Earplugs Required

Every driver of a car, autorickshaw, minivan, microvan, bus, and truck seems to feel obligated to use their horn every chance they can. The noise pollution is incredible as you travel the streets of India. Anyone traveling to India should pack a set of earplugs if they want to save their hearing.

This morning we flew from Delhi to Varanasi, about 420 miles. India has undergone an explosion in privately held discount airlines just like the U.S. did a few years ago. There is Jet Airways, Kingfisher, Spice Air, GoAir, DeccanAir, and several others. While the quality of their service is better than Air India, they are all having financial problems. Jet and Kingfisher just signed a business alliance (a precursor of merger). Jet tried to layoff 1,500 employees to save money, but demonstrations forced them to cancel the plans (only in India could this happen).

After checking into the Taj Hotel Ganges, we took a rickshaw ride through the city. The rickshaw-wallahs (drivers) work incredibly hard and you feel sorry for them. But the alternative is no work at all, so you realize that what they are doing is earning a living so they can eat. It is better than no job.

The chaos in the cities is unreal, but it is reality. People dump their garbage on the streets and the cows and dogs eat what they want. Cows are everywhere and traffic has to avoid hitting them because they are sacred. Their are thousands of small shops that sell everything imaginable. One Walmart would put them all out of business, but the shop owners would probably demonstrate in the streets and force the government to pay them to stay open.

Pictures to follow tomorrow.