02/03/11
Well we made it here alive and in one piece. No bags lots and no major disasters. We got down to London on the tube and arrived at Heathrow airport. I often moan about the lack of integrated public transport but the tube delivered rightinto Terminal 3. The very nice ladies in virgin red outfits were on hand to help us check in and explain that this was no easy jet flight. We were very excited at the prospect of complementary food and drinks on the plane.The leg room was alsosufficent for James which is saying something. We did get a bit of class envy when we say premium economy and first class. Lady James and I wold like to travel style but this may have eaten a sizable amount of our funds so we made do with some free wine and a rather nice travel mask.
Landing in Delhi introduced us to the Indian bureaucracy and timescales. Clearing customs required some forms tobe filled in an an hour wait for the chap to eye me up and down, stamp my passport and wave us through. Our bags were not on the carousel so after some head scratching we found them in a pile near by. After negotiating our way past a large number of soldiers we made it into departures for some more queuing and tickets onwards to Mumbi. A few hours later we were in the air and and then Mumbi. To our great joy our bags were first of the plane and we entered India proper.
We found our airport pick up and waited for the car. Here we were treated to the continual beeping of horns...something that we have come to realise is an essential requirement for driving. Your wheels my be miss aligned, your window hanging out but your horn will certainly work.You must annouce your arrive, departur and general direction by beeping. Failure to beep willbe interpreted as a sign of weakness. Beeping will of course not get you any were any faster
Once at the hotel we checked into the rooms and felt a little overwhelmed. Outside was a continuous stream of beeping cars, men who wantedohelp and dust. It was dark, we had traveled for 24 hours and we were tired. We both thought oh my god what have we done. Will we enjoy ourselves, will we survive? Felling the need forfood we were not brave and opted forthe hotels dining room. We have a variety of curred vegetables and with some dismay realised it was a dry hotel. This encouraged us to become braver as we wanted beer.
We ventured outside, avoided getting run over or a taxi that we did not want and south refuge in the hotel bar just up the road. All went well and we ordered a beer and then another to takeaway but when the bill came it was 50r moor than we had. We tryed to give one of the unopened bees back but the bureaucracy would not allow this a s the receipt had already been printed. Leaving James as a deposit i ventured back to the hotel to change some money. 30 mins later I arrived back to liberate James and return to the hotel and a much needed sleep.
The next day we decided that I had better venture outside. The first obstacle was crossing 4 lane the road which with the Indians unique style of driving had become 6 lanes of traffic all jostling for position and all beeping there horns. We safely navigated our way o the train station and purchased some train tickets and goton the right trin into Mumbi Central. On the ride in we saw may a shanty town and huge numbers of people. Once off the train we wealked through Mumbi. After getting thoroughly lost... that s if we ever knew were we were we alighted upon a spot we decided would be good for lunch.
Whist the menu was in English we had not idea what we were ordering but we were pleasantly surprised by a variety of pickles and fish and rice. The food was served but we were unsure about how to get it from table to mouth. using the bread to pick up food we understood but the bread to food ratio was all wrong. Sensing our concern the waiter kindly ofered us spoon but upon inspecting the locals we discovered that the trick is to pickup some rice with 3 fingers and a thumb and shovel into the mouth with no regard to the mess. James who struggles with a knife and fork took to this immediately and manged to not spill any thing on him or the table. I on the other hand was not so good at this and had food on my face and the table. I eventually opted for the spoon hoping that in time I would master this new skill.
Well we made it here alive and in one piece. No bags lots and no major disasters. We got down to London on the tube and arrived at Heathrow airport. I often moan about the lack of integrated public transport but the tube delivered rightinto Terminal 3. The very nice ladies in virgin red outfits were on hand to help us check in and explain that this was no easy jet flight. We were very excited at the prospect of complementary food and drinks on the plane.The leg room was alsosufficent for James which is saying something. We did get a bit of class envy when we say premium economy and first class. Lady James and I wold like to travel style but this may have eaten a sizable amount of our funds so we made do with some free wine and a rather nice travel mask.
Landing in Delhi introduced us to the Indian bureaucracy and timescales. Clearing customs required some forms tobe filled in an an hour wait for the chap to eye me up and down, stamp my passport and wave us through. Our bags were not on the carousel so after some head scratching we found them in a pile near by. After negotiating our way past a large number of soldiers we made it into departures for some more queuing and tickets onwards to Mumbi. A few hours later we were in the air and and then Mumbi. To our great joy our bags were first of the plane and we entered India proper.
We found our airport pick up and waited for the car. Here we were treated to the continual beeping of horns...something that we have come to realise is an essential requirement for driving. Your wheels my be miss aligned, your window hanging out but your horn will certainly work.You must annouce your arrive, departur and general direction by beeping. Failure to beep willbe interpreted as a sign of weakness. Beeping will of course not get you any were any faster
Once at the hotel we checked into the rooms and felt a little overwhelmed. Outside was a continuous stream of beeping cars, men who wantedohelp and dust. It was dark, we had traveled for 24 hours and we were tired. We both thought oh my god what have we done. Will we enjoy ourselves, will we survive? Felling the need forfood we were not brave and opted forthe hotels dining room. We have a variety of curred vegetables and with some dismay realised it was a dry hotel. This encouraged us to become braver as we wanted beer.
We ventured outside, avoided getting run over or a taxi that we did not want and south refuge in the hotel bar just up the road. All went well and we ordered a beer and then another to takeaway but when the bill came it was 50r moor than we had. We tryed to give one of the unopened bees back but the bureaucracy would not allow this a s the receipt had already been printed. Leaving James as a deposit i ventured back to the hotel to change some money. 30 mins later I arrived back to liberate James and return to the hotel and a much needed sleep.
The next day we decided that I had better venture outside. The first obstacle was crossing 4 lane the road which with the Indians unique style of driving had become 6 lanes of traffic all jostling for position and all beeping there horns. We safely navigated our way o the train station and purchased some train tickets and goton the right trin into Mumbi Central. On the ride in we saw may a shanty town and huge numbers of people. Once off the train we wealked through Mumbi. After getting thoroughly lost... that s if we ever knew were we were we alighted upon a spot we decided would be good for lunch.
Whist the menu was in English we had not idea what we were ordering but we were pleasantly surprised by a variety of pickles and fish and rice. The food was served but we were unsure about how to get it from table to mouth. using the bread to pick up food we understood but the bread to food ratio was all wrong. Sensing our concern the waiter kindly ofered us spoon but upon inspecting the locals we discovered that the trick is to pickup some rice with 3 fingers and a thumb and shovel into the mouth with no regard to the mess. James who struggles with a knife and fork took to this immediately and manged to not spill any thing on him or the table. I on the other hand was not so good at this and had food on my face and the table. I eventually opted for the spoon hoping that in time I would master this new skill.
I'm enjoying this very much! It's nice to hear about what you're up to so often! We just got back from our orlando vacation with Ros, Mum and the others. Little bit different from what you guys are up to! but fabulous nevertheless. We had a great time. Love the house with the pool, loved universal studios and Island of Adventures (Harry Potter etc!), loved Sea World and Aquatica and thought the Magic Kingdom sucked (although Sophie and Mel did enjoy the princesses. ...after an hour and half wait!) Will post some pictures on Facebook, if you have time to check it. So glad you're having a great time. Quite envious, although don't think I'd want to be doing it with the kids quite yet!
ReplyDeleteAm looking forward to hearing more. Love your writing Luke! makes me chuckle :)
Also, Celia would like to see some pictures (as would the rest of us) please!
ReplyDelete