Friday, February 23, 9:20p EDT: Immediately after pushing back from the gate in New York to begin the 13.5 hour trip to Mumbai, the piolot came over the PA system and stated that a passenger had become ill and chose not to make the flight, so due to FAA regulations, her luggage needed to be found and removed from the plane before we could take off. Two hours later, we were finally airborne. It was an uneventful flight and not as long as one would think a 13.5 hour flight would seem.
One nice thing I noted about international flights is that passengers have more freedoms to stand up, walk around, chat with other passengers in the aisles, and help themselves to beverages and snacks at the flight-attendant stands. For a couple of hours, I stood and talked with my fellow S1 travellers. I listened to the Delta-provided musci selections, watched The Queen, and even watched an episode of House. I then took 1/2 an Ambien and took a nice 4 hour nap, waking up just in time to be served breakfast.
We landed in Mumbai on Saturday, about 11:30pm local time, went through customs with no problems and waited for our luggage. My bag was one of the last to fall through the chute, and I was becoming nervous that it had gotten removed from the plane in New York in the airlines' quest to remove the ill passenger's bag. But finally it came through, and we were off into city of Mumbai. My first sight when I left the doors of the airport was a mass of humanity milling about, many of whom were carrying signs with people's names. We found our names on the signs carried by memebers of the Hyatt Hotel where we were booked for the night. They were extremely polite and friendly and helpful.
I met a "friend" on my way to the car. A little girl, not older than 10, dressed in a pretty but rather dingy, dirty dress, wearing a headscarf. She tapped my forearm and when I looked at her, she motioned toward her mouth with her hand to indicate hunger. I smiled at her and shook my head no. Big mistake. She followed me until we got to our car, tapping my arm very gently and motioning toward her mouth. After I got into the car, she continued her tapping, now on the window of the car. She persisted until we backed away.
The drive to the hotel was very short but already I got a small taste of driving in India. Indians drive on the right, fast, with frequent use of the horn as an absolutly necessary precautionary tool. Cars share the road with motorized rick-shaws, pedestrians, bicycles, dogs, goats, and motorcycles, with or without side-cars. Lanes are painted but seem to be more recommendation than rule.
The Hyatt Regency Mumbai is an exquisite hotel. We were there for a very short stay, awaiting our flight to Pune on Sunday morning.
One nice thing I noted about international flights is that passengers have more freedoms to stand up, walk around, chat with other passengers in the aisles, and help themselves to beverages and snacks at the flight-attendant stands. For a couple of hours, I stood and talked with my fellow S1 travellers. I listened to the Delta-provided musci selections, watched The Queen, and even watched an episode of House. I then took 1/2 an Ambien and took a nice 4 hour nap, waking up just in time to be served breakfast.
We landed in Mumbai on Saturday, about 11:30pm local time, went through customs with no problems and waited for our luggage. My bag was one of the last to fall through the chute, and I was becoming nervous that it had gotten removed from the plane in New York in the airlines' quest to remove the ill passenger's bag. But finally it came through, and we were off into city of Mumbai. My first sight when I left the doors of the airport was a mass of humanity milling about, many of whom were carrying signs with people's names. We found our names on the signs carried by memebers of the Hyatt Hotel where we were booked for the night. They were extremely polite and friendly and helpful.
I met a "friend" on my way to the car. A little girl, not older than 10, dressed in a pretty but rather dingy, dirty dress, wearing a headscarf. She tapped my forearm and when I looked at her, she motioned toward her mouth with her hand to indicate hunger. I smiled at her and shook my head no. Big mistake. She followed me until we got to our car, tapping my arm very gently and motioning toward her mouth. After I got into the car, she continued her tapping, now on the window of the car. She persisted until we backed away.
The drive to the hotel was very short but already I got a small taste of driving in India. Indians drive on the right, fast, with frequent use of the horn as an absolutly necessary precautionary tool. Cars share the road with motorized rick-shaws, pedestrians, bicycles, dogs, goats, and motorcycles, with or without side-cars. Lanes are painted but seem to be more recommendation than rule.
The Hyatt Regency Mumbai is an exquisite hotel. We were there for a very short stay, awaiting our flight to Pune on Sunday morning.
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