Forgive me if this is quite rambling, or makes no sense at all. I’ve just realized that I am rather tired.
Well, I’m in Brussels… and I’m nearly certain that I just paid about $12 for a litre of water(which kind of tastes funny). What?!?!?! Pretty insane. The prices here would be reasonable airport prices if they were in dollars… but they’re in euros!
On another note, I’m not particularly sure what time of day it is back home. I have a headache slightly reminiscent of the ones I used to get when I used to try to pull all nighters back in school. I didn’t sleep a bit on my flight, but only the last two hours seemed painfully long. Upon further investigation, I’ve learned it is 2am at home, about 7am here in Brussels.
The temp outside is a cool 50F… and I know it is going to be hot in India. I defintitely still have my patience, even with this raging head cold. So far, so good though. I did have some problems with ear popping on the way down, but I was on the tail end of my meds, so I hope that explains it.
Right now the Brussels airport is a bit like a ghost town. All I see are passengers and no one seems to work here. Bit of a quandary since my gate number isn’t posted on the boards. No worries, I don’t leave for another 4 hours, so I’m hanging out in the cheaper of the three cafes… where I’ve managed to spend $12 on water (just to remind you). Hydration has been a big part of my anti cold quest, so I guess I just have to suck it up and deal. Right? Besides, I’m not sure what is out there past the security (yes, somehow I ended up outside of security).
Also, I apparently scream “American.” But then, maybe it is the Indiana polo I’m wearing. Who knows.
Anyway, this was just meant to be a quick update on my current state of mind- so there it is. I’m waiting patiently to arrive in Mumbai, be whisked away to my hotel and take a shower and plop into that five star bed.
Damn straight.
Updated when I first arrived in India....
I’m here! And honestly, my first response is, “damn, it’s like a stinky steam bath!” At 1am this is far hotter than anything I’ve ever experienced in the middle of the night in Jamaica.
Yep, 1am. My flight was not permitted to land until 12:25, almost a full hour after our original arrival time. However, my JetAirways flight experience was far superior to anything I’ve ever seen when flying the friendly American airlines (not THE, all). Two full one meals, in seat movies, much more comfortable chairs, four hot towels (odd, but REALLY nice). It was 8 hours of what I would consider first class flying at the coach level/cost.
Upon landing, the customs process was fairly smooth and rather unintimidating. I always think I look guilty in customs because I’m nervous- but this time I barely had time to realize what was happening. I found my driver quite quickly also- which was a relief, I was afraid that, being so late, he may have left me! I made my first rookie mistake when a gentleman who worked for the airport stopped me while I was waking to the car with my driver. He said, “are you alone?” and I answered yes. He then said, “no one is with you?” and I realized my mistake. Who is this man and why does he want to know if I am alone. He had a conversation with my driver in Hindi… and I still don’t know what was said.
My driver has just informed me that we are about one hour from the hotel- wow, this is a big city. He said in daytime traffic it might take about 2 hours. In looking out the window, I find it rather interesting that at 1am, the streets are quite busy. We are winding through the city on what seem to be little tight side streets. Like Jamaica, stoplights seem to be mere suggestions, with little to no consequences for ignoring. Although I feel safe with the driver, it is important to note that he drives with one hand on his horn at all times- and doesn’t shy from using it!
Upon arriving at the hotel, a man opens my door and says, “Ms. Baer?” And it’s late, I’ve only slept about 2 hours in the last 26, but I’m in shock. He walked me through the check in process and my bags and I were taken to my room. The room is quite small, two twin beds (which is kind of nice!). But the most important thing is that even with the AC going, everything is wet.
