The flight was uneventful, except for the observation that flying domestically in India is so much less of a pain in the ass than flying within the US. For starters, you don't have to get halfway undressed to go thru security. Nope, I walked through with my shoes, sunglasses, scarf, and jacket on. Had I been wearing a belt, my disbelief would have been even more exciting. Also, my hydroflask water bottle (thanks again BFF - it's been a life saver!) went through Xray - get this - completely full. They do ask that you not bring liquids and gels in amounts more than 100ml (which is how many ounces, again??), but no damn ziplock baggies necessary. I guess they use the Xray machine to gauge whether the amount of personal products (you know: shampoo, conditioner, lotion, breast milk, KY...) to gauge whether it's a threat to national security. Huh, what a concept.
Getting in to Hyderabad, was easy as pie (er, I mean: kulfi), and we soon had our bags and boxes of materials. After a quick stop into McDonalds (sorry Jai and Anna: I didn't do the Maharaja burger) we met up with our drivers and were soon on our way. Tanya and I were in one car, Sidhartha and JVG in the other.
As Tanya will attest to, my fascination (uh okay, maybe utter fear is a better description) with the driving in Delhi was taken to a whole new level here (yes, some Hawaiian eye candy would have definitely been helpful here). It was similar with one more thing added: extreme speed. I was quickly grateful to have Tanya sitting next to me and willing to talk about anything and everything to keep my mind off of what I wasn't entirely unconvinced might very well be my last day in life. We talked about work, differences in Indian and American cultures, our families, and of course relationships (it seems that men's inability to decide what they really want is true crosses cultural lines).
Two hours into the drive, we stopped at a restaurant in what I could only make out as "in the middle of nowhere". Had this scene been in a Hollywood movie, the music would have abruptly halted and all heads would have turned suddenly, mouths agape, to stare at the white girl entering. Doing my best not to notice the the distraction my presence was creating (little did I know this would be nothing compared to the following day), I followed my team to a table under the out-of-order AC. For lunch, Sidhartha, JVG, and Tanya all discussed what would be the "safest for Sara" option. They decided on something that I can't remember the name for at this late hour, but I must say, it was a decision that the three of them didn't seem completely confident in. I immediately thought of the Nature's Valley granola bar I had in the car. That could be sufficient.... "This will be fine, Sara," JVG said, this time a little more convincing. "And it won't be too spicy." Okay, I trust JVG. And then that trust was broken. Not too spicy? Really? Should my lips be on fire and should my eyes be watering this much? Not wanting to be the wimp though, I continued trying the different sauces. And then I looked up at Sidhartha to see him sweating profusely and then over to Tanya who was desperately chugging her water. Finally JVG said "Yes, this is the spiciest its ever been." Hallelujah! It's not just me.
After surviving that (though I wondered if my tastebuds and lips might launch a revolt against me), we continued our journey. I busied myself with playing with the camera, shooting at different shutter speeds out the window. The rest of the team slept. How am I the only one in this car that is at all concerned (and therefore not at all sleepy) that we may be the subject of a head-on collision?
After checking into our hotel in Warrangal, we met in the hotel bar for snacks (this time mostly mild, thank God) and some adult beverages. What, no tequila?!?! What kind of bar IS this? In the end, it was probably a good thing. With the early morning planned for the next day, the last thing I needed was a hangover, something one of my teammates would the next day wish he had thought of....
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