Traffic for 2010 December 5 (entry 0)

(2) Sun Dec 05 2010 18:50 around the world in 47 hours: We made it! Our initial overnight flight TH night to NYC was just fine. The luggage all got checked with only one bag being overweight and incurring a $150 fee. All others were just fine. Checking the luggage obviously took a long time, but security had no line. Also, we were not subjected to pat downs or image scanning. Just the plain old metal detectors. Of course security took forever with two sleepy kids, 4 pairs of shoes, a laptop, tons of liquids, etc but we made it with about 20 minutes until our flight.

Maggie went right to sleep and Dalton did shortly after take off. I couldn't sleep a wink, but oh well.

NYC was manic. We followed rush hour into the city, and our cabbie was a dodger, so of course Maggie choked, ie threw up, en route to Leonard's house. We made it and slept about two hours on his couch bed, which was fabulous sleep indeed.

We then jaunted on the M line to Rockafeller Center to see the tree, ice skaters, and Susie's boss Kim Danger of Mommysavers.com. We also went up Rockafeller Center for a view of the city. The view did not impress Maggie, but she and Dalton both loved the room up there that had these colored lights all over every surface that follow you when you walk. We then ate lunch with Leonard and headed back to the airport.

I think it's worth mentioning that Dalton charmed a few New Yorkers, a monumental feat.

We got back to JFK with about 3 hours until our flight, checked in, got our baggage transferred to Air India without a hitch, and got seated first, which was nice, as we got lots of good storage space. Air India was great! They gave Maggie a puzzle and story book to read. We had the back row of the first coach compartment, next to the bathroom. We also had an empty seat next to us so we had 5 seats to sleep in. Maggie slept the middle 10 of the 14 hours, a dream come true! Also, once I laid down on the extra seat, I caught some meaningful zzz's as well. Susie and Dalton didn't sleep as well, however.

We arrived in Delhi 24 hours after we left NY, about 4 pm on Friday December 5. Then the real fun began. We had 3 hours until our flight to Bangalore. We were given mixed stories about luggage transfer in Delhi, since we had to go through customs there. Only one bag came out there! And it was a bag we gate checked and were told would not be seen again until Bangalore. So then we went searching for the stroller, which also was not supposed to be seen until Bangalore, but there it was. All our checked luggage was missing. We assumed that meant it was checked through Bangalore, but decided to check. We think they may have unloaded it from the plane rather than just answer our inquiry, and this process ate half of our layover. We somehow managed to get 15 luggage pieces onto two trolleys, with Maggie pushing Dalton in the stroller (SUCH a big helper =)).

We made it through customs without a hitch. I wouldn't want to look through that much luggage either. We then headed to the Bangalore terminal, only to find out that Dalton's seat had been cancelled. Apparently they are not used to infants with seats; rather than inquire, they cancelled our ticket. Turkeys. But the re-issued it, got all our luggage checked, and allowed us the extra carry-ons for this leg of the flight, to keep us moving. We made it just in time! Kudos Air India!

When we checked into International at JFK, the security once again required to imaging or pat downs. And immigration was a breeze! But checking into our Banglore flight required a mild pat down. But we didn't have to take off our shoes. And do you know how they check liquids? They make you drink some of it! Novel idea!

This last 3-hour leg took all the energy out of me. Maggie slept with Susie, leaving me with Dalton, who FINALLY fell asleep about 20 minutes befor we landed. But he made good friends with the gentleman next to us, since he kept throwing his crocodile at him.

In Bangalore we were greeted with an entourage of service folks who helped load all our luggage into our van, with two pieces on the roof. I was sooo nervous we were going to lose those two pieces on the hour car ride in, but we didn't.

Our driver was intense! Apparently the lines in the road are more of a suggestion than anything else, as I think we spent more time between lanes than in one. Also, honking your horn is required in normal intervals, not to exceed 45 seconds. Lastly, well paved roads can change to dirt and back again in a matter of seconds. But Maggie didn't get sick so it was considered a huge success.

We made it to Mercure around 1 am, checked into our abode, and finally went to bed around 2 am. Since the kids slept the last flight and in the car, they were wide awake, so convincing them to sleep was not easy.

Breakfast is included here, and was pretty good. We also took a rickshaw into town yesterday to buy groceries and eat lunch with Rachel, who is now an expert on all things India! We discovered that pasta sauce is ridiculously expensive, and that milk comes in bags! We also saw dogs, pigs, and cows. We walked back to our apartment on the quasi-sidewalks.

Last night we had dinner with the Erickson's. Maggie and Dalton had fun playing on their slide and watching "Dumbo."

Dalton woke us up around 4 am, ready to begin his day. I finally got up with him at 6:30. I leave for work in an hour. I am ready for the jet lag to end, and hope Dalton will cooperate!

We're loving it so far! Our expectations on things are low, based on our visa troubles, so when things go right, we are totally happy. And we consider no lost luggage and fast internet access huge successes! Also, seeing Rachel and Leonard this week and moving to our new place next to the office this weekend are also great things.

The sights, sounds, and smells remind me greatly of Hong Kong, with one glaring difference: people are MUCH nicer here! Well, duty calls.

Comments:

Posted by Erin at Mon Dec 06 2010 17:52

I enjoyed reading all about your adventure. I miss you guys but am very happy for you and the family and hope you have a wonderous time in India!! Tell the kids and Susie "Hi!" from me :)

Posted by anonymous at Mon Dec 06 2010 21:18

Thanks for the run-down. It's good to know that things are not too bad. Hope this weekend's move goes smooth. The house is way too quiet but not without it's problems. We have a water leak in the west wall in the dining room. We've had people here twice and they can not figure it out. The carpet is soaked in that area and it hasn't stopped coming in. More people will be here tomorrow to look at it.