Going to India!

June 29, 2010

Drive to the Airport

Richard drove us to Sausalito for lunch at FISH. It was a beautiful drive and we bypassed all of the hwy 80 traffic. Sausalito was sunny, cool, and windy. Quite a change from the day before in Sacramento. Leaving Sausalito, we headed over the Golden Gate Bridge and took hwy 1 to the 280 and then the 380, right into the airport. Piece of cake and no traffic!!

SFO

I packed my bags so they were a little under the baggage allowance limit. It was good that I did so, because a lot of the folks ahead of me were opening their bags and trying to lighten their loads. Originally, I was in this huge line until I moved close enough to the next sign that said online booking. Since I had already checked in online, I got to move to this very short line. Unfortunately, there were a lot of people in this line trying to lighten their bags, so I still had a wait. That was okay since I arrived in plenty of time. The lines were fascinating, lots of large numbered families with huge amounts and sizes of bags!

The security checkpoint was okay. They pulled my carry-on bag to the side and opened it and swabbed it. They asked if I had any sharp objects. I said, “No.” They found my new steripen in its solar case and were fascinated by it. They had never seen one before and didn't know what it was for. I informed them that it was for sterilizing water. One guard asked how much it cost and I told him a $100 something. He laughed and asked why I didn't just use chlorine tablets. I said I had some of those, too. Then he mentioned that I could also boil the water! By this time the guard checking my bag was through, so I didn't carry on the conversation any further. Looking serious as I picked up my bag, a man snapped a photo. I smiled because thought he was trying to get the lady behind me and so I moved out of the way. He asked me to stand by the guard again and smile, then he took another picture. He thanked me and went on his way to his gate!

I lugged my carry-on bag around; the heaviness being from my laptop. Then I spotted a luggage cart no one was using and promptly took ownership of it. It allowed me to walk up and down the terminal a few times for some exercise before the long flight. I was tempted to buy some chocolate, but I didn't have any room.

SFO to DXB

The gate was crowded. When the families-with-small-children pre-boarding began, I had to chuckle to myself because it appeared like everyone at the gate stood up!! I boarded easily and my bag fit under the seat. I had a nice aisle seat over the wing. The aisle seat allowed me to get up often and stretch my legs into the aisle.

The food was interesting. I thought I had ordered a “hindu vegetarian” meal but it turned out to be just a “hindu” meal (non beef). I didn't recognize the meat, but I was able to eat the rice, veggies, and fruit. For the next meal, they were able to bring me an “asian vegetarian” meal, which turned out to be a yummy Indian dish. When you order special meals, you get served first, but I might just go with the regular meal next time!

The flight was okay but long. My video monitor stopped working, which allowed me to get up and walk nearly the whole length of the plane. I hadn't seen any new movies since last August, so I was able to get my fill of all of the ones I had wanted to see. Sleeping was hard but I managed to get some napping in. Read a little too.

We had a perfect, gentle landing in Dubai as the sun went down. Off of the plane the transfers had to go through another security checkpoint. I cleared that easily once again. The airport has showers, which I would have used had I been traveling with someone who could watch my bags or if I had brought a towel. I filled up my water bottle at the drinking fountain and sat down to write. I went for another walk for exercise and ended up buying some chocolates. Then I got turned around trying to find the gate again, so I got some added exercise. I am definitely functioning on sleep deprivation.

DXB to DEL – quick 3 ½ hour flight. Ended up watching “Date Night,” a silly comedy, just because it was playing when I sat down. Sat next to a young couple with a baby. It amazes me how easily all of these parents travel with these small children. They just seem to take it all in stride. No hindu meal this time but had a delicious meal of chicken biryani. Another good landing.

July 1, 2010

Indira Gandhi International Airport – In America, I've noticed that everyone pushes the seatbelt release before the sign goes off. Here in India, I was amazed at people standing up and when the ground crew started waving the plane into the terminal, everyone unbuckled and started getting their bags!!!

I was met at the foot of the escalator by several men who were holding a piece of paper with six names. One man spied me and asked if my name was on the list. I said yes. He said passport please and wanted me to follow him to the customs desk for diplomats/officials. I got a stamp in my passport and away I went.

I found the luggage carousel and a man wearing a badge and a striped shirt checked on me twice but my bags hadn't been put on the carousel yet. Apparently my bags were one of the first to go on the plane because they were near to last to come off. I then pushed my cart among the crowd of people going through the customs exit. I didn't know what they were handing the official. I tried to stop and ask the guard, but I was pushed on through and then spotted the small customs slip I had left in my passport. I immediately stopped away from the crowd, found the slip and handed it to the guard.

Then I had to figure out the transfer, so I asked for help. I was told to turn right and went through some doors to another desk. The official took my passport and e-ticket, asked what flight I just came from and wrote it all down by hand on a sheet of paper. I then walked out some doors to the shuttle bus. Only 3 people were left standing and there were several 3 to a seat, including my seat. The young girl sitting next to me fell asleep against my arm. I wanted to do the same, but I was too curious and instead looked out the window at my surroundings. In the predawn hours, the landscape reminded me of Lancaster 30 years ago. Dry, desert looking landscape. We drove all the way around the airport to come to the front of the airport for departures. I saw lots of guards along the rode, sitting in chairs and talking to one another.

The sign on the door to the shuttle had said “shuttle, no tips.” When I got off the bus, the young man didn't readily give me my bags. He waited until I was the last person left and then leaned in real close and whispered, “money.” I said, “What?” and he repeated his request, so I dug in my wallet for a $1 bill and got my bags.

Got my boarding pass without a hitch and then went through security. Everyone gets wanded, but the women have to go behind a curtain. I was waiting for some reassurance like “your good to go” but got something like “happy day” instead. It was a little confusing because either my ears are plugged or everyone just speaks very softly. Then when I went to pick up my scanned bag, purse, and laptop, I was asked if I this was my bag. When I said yes, they asked for my boarding pass and wrote in another book and stamped it. Once again, I was a little confused because I didn't know if I had “passed” through security or not. Maybe that was due to sleep deprivation still! Later I found out that when boarding, they check to make sure the number of stamps on the boarding pass is the same as the number of carry-on items.

I tried to log onto the internet but failed because I couldn't retrieve the password since I didn't have an Indian mobile phone. No big deal.

Money exchange – I found the exchange counter and exchanged a bunch of money. They charged 50 rupees as a fee. I then probably should have tried to find someplace to sleep, but went looking for coffee instead. My stomach felt like it needed a little American food, so I bought a coffee and muffin with my rupees. I could feel my jaw clenching and my eyelids felt really heavy. The coffee and muffin helped and so I took the opportunity to figure out the exchange rate and wrote out some basic amounts in rupees and converted them to USD.

Waiting - I tried to contact Shailendra through the information desk, but I wasn't successful. So, I would sit, read, nap and then walk around. My laptop battery went dead and I didn't want to buy another converter (mine was in my checked luggage), so I couldn't use my laptop. No big deal.

Boarding - I had to board a bus, which drove to the plane sitting on the tarmac. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my seat had been upgraded to first class. I was so thankful for this, and thought that everyone who made this possible was getting some good karma out of this act, because I so much needed the sleep. I reclined my seat and had a wonderful, deep sleep as we waited for the okay to fly.

We didn't receive that as the rains in Patna was decreasing the visibility for planes to land. We deboarded the plane and went back to the terminals.

I met a very virtuous man on the bus, Anand, who befriended me for the wait and plane ride to Patna. This was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the culture. He is from Patna, is studying in the US, and is getting married here next week. We conversed about the history of Patna and Nalanda, our jobs, marriage, family, and movies. He used his cell phone to call the Patna driver meeting me, made sure I navigated through the Patna airport safely, briefly introduced me to his father, and made sure I was met outside. A very virtuous person and I wish him all of the best with his marriage and finishing his Ph.D.

To Nalanda - Dr. Panth, his driver, Mr. Deepak, and Mr. Ram Itar met me outside the airport. Dr. Panth warmly welcomed me and gave me the choice of resting briefly in Patna while he did a little work or to go onto Nalanda. I chose the latter and Mr. Itar drove me to Nalanda. We ran into traffic jams and so Dr. Panth caught up to us. I transferred over to Dr. Panth's car and rode with him, Deepak, and the driver to Nalanda.

Guest House – Dr. Panth gave me several choices of lodgings. He offered me the guest house on the campus or to stay on the residence campus. I accepted his first offer. It is very spacious with a living room/dining room, kitchen, bath with shower, and huge bedroom with air conditioning. The monk-student's hostel is right next to my guest quarters, which is wonderful to be able to converse with them outside of class.

I freshened up and then was given a huge meal. I then stayed up late, “moving in”- unpacked, organized my belongings and other chores.