Travelling across India can be quite an adventure. I have
had some of the greatest, most unforgettable experiences. The airport closest
to GUNTUR is called Vijayawada, and is currently in the midst of a large
planned expansion. It is quite a departure from the advanced Bangalore airport,
(which is also actually under a bit of construction at the moment), yet
becoming quite fancy and forward, inside and out. I have flown into and out of
the Bangalore airport 6 or 7 times, and yet this is the first time that I
returned to find FLOWERS planted in the middle of the luggage conveyor belts.
There were different plants on each one, all absolutely gorgeous. Pictures above of the Bangalore airport.
Looking at flowers while waiting for your luggage was a genius idea by someone,
as waiting for luggage can be a stressful time, and colorful horticulture is
calming! As we returned from Guntur, there was a Japanese group on our plane.
As they reached Bangalore, the Japanese guide inside the Bangalore airport was
holding the Japanese flag to bring everyone together. The group moved to the
conveyor belt and as I was reviewing my pictures, I noticed this guide was
still gripping that Japanese flag as he helped his group retrieve luggage from
the conveyor belt! (as seen above....Now, that is a devoted travel guide.)
As the new capital of AP is currently being re-named (?)
(news occurring literally this week), and there are plans for this capital to be close to
this airport, the air traffic is expected to increase quite a bit, I would
assume. Currently, most people who read this blog will not be able to compare,
but the best comparison I have of Vijayawada Airport, near Guntur in the state
of Andhra Pradesh, is to the New Bern, NC Coastal airport, in North Carolina,
USA. About 10+ departures and 10+ arrivals on a given day. In Vijayawada,
SpiceJet, Air Costa and Air India are the carriers. The runway is quite nice
and already expansive, and ready for more traffic NOW in my opinion (as we were
1st for take-off each time, as well as due to the size) but I suppose the innards of the airport
and other parts of the infrastructure need to catch up to the runway. We flew
there and back on the SpiceJet Bombardier, 78 seats, which I can only guess
includes 2 for the pilot and the crew jump seats. Once we got into the air, it
was fine, but you could tell it was hard to “even out” on landings, the plane
was so small, and so anyone who managed to fall asleep during this hour flight,
I am sure remembers this landing! As you exit the airport to board your plane,
there is no computer that scans your ticket, yet rather there is a guy with a
clipboard, and he marks your seat and name manually. I imagine that Vijayawada
will be a completely different airport 5 years from now, and I feel quite lucky
to have been able to snap some pictures (see 1st 4 pics below) while it is under such heavy
construction, so I can say “I was here when……”.
On the way to the airport coming home…..was my first
adventure of “create your own lane” by a cab driver. I have posted a picture of
this, to show the types of vehicles you see in this section of India, and how
cab drivers are not going to sit behind trucks. It is not like in the US, where
there is a possibility of a HIGHWAY PATROL CAR pulling up behind you if you begin
“riding the shoulder”. You can simply create your own lane, and as long as no one gets
hurt, you just move on with your day! While we sat on the shoulder a bit, I snapped a picture of the Good Morning Restaurant, and thought how good of a morning it actually is if you manage to avoid that barbed wire in the lot.
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