Reaching There......

I had 3 flights to catch to reach my destination-Mumbai-Bangkok,Bangkok- Melbourne, Melbourne -Small town.Some you would know my reluctance to reveal too much information..I guess most of you would have to live it !!
I requested for and got a Window seat on this flight.It was a small compensation
for the time the Airliens kept the check-in counter closed.In the end I
ended up waiting for a good 3 -3.5 hours before i boarded the flight.The first
thing that one would note is the decor of the aircraft .....the seats were
multicolored, yellow, green, violet and pink And the cabin stewards/esses had
similar matching uniforms..was it a Kimono??Having eaten 10 PArle G biscuits
and drunk 1 litre of water in the last 12 hours,I was pretty tired to really
analyse tht bit.I had just about settled into my window seat,when someone
requested me to change my seat,as I was alone and the had another friend with him.He was offering me an aisle seat which was not a bad deal.Why me!!! I din't have a good excuse to refuse the guy!! I come on time to check in and lost my seat! Thats not fair at all!

But then I must admit tht there are quite a lot of disadvantages traveling alone or for tht matter even, renting a house in a city like Mumbai.Most house owners looked at my breed with contempt.Housing societies have got by-laws which say no flats can be rented out to bachelors!!!! Pretty soon,signboards which say 'Dogs and Salesmen Not Allowed' will have a new addition to it.
Well,4 and half hour flight was interesting .One of the major attractions for most Indian travelers is the free booze available on international flights.I had noticed this during my first visit abroad almost five years ago.It seems, the phenomenon just got worse.My co-passenger,ordered 3 glasses-whisky,wine and vodka when the drinks trolley started its journey from one end of the aircraft.With in 15 minutes,as the trolley was making its way back, and the guy with two untouched glasses on his table,orders for more.This was met with a strong rebuttal from the Air hostess asking him to finish his glass first.Poor guy muttered a selection of hindi words that only one my friends(invitees) to this blog will be able to understand.My plans of having a quick dinner and going to sleep did not materialize as the gentleman on my right was overflowing out his seat into mine...:( Economy class travel....you cant blame about seat sizes...I guess,like Luggage restrictions,seats should also be designed and priced accordingly...Isn't that a great incentive for people who want to lose weight!! Me included!!
The 2.5 hour stop-over at Bangkok airport ended up being a battle to board the plane to Melbourne!!.The airlines did not do a through check in from Mumbai.The lady informed me that the luggage would be transferred directly at Bangkok.Anyways was a little surprised on the preference given to my luggage!!!At Bangkok it took me exactly 1.5 hours to get my boarding pass for the next flight.By the time I reached the gate,boarding had already started.I had a 12 hour stop over at Bangkok when i return,will have time to see the airport. As someone told me recently,I love spending time more time at airports than the cities that they are meant to connect.

The flight to Melbourne was 9 hours .Finally managed to get my sleep.Just as we were about to reach Melbourne,the air hostess handed me the immigration form for Australia.It asked a lot of details and informed the consequences of filling in the wrong information,,,,for a minute or two I dint know what to write or tick...Here is the sample list of questions(to the best of my knowledge)
1)Are you carry any articles that have soil attached to it(eg shoes,sports equipment)---(I had shoes and sandals..Luckily I did not carry my sports shoes and I was trying to remember what state the soles of my sandals and shoes were when I packed them.The only comforting thought was that I had polished my leather shoes a couple of days before I started from Mumbai.But, what does the word soil mean--dust,mud!!!!!!)
2) Packed food,meat,flora,fauna etc.....(I was more than happy that I dint have the habit of carrying any fodstuff when i travel.)
3)This was the best one--Prohibited Articles like narcotics,weapons,medicines....(The last one was interesting...I dint know how to answer the question...I dint know if standard medicnes for fever would be covered in the list of prohibited medicines...For tht matter,what about the bottle of shampoo?I was contemplating what to do- if decide to tick mark this point,I would be clubbed along with people who had much more dangerous stuff..
In the end,I ticked both (shoes and medicines),the immigration officer marked something on my card with a pencil which made no sense to me...and asked me stand in a particular line(there were couple of more lines.)It was a long winding queue of almost 50 people ....leading into another room which was blocked from view.....
After dreading about wht awaited me in quarantine,I was pleasantly surprised my baggage was just x-rayed.all the while noticed open suitcases and boxes of many other passengers..There was an indian couple with a large carton full of food...I have no idea wht happened to the food....or the couple..
What awaited me outside customs at Melbounre was a 13 hour stay at the airport for 1 hour flight to my destination...
Actually,I don't have the patience to write anything about the night or the flight....
Writing takes up a lot of time and effort :)
By the way,the last flight was a 20 seater (2 seats on one side and one on the other) like thos mini buses we have in India.There was no overhead compartment to store the luggage.I struggled to fit my laptop under the seat... and i will never forget the descent of the plane to my final destination over the indian/pacific (no idea) ocean to the airport..The way the plane was swaying in the wind uncontrollably ,there were couple of times where i felt tht I would lose my heart because it was ready to jump out of my mouth.(See,I have never been able to do tht in my life and there wasn't a pretty air hostess or anything)..

Start of a Long and Lonely Journey Down Under

Well,I always felt that corporate travel was great.You get the best airlines,the best seats and best places to visit but then the flight was a long way off.......

15 January 6 PM - The travel agent of a big Indian MNC informs me that he is trying to get me tickets on a direct flight to Sydney for 8:30 PM on the 16 Th and asked me the keep my bags ready...that sent me s scampering to get forex and medical insurance ready.With a lot of help from my office colleague,I make plans to get these two things done by 12 pm the next day..a good 4.5 hours before the reporting time for the flight from Mumbai airport.

16 Janaury 11 AM: I am staying put somewhere in New Bombay so that I can make a single trip to my office to collect the tickets and insurance and directly go to the airport.I call up the agent to find out the status and he informs,as has been the routine over the last few days tht he couldn't manage to get any tickets.You sometimes wonder why do some people not understand that there is entire chain of events that will be set off based on their information.Anyways,with no tickets,I suddenly realise that I better start for office and mark my attendance.I did not want to take any of my precious leaves that I have been accumulating for the last 6-7 months for no reason at all.

16 January 12 PM: I am in one of those rickety State Transport Buses,in the middle of nowhere when the agent tells me that I have got a confirmed ticket for the evening and have to report at the airport latest by 8 PM.

From then on till I reached the airport it was one hell of a journey.
1PM -Somehow reached Office
4 PM-Caught a cab to new mumbai to pick up my luggage
5:20 PM:Reached my place of stay...Dressed up for an international flight in with no lights because of the power cut.....if you can call jeans and a pair of striped,formal full sleeve shirt and a sandal ..I though what the heck,,,,you have everyone traveling in shorts and bath room slippers ,at least i was decently dressed.

5.30PM- Took the same cab to the airport.............On the way realised that I had skipped lunch ..bought a small pack of Parle G and some water
7:45 :Reached the airport just in the nick of time (people from mumbai would appreciate the fact that going from central mumbai-new mumbai-andheri(in the evening peak hours) in 3.5 hrs is a decent achievement

Well,I did manage to catch my flight Gave me a strange sense of achievement........Still don't know why on earth i was feeling so good about reaching the airport.... The flight offered me a quick exit for some of the troubles over the last few weeks..looking forward to a decent place to stay for the next few months....... only time will tell......