fare, even with a premium for the fact that it was early morning would be about 40 rupees), but I was just happy to be done traveling.
Getting from the airport in Bangalore to the apartment where I am staying while I get settled was a bit more difficult. The taxi driver did not have navigation on his smartphone (apparently more and more drivers are using Google Maps and other apps to navigate) and my US SIM card did not allow me to connect to the internet to navigate. We were only a few blocks away from where we needed to be, but neither of us knew the neighborhood, and no one was on the street to give us directions since it was 4am. Finally, I called a friend on the driver's phone and she helped direct us to the apartment.
Then, after dropping off my bags, getting some sleep and settling in a little bit, I booked a ticket for an overnight bus from Bangalore to Chennai (about 350km or 220 miles). I took an auto-rickshaw (a 3-wheel taxi, also called a tuk-tuk in some parts of the world) to the bus station and boarded my bus. Instead of seats, this bus had beds. There were five rows of beds, with three beds per row, and two levels. I was happy to have a bottom bunk, and one that was on the side of the aisle with only one bed. (Picture an aisle between beds B and C in the arrangement AB C.) The bunk had an outlet for charging a phone (actually, the outlet in my bunk was broken, so I was glad I charged my phone before leaving) and a sheet over the bed (I brought my sleeping bag, rather than using bus-provided linens).
I got a good night's sleep and arrived in Chennai a little before 5 in the morning. The bus driver pointed me to the city train and I bought a ticket for 5 rupees (about 8 cents) and rode the train for 45 minutes until I reached my stop. Since it was still 6am when I arrived, there weren't a lot of transport options, and I wasn't sure which way to go, I took a ride from the first auto-rickshaw that I found. He refused to take me for less than 150 rupees, which I grudgingly accepted (I'm not a morning person and did not feel like aggressively bargaining). It ended up being a 7 minute ride, so I felt duly ripped off (the proper fare, even with a premium for the fact that it was early morning would be about 40 rupees), but I was just happy to be done traveling.
