#3 Arrival in Ahmedabad

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Well, change of plans. We arrived at the airport on time and immediately went back 50 years in much of the culture. We disembarked on stairs that were rolled out to meet the plane. Shuttle buses were parked near the stairs to transport passengers to the immigration office of the airport. A variety of large planes sat around the parking lot indicating that this was normal at Ahmedabad International airport. It was very much a “third world” feeling I had reminding me of a trip to Ethiopia five years ago. However, I think the airport in Addis Abba is still a nicer airport. The building looked to be at least fifty years old, very institutionally designed with little regard for aesthetics. (I later found out this was the new part, only about a year old!) Everything is dirty and appears to be disorganized. You line up to get your passport stamped then proceed around the corner to baggage claim. It seemed everyone took advantage of the free baggage cart (or trolley) and before long every spare inch of floor space is a congestion of carts and people waiting for their baggage to come around the track. Fortunately, my suitcase made it without incident. I retrieved it and retreated a safe distance before the mob pressed in. Brian was not so lucky. He waited and waited for the small suitcase that he had checked. Just when he was about to give up he pressed back through the mob, found his bag, retrieved it, and we proceeded to the end of the room where bags were being x-rayed to leave the airport! No questions or inspections, just x-rays, procedures and chaos. We then waited in another line to exchange some greenbacks for rupees (42.5 cents for 100 rupees). This economy will take some getting used to. My 100 USD turned into 4250.00 rupees. At least for a while I’ll feel like a rich man. One final check point and we were out the door in the dark and tropical evening. It was 85 degrees at midnight.

Once outside the Ahmedabad airport it was very similar to the atmosphere surrounding the Addis Abba airport, on the dirt parking lot a mob of people and taxi drivers lined the fence to greet the arriving passengers. As we emerged from the building, Brian spotted his brother-in-law, Everett McCoy, who was there to meet us along with the local pastor, J.P. who is the coordinator of the annual conference. They had procured the services of a taxi driver named Jackson. We found out that they use his services frequently because he is also a Christian.

Jackson had to tie three of the suitcases on the top of the Toyota SUV type vehicle that served as his taxi. Pastor J.P. sat up front with Jackson. Brian and I sat in the second seat and Everett took the drop down seat in the baggage area of the vehicle. What I thought would be a short trip to a local hotel turned into an hour and a half journey to the city of the conference, Anand. Even though it was dark outside it was immediately apparent that this is not your normal North American town. The British influence is seen in the cars and on the road system. Traffic travels on the left side of the roads—well, they are supposed to—and the steering wheel is on the right side. Our driver honked and flashed his lights at anyone who took too long to get over and move out of our way. Fortunately, as we got out of the city we were able to take a new highway and the traffic was greatly diminished.

We arrived at the Surabhi Regency Hotel in Anand about 2:30 AM. Pastor J.P. and Everett were hungry so they ordered room service and I retired to my room, room 405. It was a Spartan room with all the necessities provided. It contained a full sized bed, a four inch mattress covered only with a sheet, two folded blankets and two strips of rough sheet-like material for covering, and two very thin pillows. There was a window A/C unit and an overhead fan. Those were essential luxuries in this tropical climate. The floor was ceramic tile and the entire bathroom was tiled. It had the European style shower, basically a spray spout and a drain in the floor, a sink and toilet. They provided the complementary bar of hotel soap and a towel … nothing else. They don’t use toilet paper. I didn’t ask how they handled hygiene. I was just glad I brought a small pack of Kleenex. I also brought antibacterial hand sanitizer which I used faithfully … especially after shaking lots of hands! Sounds like I have a phobia of germs. Actually, my goal is to make it all week without getting sick! The room had a closet, four hangers, a counter / desk top, a small television, two sitting chairs, a small coffee table, and a gliding love seat (kind of like a twin size rocker except it swings rather than rocks … if that makes sense).

The sheets were somewhat stained so I used one of the blankets to cover the sheet and pillows. I put the sheet strip over the blanket, and then used the remaining sheet strip and blanket for covering once it got cool enough to cover up. I had no trouble going to sleep.