And the adventure continues! Today we were up and packed for an early flight to Mumbai. Actually the flight wasn’t so early but Prati was concerned for the traffic in Chennai so to make certain e reached the airport in a timely manner. The traffic proved to be not as difficult to manage as getting the driver there on time. We just enjoyed the moments waiting in the Gift Shop and in front of the hotel fully engaged in the traffic of the streets of Chennai. Truly, India must be experienced, not just seen and heard. It is an entire body encounter where all of the senses are fully engaged! To see the bustling “toot toots” is not enough, you must hear their staccato beep of their horns and the buzz of their lawnmower engines. The men and women walk briskly carrying their loads on their heads. The men on bicycles. Entire families of five or six on one motorscooter is a common sight. Today we saw a city bus packed full, way beyond capacity and on the side of the bus with tight grips on the windows, hanging on for dear life, seriously, were half a dozen men! And of course the animals have free reign: goats, cows, dogs, cats, and pigs even. Freight trucks like the buses filled to the max and beyond! Their horns brazenly declare, “I am coming through and I am bigger than you so make way!”
Fascinating, it is to observe, the dance of the traffic so mesmerizing we were still watching when the driver came to transport us and our entire car full of luggage to the airport. Today we were to fly to Mumbai and then drive 6 hours to Nasik for Maharachtra State Conference!
The Chennai airport is an experience that as most common in all of the airports across India until a few years ago. First you are met at the entrance of the airport by a guard, this time the sentinel stationed beside of him is fully armed with a rifle of some kind swung over his shoulder. You still must have a ticket to get into the airport. As soon as you are inside you must send all of your luggage that you plan to pack, Show them to the attendant and we are loading the suitcases onto the little conveyer belt that takes it through the scanner and shoots it out the opposite side where it is automatically bound with a temporary strap as it should not be opened again until after arrival in Mumbai. And then we still hold our carry-on luggage which we learn is too large for what is permitted in the cabin so we check yet more luggage! The attendant must have waved weight and number of pieces because there was no charge for excessive pieces or weight.
American women come with a lot of baggage! Sometimes more than they can carry on their own! With everything safely checked in, we made our way to wait at the gates for our departure. But first we must proceed single file through the security check point which in India has always included a FRISKING. The friskers are always gender specific and are now most often armed with a large paddle wand which has replaced merely the gloved hand of the frisker. My carryon bag scooted through with no issues, except the tag that is required to be attached so that the checker has something to stamp must have gotten caught in the belts because there wasn’t one on my computer bag. I have seen the consequences of this before. It means that the owner must make a trip back through the security to the airline check-counters to retrieve another handbag tag and back through the scanner to bring the tag to attach to the bag. I was surprised that the tag wasn’t there and then a bit flustered to think of scurrying back through the check point. The guard was kind and must have seemed my distress because he found a lone tag somewhere and fastened onto my bag so that the attendant could stamp it. I rewarded him with a huge relieved smile and big thank you! He seemed to feel appropriately thanked, most often it is not as easy as that, but I was grateful that this time this was the case.
Now we could proceed to the gate, only to learn that our flight had been delayed and we were told only to ‘’sit awhile” and so we did. We passed the time refreshing ourselves with 7UP and trips to the TIOLET and talking. Boarding and the flight were uneventful enough. Surprisingly we did not sleep nor eat. It seems that Indian flights have adopted American Airlines’ idea of selling snacks and meals instead of serving them complimentary. Even as recently as last year they were still serving a meal even on the hour brief flights.
The two hours went quickly as I spent the time catching up on my journaling and reading the new book I acquired out of curiosity, Live Sent. I sat by RaeAnn and took the opportunity to tell her how glad that I was that she was along and how much I was enjoying getting to know her. It is especially delightful as she is beginning to feel better and better by the day!
Landing in the new Mumbai airport is so much more pleasant than the old one! We retrieved our luggage on the free carts and rolled it out the doors to the van and driver IGL had arranged for us. The van will be easy to locate and distinguish as it is bright yellow! I have never seen one like it in all of my travels all over India! And it was large enough for all of our baggage to fit inside the van with us! I was particularly grateful after spending the entire night before hanging and rotating my clothes so they will dry.
Since it was near 2:00 and we were getting ready to hit the road for several hours we trekked over to a familiar hotel, The Legends. The Legends has been the point of entry for many of the teams. Many times being their first glimpse and introduction to India. I remember so vividly, Cassandra standing in the corner windows and gazing outward, crying compassionately for the city that had captivated her heart in brief seconds! I remember young Kasey Booker opening the window wide to extend her satellite phone as far as possible so that she could acquire a signal to call home and report. I remember the very first time we sped through the streets in the wee hours of the morning and sped into the alley onto the tiny carport entry. (I was certain that it was all over!)
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