The Road to Wellington

(19 May) After a sweltering week in Delhi, it was finally time to pack things up and head south to my home for one year, Wellington Cantonment. My flight was scheduled on Jet Air with a stop through Mumbai on the way to Coimbatore, the nearest airport to Wellington. Unfortunately, dust storms in Delhi had delayed air traffic and we departed Delhi about an hour late. This turned into a six-hour delay in Delhi since my connection from Mumbai came and went while I was still en route. The wait itself wasn't too bad--Jet Air put us up in their first-class lounge and provided food and drink until our new flight was ready to board. The downside turned out to be that the new flight was on Jet Air's budget airline, Jet Lite. Apparently the "lite" part of Jet Lite applies to many aspects of their service, but most notably leg room. The two hours from Mumbai to Coimbatore were spent with my knees pressed firmly into the flimsy tray table in front of me. I was happy to finally get off the plane in Coimbatore around 8 pm that evening. Thankfully, the Coimbatore airport is much less hectic than Delhi or Mumbai, and I quickly gathered my luggage and found my driver for the next year, Pinto, waiting to take me to my new home. Wellington is only about 90 km from Coimbatore, however, the ride takes about two and a half hours. The entire way is along a two-lane road that slowly winds itself up along numerous switchbacks and hairpin turns into the Nilgiri Hills of southern India. The whole stretch is clogged with huge Tata trucks which take up just a bit more than one whole lane of traffic. This causes the driver to leap-frog from truck to truck--speeding along until you're right behind the next truck--then flashing lights, honking, and swerving until you manage to find a semi-blind corner in which you can pass. In between truck passings (and sometimes during), you drift between lanes trying to avoid scooters, tuk-tuks, pedestrians, and the occasional livestock. This ride must be experienced to be believed. I think maybe I should give Pinto a raise... Anyway, just before midnight I made it to my new house on Gorkha Hill in Wellington--tired, dirty, and a bit disoriented--but ready to get settled in.