Wanted - a budget airline

---

I bade a farewell to Calcutta this morning, taking the ~6AM train to Bhubaneswar in Orissa. I was lumbered with a neighbour who not only insisted on encroaching on my elbow and leg space, despite being about 8 inches shorter than me, but had one of the most phlegm-filled snores that I've encountered in this life.

With my stomach still not keen on being fed anything, I didn't want to slum it so I went for a mid-range hotel not far from Bhubaneswar station. The bathroom was absolutely sparkling, to the point where it almost made my eyes hurt. They also had an on-site travel agent, who I consulted with regard to flights to Chennai (aka Madras) - $235 was the price I was quoted, which seemed excessive for a 2 hour flight. (After looking at the itinerary for my remaining 7 weeks, I had realised that I would have to take 2 or 3 flights rather than go by train, in order to cover some large distances that would otherwise result in me running out of time). I looked it up on the web, and the price seemed to be $143, though it was hard to tell if this included all the taxes, admin fees, etc.

Though Orissa is meant to be one of the poorest states in India, I would not have guessed that from Bhubaneswar. Not that the place was dripping with 22nd century opulence, but it was certainly cleaner and less chaotic than my usual benchmark for grimness (i.e. Delhi)

My first visit was to the Post Office, as I needed to post something to the US that could not take longer than 2 weeks to arrive. Unfortunately my options were either a Rs 15 stamp, which would take 2-3 weeks, or a Rs 425 service, that would take substantially less. Since a couple of hundred dollars were at stake if the letter failed to arrive in time, I was forced to go with the latter option (which equates to 1 night in a reasonable hotel).

Next up was the Indian Airlines office, who claimed ignorance of the $143 web fare to Chennai, and also quoted $235. With time being more important than money at this stage of the trip, I forked out the readies.

The heat and humidity here seem to be significantly higher than Calcutta, and they were tiring me out even more than my lack of food intake, but by evening I had a little bit of an appetite, so I had a small amount of fried rice. I hope this clears up soon, as otherwise I won't get the chance to sample any Orissan cooking.

---