India has been a very interesting experience so far. With all the
extremes of experiences, it makes it fairly difficult to figure out
where to begin. So I suppose the best place to start is at the
beginning, which for me was at the Mumbai (formerly Bombay) airport.
I had one final flight left to reach my detination, Goa, which was a
domestic flight away from Mumbai. The unfortunate aspect is that the
international flight from Frankfurt to Mumbai was late in arriving.
So after spending a little longer than expected in getting through
customs, and a little bit of trekking through the airport, I finally
made it to a location where I needed to board a shuttle bus to get to
the domestic airlines' terminals. Luckily there was a local there
waiting with me, since the security police didn't speak english. The
local helped convince him and the bus driver to leave a little earlier
than planned so I could hopefully make my connection.
Off we went, eventually stopping at a Jet Airways (my domestic
carrier) terminal. The staff got on the phone and seemed to be trying
to confirm if I could make the connection. And the nerve wracking
part, for me, was that we sat there for somewhere between 5 and 10
minutes while all the while I'm thinking I should be running to the
ticket counter trying to make my connection. Eventually we continued
down the road without an explanation as to why.
So down the road and around corner after corner we go, where we
eventually start passing by a number of Jet Airways aircraft, bringing
me a lot more comfort. :) Finally we arrive at another Jet Airways
terminal and the staff is now telling me to "go, go". So go I went,
after thanking the local for all his help!
The lines at the normal check-on terminals are fairly long, but I also
happened to notice a customer service counter. So I try them, asking
if I can get on the flight since I don't have any checked baggage.
Luckily, I can. And now with an escort I'm whisked to the front of
the security line then to the front of the x-ray line and pointed out
the door to the shuttle buses. Apparently they also know my plight,
as the next bus is one special for my flight. I'm basically the last
one to board and we're off as quickly as possible.
So this experience; most notably the times I was getting stressed,
seemed to be necessary to properly introduce me to one of the key
aspects of Indian culture, which is the ideal of "Shanti, shanti."
Which in English means "Slowly, slowly." Of course, with my nature,
and after a year and a half of unemployment. it wasn't really all that
hard to slide right in. And it wasn't long before my friend had noted
that the locals were even passing me along walking down the road.
Shanti, shanti it is!!
Thu, May 12, 2005 - 11:31 AM
permalink
extremes of experiences, it makes it fairly difficult to figure out
where to begin. So I suppose the best place to start is at the
beginning, which for me was at the Mumbai (formerly Bombay) airport.
I had one final flight left to reach my detination, Goa, which was a
domestic flight away from Mumbai. The unfortunate aspect is that the
international flight from Frankfurt to Mumbai was late in arriving.
So after spending a little longer than expected in getting through
customs, and a little bit of trekking through the airport, I finally
made it to a location where I needed to board a shuttle bus to get to
the domestic airlines' terminals. Luckily there was a local there
waiting with me, since the security police didn't speak english. The
local helped convince him and the bus driver to leave a little earlier
than planned so I could hopefully make my connection.
Off we went, eventually stopping at a Jet Airways (my domestic
carrier) terminal. The staff got on the phone and seemed to be trying
to confirm if I could make the connection. And the nerve wracking
part, for me, was that we sat there for somewhere between 5 and 10
minutes while all the while I'm thinking I should be running to the
ticket counter trying to make my connection. Eventually we continued
down the road without an explanation as to why.
So down the road and around corner after corner we go, where we
eventually start passing by a number of Jet Airways aircraft, bringing
me a lot more comfort. :) Finally we arrive at another Jet Airways
terminal and the staff is now telling me to "go, go". So go I went,
after thanking the local for all his help!
The lines at the normal check-on terminals are fairly long, but I also
happened to notice a customer service counter. So I try them, asking
if I can get on the flight since I don't have any checked baggage.
Luckily, I can. And now with an escort I'm whisked to the front of
the security line then to the front of the x-ray line and pointed out
the door to the shuttle buses. Apparently they also know my plight,
as the next bus is one special for my flight. I'm basically the last
one to board and we're off as quickly as possible.
So this experience; most notably the times I was getting stressed,
seemed to be necessary to properly introduce me to one of the key
aspects of Indian culture, which is the ideal of "Shanti, shanti."
Which in English means "Slowly, slowly." Of course, with my nature,
and after a year and a half of unemployment. it wasn't really all that
hard to slide right in. And it wasn't long before my friend had noted
that the locals were even passing me along walking down the road.
Shanti, shanti it is!!
