It was a long trip to get here. I finally made it out of the airports. I spent a few hours in Atlanta, 15.5 hrs on the plane to Mumbai, 10 hours waiting in Mumbai airport and another 5 hrs in Chennai. I started to get so delirious, forgetting what airport I was in and talking with some other travelers, I was already talking about coming back to India. I just loved it so much already. Ha! Ya, the airport is easy. Made it to Madurai, and I can't tell you how good it felt to step off the plane and take a breath of the thick-humid-sweet-fruit-rotting "fresh" air of India. Although I did miss a full night of sleep, I feel pretty good. However, it caught up to me in more ways than one; fatique and frustration..and a lack of energy to keep agressive. The hotel I reserved with in Madurai, said they would have a pick up at the airport; but I did not expect it to be true. I stepped out of the airport and no sign with my name or the hotels name. So I tried to bargain with the pack of taxi drivers; some are just standing around staring and pointing to the taxi, "taxi?" And some are holding laminated signs that show the rates of certain destinations and are wearing all white, which I guess seems official, but really how do you know and what's official in India? I finally half-way trusted the guy and off we went, immersed into the colorful human experience of India. The chaotic traffic did not shock me, nor did the constant beeping to avoid a rickshaw by inches; I trust these drivers and those walking in the road too. Its refreshing in a way. However, the taxi driver himself did not fully gain my trust in knowing where he was going, and if he did, if he would take me there. Yes, fear was running thick in my blood at this point for many reasons, so I definitly did not trust the taxi driver. Especially when he decided to take a detour and show me the temple. He parked and got yelled at by a couple standing in the doorway of their place, for parking there and he insisted on showing me the temple (which I was curious to see being that it is one square kilometer and one of the oldest in south India) BUT he wanted to show me into a building where I could climb to the top to take a picture of the whole thing. Apparently, taxi drivers are able to make big comissions from these sort of detours. The guy at the door seemd all too ready and I said "No, just take me to the hotel" . Already I see and experience the complete contrast here, one moment you have to trust with all your guts, and the next don't trust a word a man says.
