Day 1 in Coimbatore: 11/02/12

The fight into Coimbatore was delayed in Singapore.
We arrived at 0045 - feeling soooo tired.
I finally met the girls Aya & Joengran.
Once thru customs we were greeted by Prof.A.Alagarsamy (aka The Professor)
The drive to the hotel was interesting and the rules simple.  One hand on the wheel, one hand on the horn (and just keep honking). The etique is to slow down thru red lights - interesting :)


After a wonderful sleep in I crawled out of bed at 0930. It is amazing what 24 hours of
being awake will do.  The travel from Australia to India was pleasant but slow with
some delays.

At breakfast I caught up with team who had arrived - Aya, Jeongran, Govert & Joe.
Brekky consisted of Indian pancakes and fresh fruit with coffee.
We set out for a walk around the neighborhood.
Lesson 1: How to cross the road!
If you stand and wait for a break in traffic or for the drivers to slow down to let you
cross, then you will become much older from waiting. It doesn't happen!
You need to pick a slight break, focus on your destination, and walk whilst hoping that
everyone else will slow, swerve and generally not run you down :)

Tonight we went for a walk to see the neighborhood and then out to dinner.
Walking is a very 'up & down' experience spent between footpath road.  All the time dodging traffic whilst being serenaded by the sounds of horns from auto rickshaws, bikes and cars.  The traffic is full on but it seems to work (if not by road rules then some other greater power).
Walking is a sensory experience (sight, smell & sound) all mixed together with a warm Indian temperature.

The guy in the hut in the middle of the road is a human traffic light. He manually directs traffic by holding a red & green light.  He was doing a pretty good (2+).

Dinner was lovely.  My first true Indian meal has surpassed all 'Aussie Indian' meals.
There were many layers of flavor and heat - awesome!


The team at dinner.

Driving home in an Auto Rickshaw (great fun)

#ibmcsc #india 15