First of all, I have to mention that the Spice Girls concert in London's O2 Arena was incredible! Our seats were incredible, the lights, choreography, everything was such a fun party. I have no idea how those 5 women (all about my age) get up there in those stiletto heals and do that night after night. My feat still hurt from dancing in my heals the entire night - and I didn't have to remember any lyrics or dance moves! The nicest part is that 4 of the 5 of them have small children and they were all on tour with them. Victoria Beckham's (aka Posh) handsome hubby (America now knows him as he is playing soccer in LA) and 2 oldest children were in the front row of the audience.
Now, here Curt and I are on our first day in India. We landed 1 hour later than scheduled. The direct flight from Vienna was very comfortable and only about 8 hours. The time difference between Mumbai and Budapest is 5 1/2 hours which takes a minute longer to calculate when calling home to talk with the kids.
Our Austrian Air flight OS 035 landed at about 1am (this morning). I expected chaos - especially as most international flights land between 11pm and about 3am into Mumbai. I first noticed the nice warm temperature (it was 76 degrees F when we landed). Next I noticed air purifiers everywhere. Let me take one step back. When the pilot announced 10 mins to landing the flight attendants walked up and down the aisles spraying what I'd imagine to by a Lysol type spray. It didn't smell bad or overpowering but it was my first flight experiencing this. I heard they always do that into Australia - which I understand a bit more - but India? If anyone can explain, I'd be curious to hear.
Immigration went quickly as we had our visas, landing cards, passports, etc all organized. Baggage claim was not too overcrowded except for large groups of Muslims returning from the Hajj. They were all dressed in white robes and their white beanie type hats (don't know what these are called) and they all seemed to have gigantic plastic bags (with zippers) packed to the rim.
We couldn't find an ATM in the airport but were glad to exit customs and see our Mr and Mrs Clements / JW Marriott sign in the mob right away. We walked directly outside and were greeted by all the people and honking of horns. Buses were coming to pick up all the Muslims and take them home to wherever they came from. Rickshaws and SUVs were overpacked with people hanging out the sides. We had to wait a few minutes for our air conditioned car to arrive but I didn't mind because I loved the people watching. The little Indian girls with their gold earrings were all so beautiful. Lots of smiling faces which was a big difference after coming from the sad faced Eastern Europe and the overly busy London. Many young men were holding each other's hands which is not something common in the West (except San Francisco). I remember just seeing Pres. Bush on TV holding hands with the King of Saudi Arabia so I knew it was customary.
On the drive to the hotel I did see piles of garbage and lots of stray dogs digging through looking for a morsel of anything resembling food. I commented on how all the dogs looked rather healthy and large. Before Curt could even reply, I followed with the thought that the big dogs probably ate the little dogs...
It's 5:30pm here local time and the sun is still up. We have an ocean view so it is rather holiday like. A bit of a funny feeling to be in this oasis looking out at the ocean and then walking out to the lift and seeing such poverty out the windows facing the other direction.
Now we are off to the hospital. Nothing serious other than Curt needing a few stitches in his forehead. The hospital will probably be a big eye opener. Not an experience I am really looking forward to but the house doctor said it was a must as his 3/4 of an inch gash is quite deep.
Don't worry, no fights. Just a misplaced wall.
More soon since we have 24 hour WIFI in our room.
