Day 2 Arriving In Mumbai !!
Feb 20, 2011
"Finally off that damn plane!" I said to my sister as we both tiredly walked into the Mumbai airport. Being fully clothethed along with having my very warm jacket on from the flight I had the job of carrying all the bags while walking our way to baggage claim. With my luck the airport had no ventilation and I felt I was about to pass out from how hot I was getting (and tired). As we passed through the airport people couldn't stop staring at my super American sister and I in our brand name clothing and very fair skin compared to the cultured Indians who were roaming amongst the airport. Once we finally made it past a security check point we were on our way to baggage.. at baggage claim we waited and waited.. We were also approached by people who pose as workers just to make money ...I think an older lady may have mistaken me as one of these workers because she asked for my help with her bag lol. As we waited and waited we grew tired...I also began feeling a bit on edge as the thought of the airline loosing our bags kept popping into my mind. Finally after looking at tons of luggage.. we finally saw our bags! The last two bags through!! We loaded up and pushed our way to the exit where we spotted our dad smiling and waving at us!
The first look outside the airport was quite interesting...lots of people.. very colorful.. very cultured! very nice weather (almost perfect) .. and also veery hectic .. as you can already hear the sounds of car horns honking and people aggressively speaking to one another. As we looked around we were approached by a man who my dad told me to follow with the luggage cart... the man moved quickly with a few other men..I pushed and weaved my way through crowds of people to keep pace with him as somewhere he was mentioned to be our driver and not to lose him! Finally we caught up with the men in a crowded parking garage where he tried speaking to my sister and I in Hindi.
Not knowing what to say we both looked dumbfounded and waited for my dad. The man loaded all of our bags as we waited and had us sit in the back of the very small bus (just me, my sister, my dad, and another passenger). As my sister and I waited in the bus my dad waited outside to have a smoke and speak with someone. While sitting another man hopped in and started the bus...locking the doors and begginng to back out... Here Monika started to think we were about to be kidnapped lol. Pounding on the window she finally alerted my dad who calmly put out his cigarette and joined us in the bus. Off to Pune we were!
As we entered the main road of india.. we waited at a very busy stop light.. many people walked by..even a herd of cows walked by!! The sounds of many cars honking their horns and the sounds of busy travelers trying to get to their destination filled the air.
2 hours later in the drive we finally got to take a step onto a non airline India land! We stopped at what looked like some sort of trendy rest stop..it's here where my dad took my sister and I to go buy some Indian snacks and use the restroom.. We bought some Indian chocolate fudge and also purchased some sort of sesame seed round ball cluster.. walking in and out of the bus..I think we may of almost been struck by oncoming cars atleast 2-3 times just in that one little and very busy rest stop!
The rest of the ride was quiet.. I tried again to grab some sleep by using my sisters pillow (which she packed in her carry on...my mother stuffed mine in check in unfortunately).. on my knee and putting my head down..(no success)... I also couldn't catch any sleep due to the fact I kept thinking we were going to get into an accident! On a scale of 1-10 I rate how wild Indians are with driving at an 11 ... I can't believe how insane the driving system was..it's a shock to me that we didn't see atleast - 5-10 accidents on that four hour drive to my dads house in Pune.
Once we arrived in Pune..I was dead tired! I could barely stand let alone lift all the bags into my dads house... My sister was also tired from jet lag...My dad paid the driver..giving him a nice tip. Looking around my dads neighborhood it had such a different feel than any American neighborhood. Even though it was dark out..there was so much scenery and it was very green...and this was just one section of the neighborhood. Unfortunately I was too damn tired to admire the beauty and I just wanted sleep... we entered the house ..unpacked ...learned how to turn on and off the lights lol and went to bed.
Feb 20, 2011
"Finally off that damn plane!" I said to my sister as we both tiredly walked into the Mumbai airport. Being fully clothethed along with having my very warm jacket on from the flight I had the job of carrying all the bags while walking our way to baggage claim. With my luck the airport had no ventilation and I felt I was about to pass out from how hot I was getting (and tired). As we passed through the airport people couldn't stop staring at my super American sister and I in our brand name clothing and very fair skin compared to the cultured Indians who were roaming amongst the airport. Once we finally made it past a security check point we were on our way to baggage.. at baggage claim we waited and waited.. We were also approached by people who pose as workers just to make money ...I think an older lady may have mistaken me as one of these workers because she asked for my help with her bag lol. As we waited and waited we grew tired...I also began feeling a bit on edge as the thought of the airline loosing our bags kept popping into my mind. Finally after looking at tons of luggage.. we finally saw our bags! The last two bags through!! We loaded up and pushed our way to the exit where we spotted our dad smiling and waving at us!
The first look outside the airport was quite interesting...lots of people.. very colorful.. very cultured! very nice weather (almost perfect) .. and also veery hectic .. as you can already hear the sounds of car horns honking and people aggressively speaking to one another. As we looked around we were approached by a man who my dad told me to follow with the luggage cart... the man moved quickly with a few other men..I pushed and weaved my way through crowds of people to keep pace with him as somewhere he was mentioned to be our driver and not to lose him! Finally we caught up with the men in a crowded parking garage where he tried speaking to my sister and I in Hindi.
Not knowing what to say we both looked dumbfounded and waited for my dad. The man loaded all of our bags as we waited and had us sit in the back of the very small bus (just me, my sister, my dad, and another passenger). As my sister and I waited in the bus my dad waited outside to have a smoke and speak with someone. While sitting another man hopped in and started the bus...locking the doors and begginng to back out... Here Monika started to think we were about to be kidnapped lol. Pounding on the window she finally alerted my dad who calmly put out his cigarette and joined us in the bus. Off to Pune we were!
As we entered the main road of india.. we waited at a very busy stop light.. many people walked by..even a herd of cows walked by!! The sounds of many cars honking their horns and the sounds of busy travelers trying to get to their destination filled the air.
2 hours later in the drive we finally got to take a step onto a non airline India land! We stopped at what looked like some sort of trendy rest stop..it's here where my dad took my sister and I to go buy some Indian snacks and use the restroom.. We bought some Indian chocolate fudge and also purchased some sort of sesame seed round ball cluster.. walking in and out of the bus..I think we may of almost been struck by oncoming cars atleast 2-3 times just in that one little and very busy rest stop!
The rest of the ride was quiet.. I tried again to grab some sleep by using my sisters pillow (which she packed in her carry on...my mother stuffed mine in check in unfortunately).. on my knee and putting my head down..(no success)... I also couldn't catch any sleep due to the fact I kept thinking we were going to get into an accident! On a scale of 1-10 I rate how wild Indians are with driving at an 11 ... I can't believe how insane the driving system was..it's a shock to me that we didn't see atleast - 5-10 accidents on that four hour drive to my dads house in Pune.
Once we arrived in Pune..I was dead tired! I could barely stand let alone lift all the bags into my dads house... My sister was also tired from jet lag...My dad paid the driver..giving him a nice tip. Looking around my dads neighborhood it had such a different feel than any American neighborhood. Even though it was dark out..there was so much scenery and it was very green...and this was just one section of the neighborhood. Unfortunately I was too damn tired to admire the beauty and I just wanted sleep... we entered the house ..unpacked ...learned how to turn on and off the lights lol and went to bed.
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