#Arrival in India and a crazy taxi ride

08/26: 6:00 AM Alarm goes off. After breakfast and repacking my suitcase, I am filled with excitement as I board the train to the airport at 8:00 AM. Thanks to pre-booked train tickets, I only paid €18.

Arrival at the airport at 9:20 AM. Note: Boarding is supposed to start at 10:05 AM. This is going to be tight, especially since the ICE train is delayed by 10 minutes. So, once again, I run through the airport, not knowing how long the security check will take. I now know the gate. Hmm, it's a shame that I'm too stupid to read signs correctly or that the gate is not even displayed. Oh well, I'll find my way eventually. The man at the counter answers my question about Gate C14 with 'Yes, 16. 16'...um, okay. Thank you very much.

Past passport control. Off to the hand luggage screening.
It's annoying when you have a sleeping bag in your hand luggage and the men are discussing what it should look like on the monitor and whether it's worth opening the suitcase. Apparently, it's not worth it. All is fine. Another passport control and visa check. After a brief confused glance at all the numbers and letters in the e-tourist visa, everything is fine here too. I finally arrive at the right gate 5 minutes before boarding. Yay, let's go. Quickly bought two 0.5L bottles of water for €7 and then it's time to board the plane.

Wow, it's a huge, huge, huge plane. I quickly find my seat. Window seat, yeah. And a nice seat neighbor about my age from India. She speaks English very well, and for me, it's a good opportunity to improve my English. It's going pretty well so far.

It's 10:50 AM. We're taking off. I have to say, flying with Lufthansa on a long-haul flight is really enjoyable. The seats are slightly elevated, so I can stretch my legs comfortably. The entertainment program is also great. Whether it's movies, music, audiobooks, or games, there's something for everyone. After 6 hours of flying, I suddenly feel claustrophobic and have the urge to leave the plane right away, which is not made easier by the sight of fantastic cloud mountains. Well, I guess I'll watch 2 more movies for the remaining 4 hours until landing.

11:50 PM Indian time / 8:20 PM German time, landing in Chennai. Made it! Now, just go through the controls and past the baggage carousel. Thanks to my e-tourist visa, I can go through a separate counter, so I can continue without endless waiting. After everyone has slowly gathered at the baggage carousel and numerous suitcases have already passed by, an airport employee appears after 10 minutes and informs us that the Lufthansa baggage collection is at a different carousel.
No problem, let's go to the next hall. After another 20 minutes of waiting and with the question in the back of my mind whether my backpack will actually come out here, the relief finally comes. Now, let's get out of here quickly.

It's already 12:45 AM. When leaving the air-conditioned airport, I feel like walking against a hot wall. Ouch, not good for glasses wearers. Despite fogged-up glasses, I see Jasmin coming towards me. And after 5 long months, the joy of reunion is huge. But we don't have much time because we want to start the 6-hour taxi ride to Tharangambadi right away.

We let the taxi drive for 6 hours. Sounds relaxing, doesn't it? Well, not in India. It's already unusual that they drive on the left side here. It's quite strange to suddenly find yourself on the left side while the oncoming traffic rushes past on the right. Otherwise, it feels like the drivers drive however they want, whether in the middle, on the opposite lane, or in risky overtaking maneuvers, with frequent use of the horn. Horns are constantly honking here. Every minute, we are accompanied by the honking of other drivers from Chennai. And even on Highway 45, the constant honking and high-beaming doesn't stop. With a safe but still aggressive and unfamiliar driving style, it's really hard for me to close my eyes. We make a short stop every 2 hours.

And of course, as soon as we arrive in India, it starts raining. Well, it was only a light, warm drizzle, but still. (Editor's note: it poured buckets in the meantime - Anni was jetlagged [greetings, Jasmin]). The last hour of the drive is ahead of us. But what's this now? The entire roadway is filled with people in front of us. Thousands of Indians make a pilgrimage to Velankanni on these days, and the onward journey becomes a continuous stop-and-go game due to oncoming traffic. Every 2 minutes, the driver has to find a gap in the middle of the crowd because a car or moped is coming towards us. These maneuvers are very tricky because people just don't step aside. But eventually, the road becomes empty again, and we cover the last kilometers without any incidents.

Welcome to Tharangambadi.

In the next blog post, I will tell you about Tharangambadi, Jasmin's project, and exciting little trips.