Postcards From J

Time flies. Last week at this time, SV and I were making a mad dash to the airport. We were heading to Goa! And boy, were we late!  I had had a crazy three days prior to that Thursday at work, and didn't have much time to pack. Heck, I didn't even have time to get my eyebrows done. And that day also marked the civic elections in Mumbai, so I had to exercise my franchise amidst getting a zillion things done. I was busy on my laptop sorting out work email from home (I was officially out of office on 16th and 17th + the ensuing weekend) and trying to ensure I could leave with my sanity intact. Finally, just after noon, I rushed to vote, and silently started panicking seeing the long queue at my polling booth. Just before my turn, I received a text from DD telling me to have a good break... How thoughtful!  The finger inked, I rushed to the one place I hate but can't avoid - a 'beauty' parlour - to get my eyebrows done. More rushing. Lunch was a blur. And gues...

Arrival at the Suvarnabhoomi Airport in Bangkok was a relatively good experience. The airport was really humongous, clean and well-maintained. Even though it was quite early in the morning (around 5 or 6 am), the place was buzzing with activity. Since Thailand lets tourists get their visas on arrival, we went in search of the Visa counter. Visa formalities were a breeze (Thanks Naveen… for insisting on just getting them done in Bangkok). Immigra tion check done and with my first stamp on my passport, I set foot in another country. Super! David, where art thou? We had a bit of confusion with our contact point for the transfer to the hotel. We had made bookings for hotels/transfers/some sightseeing with Thomas Cook. At $250 per head, I say we got a good deal fro m them. And our airfare roughly worked out to INR 18000 per head through an online booking with Indiatimes Travel. As per the Thomas Cook document, we were to go to a specific point and look for a certain Mr. David. Kept going ...

Jan 3, 2008, 10:20 PM (IST) - We're inside the Mumbai International Airport ; actually, been here for a while now. Waiting for our call! Finished with the usual formalities: baggage check-in, got our boarding passes. We felt a little hungry all of a sudden, so we found this food counter and picked up a chapatti roll with chicken filling. Plus we had some wafers that Sneha's mum had brought for us. Airport Watch What is it that people enjoy the most? People-watching, obviously! At the airport, one encounters all kinds from the human species. Seen the usual firangs - some snoring away blissfully in their sleeping bags, some lugging their backpacks, and then some strolling around in their Oshos. And of course, we have our national treasures - the woman with the fake American accent returning to "New Yaaark", the dressed up Gujju ben dragging her annoyingly noisy trolley bag, the long-haired greying Ashok Amritraj -lookalike, a suspicious-looking Mallu, lots of kiddies in...