Turmoil in Transit
Trip Start
Aug 11, 2010
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Trip End
Jul 09, 2012
Mumbai, India
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Amazingly I woke up in good time, feeling a little worse for wear but overall a lot better than I had predicted the previous night. Mark had kindly decided to join me for the journey to Heathrow, and the hour and fifteen minute journey passed without incident, and before I knew it, I and my newly found travelling companion Tom Quirk (Tom) were in the check in queue. I and Mark said our goodbyes and Mark headed off, presumably to get his head down for a few hours.
The check in went without a hitch and after meeting up with the other two amigos Tom Miller (Tommy) and Phil Ardley the four of us boarded the Jet Airways Boeing 777 bound for Mumbai. The plane was clean and comfortable and the entertainment systems well up to scratch, I spent the nine hours watching, the Ghost Writer, Date Night and a variety of short programmes on travel, sport and various other topics. At some point during the journey I managed to get about two hours shut eye, but woke up knowing that was well short of my requirements.
The landing in Mumbai was fairly smooth, and after an incomprehensible thirty minute hold up on the plane we joined the queue for international transfers. India has a reputation for its unorganised nature and hustle and bustle, and if Mumbai airport is anything to go by then all the stories are true. The convoluted process of getting through security and then boarding the bus to the plane meant that before we could catch our breath we were back in the air again. This time we were in an Airbus A330, the women in front reclined the second we left Indian soil, but after my experience in Mumbai airport a cramped five hour flight seemed like a holiday. After nibbling through a weird vegetable sandwich, I tried to get some sleep with mixed success. The flight passed fairly quickly and 'there's something about Mary’ finished just as we began our descent. The landing was again ok, but a few clunks and clanks on the approach meant my heart was beating a little faster than usual.
