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4:30am to 4:30pm
Thursday, 22 April 2010
We awoke at 4:30am in Kochi, India. The taxi ride to the airport was rather mellow. Just a few honks and rick-shaws, but not too many people on the road. The airport was quite interesting. We both stood in line to show our tickets, and then found a seat next to a coffee stand. The coffee in India is not the best so we opted for a 4oz hot cup of tea which consists of: 1 oz black tea, 2 oz hot milk and 1 oz of white sugar.
The counter for Air India finally opened and the people briskly walked forward. Personal space as well as making lines do not exist in India. They will crowd you from behind and squeeze you in, and of course blatantly cut you off. It’s the way of the country, people sickened with the “hurry up and wait syndrome”. Needless to mention, I was ready to be over with my two week holiday in India. It’s a lot of work!!!
Once we got past security, we found ourselves in a huge room with rather comfy looking arm chairs all facing the window. Which would have been fabulous if we were gazing upon the majestic sea. Instead, we were watching the typical mayhem of India. Which can be entertaining, but at 6:00am on three hours of sleep and no latte, I was over it.
The first leg of the journey was alright. The man next to me fell asleep and was leaning over the already cramped middle seat I occupied. This was not too out of the ordinary. I gently pushed his arm back to his side of the divider and he woke up. The next hour he continuously hocked boogies and swallowed them and itched and picked his nose rather violently. It’s an Indian thing I think. They can clear their throats for 15 minutes straight, rub their nose for two, make strange neck movements for three and then start the whole cycle over again. Must be an ancient kriya 
We arrived in Delhi and retrieved our bags. Then we waited for a shuttle to take us to the domestic terminal. Had we have walked there it would have taken about 2 minutes. Instead, we waited 20 minutes for a shuttle, went through a security check to get out of the building, another check before we got onto the bus, one when we got off and another to get back into the other terminal. We drove around the entire runway field. It was ridiculous. There was a dog hanging out at the international terminal when we got off, I wondered how this guy got in here and if he had a valid passport!
The next leg of the journey was to Kathmandu. This Air India plane was ready for retirement! Our seats were filthy, reclined a micro-millometer, had tray tables that continuously fell down in our laps, and a convenient medal bar that plunged into our mid-backs. Thankfully, Reuben had some spare duct tape so we could temporarily tape the tray tables up for the duration of the flight. You have to laugh at it all, or else you’ll just cry your eyes out!
To be continued................
Posted: 04.22.2010
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