I sadly bid good-bye to my new friends earlier today and set out in a cab for the Cochin airport. My cab driver was a real chatty Cathy and filled me in on all kinds of sociological phenomena Shagzil overlooked. (Just kidding Shagzil!)

For example, people in Kerala don’t like people from Delhi because they think that because the federal government is there they are better than everyone else. They honk their horns all the time because they are basically aggressive and that’s why their cars are all dented. (There may be some truth to the last assertion. Most of the cars in Delhi are dented, not the case in Cochin.) People from the Punjab, however, are perfect. I don’t think he was from the Punjab, so I must take this claim seriously.

For another example, the crime rate in Kerala (the state Cochin is in) and the Punjab is increasing faster than in any other states in India, thus there is little hope for future generations. Corruption in politics is rife but people don’t mind if the politicians get all the money so long as they do something for it. I have no way to ascertain the veracity of these claims and seriously wish Shagzil were here to comment. But the cab driver clearly thinks they are true because he prefaced them by saying that this is what people will tell you if you ask them “deeply.”

A road sign on the way to the airport stated: drive carefully, life has no space.

Airport security is not the same all over. Here shoes don’t matter, leave them on. Liquids are not a concern, leave them in your carry-on. But be sure to take your laptop and cell phone out of your bag and put them in a tray. Walk through the electronic sensors, but don’t think you’re done. “Gents” and “Ladies” must pass through different sensors and then stand on raised, and sometimes curtained, platforms to be wanded and possibly frisked. I have yet to see full body scanners, yay. More men than women travel, by a long shot. Separate lines for women and men proved a definite advantage for me; I’m no great judge of the ratio of men to women traveling but I would guess it would be about 50 to 1.

Now that I am awaiting my flight to Newark and Vancouver I am starting to re-enter the West. Culture shock number two on this trip: I was standing in line waiting for check-in to start. I was first in line with two men behind me. A Continental Airlines representative asked us to follow him to a podium for questioning about our luggage – did you pack it, did anyone give you anything to carry for them – I haven’t been asked those questions for years! So off the three of us trotted. The two men behind me ensured they were in line at the podium before me. Welcome to the West where gallantry has gone the way of the dodo bird. I may be mistaken but I think Indian men would have ushered me through to the front. And if I am wrong, I hope no one will correct me!

Sat sri akal, nameskar and asalaam alaykum.