May 1: Touch down!

Really glad to have met family and some friends before I flew off to India. Thanks for all the well-wishes. I will try my best to bring back all the goodies and gifts that you all expect, haha.

As I am typing this, I am sitting in my room at the Satyam Technology Centre (STC) at the outskirts of Hyderabad - Secunderabad. It is a very beautiful place with good facilities (kinda reminds me of Downtown East resort, seriously) that was constructed by the Satyam Corporation.

The plane landed at around 11 pm (local time) and we were received by Mr Shyam and his carrier (local slang for driver), Mr Versa. Nice chaps, both of them.

We were then driven to our current lodgings at the STC. The journey from the airport was an eye-opener, especially the way drivers “interact” with each other while navigating the roads.

Cars were honking at each other, overtaking other cars ahead of them, flashing their high-beam lights at drivers, and winding their narrow bodies into the chaotic mass of traffic. Imported and locally-made cars, scooters, bicycles, tuk-tuks (like the ones you see in Thailand and Indonesia) and rickshaws all share the same narrow stretch of road that winds through the city, fighting for every inch of space. Periodic bumps on the road. Cars suddenly braking every now and then. This is traffic life in India. It is truly comical.

And as I think about why I’m here in India, it pretty much seems as if I’m leaving behind many things in Singapore. AIESEC and Blurt. The on-going IDP project with the SMU Ambassadors. A potential local internship. Quality time that can be spent with family and friends. The list goes on.

And of course, time that can be spent with her, getting to know her better, and helping out with her journey to Christ. But I’m really surprised and glad that I bumped into her in school on Tuesday, even if it’s for the briefest of moments. Perhaps this is God’s way of answering my prayers of wanting to see her one more time before I leave.

And yup, I will definitely upload pictures of my first forays in India. Too bad it has to be taken by my lousy N70 with its 2 mega-pixel camera. I simply do not have the cash to buy a new camera, given how much I’m financing for this trip.