Posted March 2nd, approx 8am Delhi Time, copied from a Word Doc.??
March 1, 2010, London
If someone could please explain to me why employees at Heathrow Airport are so rude, I am listening. I know, I know, in the back of your mind, maybe you’re thinking that it is us, the Americans, that are rude. I swear to you, I smile and ask nicely, and yet every time I have been to Heathrow Airport (several times now) I am treated with disdain and my requests are always ignored with a sneer. So it should have come as no surprise when I needed to clear security today, and asked to have my film hand checked, that they pretty much told me to F*off. “There’s more radiation on the planes than there is in that machine” is what I was told repeatedly. And then “Miss, this is only 120 speed. It will be fine.” Uh…that is 120 film. Not 120 speed. Not surprisingly, they won the argument. I don’t think I ever really stood a chance.
To get to the aforementioned security check, I had been dutifully following signs that said “British Airways Terminal 3”. There were several such signs. And after getting thru the security, having my film blasted with radiation, and finding the British Airways check in, I was (condescendingly) told that I should be in Terminal 5. They haven’t used Terminal 3 for British Airways in 2 years. Perhaps someone should change the signage? Just a thought. I had to retrace all of my steps, and as I passed back thru the security check, a girl was emerging from the area in tears. I guess I’m not the only one to be treated rudely.
March 2, in the air
I am writing this from the back of the plane, next to all of the toilets. Foot traffic is high, but I had to get out of my seat, even if only for 10 minutes. This particular leg of the trip is 8 hours, between London and Delhi. Oh, wait? Had I forgotten to mention that the whole flight plan got a little…messed up? No? Let me quickly summarize the situation. I was supposed to be on 2 flights- one from Boston to Chicago (3 hours) and another from Chicago to Delhi (about 15 hours?). I got to Boston very early. I am always cautious like that, after all, I wouldn’t want to miss a flight. So I get to the gate and park myself right in front of the window, to position myself so that when my plane pulls in, I can’t possibly miss it. Brilliant plan, except for the part where the plane didn’t come in. Well, it did but it was 2 hours late.
Now…if it had been on time, I would have had just an hour between flights. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do the math here. By the time I got to Chicago, my other flight was long gone. They gave me a couple of options…stay in Chicago for 24 hours and catch the next days flight (same time every day) or catch a flight to London, then another flight to Delhi. I took the latter option, as sitting in a hotel room (alone) in Chicago (what would I do in Chicago??) was not terribly appealing. Except, of course, for the time it would have given me to edit wedding photos. But I can edit wedding photos later, right? I figured that as long as I was in travel mode, I’d keep on going.
Which brings me to hanging out in the toilet section of the plane. My ass is killing me! I have been sitting in my seat, squirming around for 7 hours now. And before that for another 7 hours! And before that for 3 hours! And a few hours in between each flight on cold hard floors in the airports. I have watched 2 movies on this flight and was about to watch a third when the man next to me noticed my squirming. He offered a suggestion…that I get up and walk my poor wee ass around a bit. Much better. And I am so revived by this activity that I am writing.
Total time:Left Worcester 12:00pm
In Boston 1pm to 6pm (6hrs)
Fly 6pm to 9pm (3 hrs)
Sit 9pm to 11pm (2 hrs)
Fly 11pm to 6am (7 hrs)
Sit 6am to 9am (3 hrs)
Fly 9am to 5pm (arrive in Delhi) (8 hrs)
Customs probably 2 to 3 hours
Then to a hotel…after travelling for 32 hours.
Now that I add it all up, that’s exactly how long it took me the first time I came here. But coming home was 40! Let’s hope it stays at 32 or below for the return, hmmm?
March 2, from the hotel
Knowing what to expect at the airport this time made it 10 times easier. I breezed thru customs, happily gabbing away to the man that had been seated next to me for the flight. (By the way, I don’t talk to people on planes. I gave it a try this time, and I enjoyed myself very much. He and I will keep in touch.) Then we drag ourselves over to baggage claim. Anyone want to take a guess at how this went? Bingo! My other bag is still in Chicago. Mmmmmm. Gotta love it. So now, instead of camping out in Delhi for a day, I need to camp out for at LEAST 2 days, or until the bag arrives.
Despite having just been in constant motion for about 35 hours, I am wide awake, it is 7am here in Delhi, and I am without several main components to my wardrobe and personal items. Notable among them would be underwear. I know, I know, why weren’t they in my carry one? Well…I thought they were. Turns out, what was in that ziplock bag that appeared to be black undies was the black bag for changing film. Heh he he. Priorities. J I have managed to shower and brush my teeth, and am bopping about the hotel in surgical scrubs- sans underwear and sans socks. The ones from travelling will need to be handwashed and hung to dry for awhile.
I have managed to find the proper power converter for my laptop…no more watching the power level indicator plummet. Nice. (Thanks, dad!) Now I need to go down to the front desk and ask about internet, so I can post all this lovely stuff that has been getting logged into a word document. It will be nice to feel like I am in touch with everyone once I can get online!
I finally made it to Udaipur (5 days of motion...) and this is one of the views from the place I am staying. Usually this bridge is over, well, water. They have had very bad rains the lats few monsoon seasons, and the lake is disappearing. I was going to upload a video of the room I found onto YouTube but didn't count on India's internet being...so...slooooow. It was hard enough to upload these 3 small photos. Hmmmm. Need to reconsider. Maybe everyone will just have to wait until I get home to see most things. Can't do much about the technology infrastructure I guess. Along the same lines, I went to plug my laptop in today (in my room) and I think I blew the outlet. It made an awful noise and died. My laptop is ok. But I can't edit without power...it will die pretty fast. Damage control, damage control. Always doing damage control. My dad might say "operator problems" but not this time. :)
The pre paytaxi stand at The international airport. These men are taxi drivers. They wouldn't let me to the window, I had to stand there for 10 minutes and wait. 
And this is very exciting! THIS is the infamous lost luggage room at the airport in Delhi! The one I always joke is set up like a Home Depot...except for lost luggage. Row after row of these floor to ceiling storage racks, that stretch way back. They lost my luggage (of course) and I had to jump thru 6 hoops to get it back, I got to sneak a shot of the room. This is just a small part of it, I was shooting from the hip, hoping that no one noticed. I have to say, I was terribly disappointed that they replaced the eerie lights on a single long cord, suspended right over the desk, with overhead fluorescents. It take so much of the mood away! In the end, it took 2 days to get my lost bag, and it was a lesson in handling stress. Once I got out of Delhi and on the way to Udaipur, I felt much better. Last night was spent on that train, it was a 14 hour trip. Today was spent being lazy and cleaning up, tomorrow I will go to work.
