Friday, July 24 2009 - Arrival!

There are some things that people never expect to happen in their wildest dreams. Yesterday, I was in Oklahoma City. Today, I am in India.

This is one of those things.

Once we landed in London, I must admit that I was very much in need of a nap. I also realized that never had I sat in one place for 7 hours and 45 minutes straight. Unlike Vinay, I am not able to sleep seated in an upright position. In addition, a potent mixture of anxiety, nervousness, and excitement has been plaguing me since I left Oklahoma City, quelling all my urges to sleep.

We stepped into the London airport at 7:50 am. We had to rush to connect to our next flight, which was boarding at 8:30 am. Although we didn’t miss it, we probably would have if Vinay hadn’t dragged me at the speed of light through the airport. It is very fortunate that he did.

This third airplane, was as large as the second, but even nicer. The seats were a bit softer and the monitors a bit larger. It was also now apparent that this plane was flying to India. Everything was now spoken in Hindi and translated into English. All of our flight crew appeared to be Indians and we were given a choice between international and Indian cuisine. We departed from London on this new aircraft at 9:45 am. Our destination, Mumbai, was 8 hours and 45 minutes away.

This flight was very uneventful, but I was grouchy and tired. My excitement for airplanes was diminishing. My body was so overcome with exhaustion that I was starting to actually fall asleep in an upright position! For the most part though, the sleep I received was minimal. Even once I fell asleep, something was always waking me. Either a message was announced over the PDA, or it was time to eat, or a passenger was climbing over me to get to the bathroom. Overall, I probably managed to acquire 4 or 5 hours of sleep. Sleep must be a rare phenomenon for most international travelers. Yet, even this tiny bit of rest managed to improve my overall disposition. My zest for airports and airplanes returned.

We landed in Mumbai around 12:20 am. It was a very surreal thing, to step off a plane and realize that you are in a very very far away land which very very far away from home. India! Yet our trip was still not over, we had to board yet one final airplane and then drive two hours to Chandrapur – our final destination. Oh, what adventures await us!